For the Beauty of the Earth CD
Exquisite solo piano hymns and spirituals in a range of styles including jazz, classical, boogie, funk and quiet ballads.

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This CD is for you if you enjoy a jazzy mix of moods and genres.  Plus the bonus tracks showcase Sowash's vast stylistic range with sample tracks from previous releases. 56:10

Tracks and Samples
1. Glory, Glory Hallelujah
2. Doxology
3. For the Beauty of the Earth
4. Shall We Gather By The River
5. Standin’ In The Need of Prayer
6. Just As I Am/Sanctus
7. By and By
8. This Little Light of Mine
9. Go Down Moses
10. The Ash Grove

Bonus Tracks
11. Take It On Faith
12. America
13. Steps To The Soul
14. Amazing Grace

Related Product

Sheet Music

This companion book includes all of the tunes on the CD except for the bonus tracks.

All three hymns & spirituals for solo jazz piano

3 CDs $39.99

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Ordering these products individually will result in a higher price.

"You've done it again!  I'm enjoying this one as much as the last.  Keep it up!" - Marion D., Ohio

"Great pianist!  OOH! WOW! GOD giveth Bradley Sowash a talent to play the piano." - Andy, Malaysia

ChristianityToday.com
Ohio's Bradley Sowash is familiar to PBS viewers as a regular guest on "The Piano Guy," as well as NPR listeners who have heard his recordings regularly played on "Morning Edition." A composer, educator, and acclaimed pianist, Sowash has toured concert halls and churches alike for more than twenty years. He's recorded six instrumental albums, but this is his third disc of hymns and spirituals for jazz piano in the last four years—and reportedly his final, since it completes a trilogy. Those who enjoyed Chris Rice's Living Room Sessions albums will love this. Sowash's technique incorporates more jazz, which makes it a more lively experience suitable for active or passing listening. Sowash gives a boogie-woogie feel to "Glory, Glory Hallelujah" while gliding through some bluesy runs in the title track and "Go Down Moses." Other highlights include a breezy, bouncy take on "This Little Light of Mine" and a playfully varied "Doxology." Sowash goes the extra mile by offering more than a pretty collection of hymn arrangements. He remains true to the familiar melodies, yet infuses them with personality for an artistically refreshing worship experience. - Russ Breimeier

All About Jazz
Jazz has always had a close tie to religion, from its roots in gospel music and spirituals to the divine musical quests of Coltrane and the Sacred Concerts of Ellington. However, few artists have mined the hymnal directly for source material, and fewer still have then recorded albums that have reflection and meditation as their key goal.

Bradley Sowash has dedicated part of his career to playing religious music in a jazz context. For the Beauty of the Earth is the third in a series of solo piano readings of religious music, and many of these tunes, like “Doxology” and “This Little Light of Mine” will be familiar even to casual churchgoers. Sowash doesn’t wander too far off from the melody of any of these tunes, but this is as it should be—he isn’t using this music as a jumping off point, but rather a chamber filled with endless new ideas. Triumphant hymns become introspective washes with floating chords and stolid, reverent songs of praise get a kick of stride. He reworks the melodies slightly, adding new melodic ideas to these old hymns, played with a lovely, crystalline texture reminiscent of George Winston with a little more swing.

As wonderful as it is, this recording would sound out of place as background music at a dinner party. Instead, this is a Sunday morning CD, much more welcome with a cup of coffee than a glass of wine. Sowash designs his music to be part of the religious fabric, and in the end whether or not you like this recording depends on your interest in music with this in mind. He intends his playing to be inwardly fulfilling for himself as well as spiritually rewarding for the listener, but at the very least he accomplishes what many jazz musicians set out to do: take familiar songs and rework them into a pleasant listening experience. - David Rickert

All About Jazz
If there’s a prototypical album for Starbucks to play on Sunday mornings, this is it. Whether that’s a good or bad thing will ultimately shape opinions about Bradley Sowash’s For The Beauty Of The Earth. He performs the fourteen solo piano hymns and spirituals well with a sprinkling of personal accents and a lively contemporary sound, but little overall departure from the actual compositions. It is, essentially, a gifted lounge pianist taking his Saturday evening gig to church the next morning.

Sowash, an Ohio concert pianist and music teacher, describes his music as “somewhere on the musical spectrum between Ellington's playfulness and Beethoven's romanticism.” The final release in a trio of solo spiritual collections is promoted as having “a decidedly personal feel” and features four songs at the end from previous albums.

All of the songs are well-known and immediately recognizable, with Sowash dressing melodies up with embellishments and flourishes of varying styles. The common theme is a dramatic left hand with a more free-spirited right one. He gives a heavy boogie-woogie bass to “Glory, Glory Hallelujah” and a pounding blues beat to “Go Down Moses.” “This Little Light Of Mine” has a playful rolling quality in both the bass and melody lines. “Shall We Gather By The River” possesses a slow and slightly bluesy mournfulness, while “Doxology” has something of a New Age quality that might easily be mistaken for a Dave Grusin soundtrack score.

There’s little doubt this album will resonate with the audience Sowash appears to be aiming for: casual listeners seeking a pleasant if unchallenging background of spirituals. It is hardly an accomplishment of musical innovation but, having chosen his mission, he fulfills it with a sincere touch. - Mark Sabbatini