Bill Brennan brings more than 20 years of experience in the national and international music scene into play in solo piano 2, the highly anticipated follow-up to 2006’s improvised solo piano.Ten tracks, composed between 1990 and 2003, give a glimpse into a career that has included forays into jazz, contemporary classical, world an new music. From the first note of “Augusta”, solo piano 2’s warm and rolling opening piece, the veteran composer and performer takes listeners on a journey: written with a sense of physical space, the compositions wander the open road, take in a prairie sunset, offer moments of nostalgia, peace, calm and flickering shadows. Recorded at the D.F Cook Recital Hall at Memorial University and produced by Brennan, solo piano 2 flows easily as a solid body of work, true to Brennan’s skill and musical heart. Yet is also showcases the artist’s diverse interests in world skill: three pieces are influenced by the Indonesian Gamelan music of western Java; “he’s Gone Away”, the only track not composed by Brennan, is a thoughtful and wandering traditional American tune. “The Vinyl Café Waltz” ends the CD with the warm bounce of familiar friends, a nod to Brennan’s time as musical director on the beloved CBC radio program. Named the 2006 Artist of the Year by the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council, Brennan has appeared on more than 85 recordings to date. He has recorded with the Heillig Manouevre, Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan and Vuja De. He has backed up such greats as Cab Calloway, Placido Domino and Dizzy Gillespie, and has performed with the National Ballet, the Canadian Opera Company, and was a recent soloist with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra. Solo Piano received nominations for MusicNL and the East Coast Music Association’s 2006 Instrumental Album of the Year.