The other day I visited the Zone Music Reporter Chart for August 2014 to check out what’s new in the world of New Age music. As I looked down the chart
the album at No 7 Thoughts of Tomorrow caught my attention, not just for the title,but also for the artist’s name Uwe Gronau. So I went to Spotify, figuring that I’d give the album the 30 to 60 second test and come back later to give it a full listen after checking out more of the albums on the chart. I think the album stayed long enough that I heard and enjoyed most of the album!! Since then I’ve listened to the album several more times, including this morning, while I was doing a few things around the house!! Here’s a little background about Uwe from CDBaby……
Gronau was born and raised in the Rhineland in northwest Germany, and grew up in Dusseldorf and Bocholt (where he currently resides) which is only a couple of miles from the Dutch border. “In the ‘70s and ‘80s the Netherlands were more involved in the evolution of jazz, pop, rock and soul than Germany, so I profited from this situation and heard much great music.” Uwe began playing piano at age six and grew up immersed in music as the son of a choir-leader, orchestra-conductor, music-school teacher and piano instructor.
In his early years Uwe studied classical music, but soon became passionate about jazz and rock artists such as Brian Auger, Keith Emerson, Patrick Moraz and Refugee, and Joe Zawinul and Weather Report. As Gronau got older, his musical tastes expanded to include Supertramp, Jethro Tull, Gilbert ‘O Sullivan, Keith Jarrett, Sting, Peter Gabriel and Dream Theater. When Uwe was 14 he began to play in a series of bands and built a reputation in the area for his musicianship and professionalism. One thing that always set Gronau apart from many other musicians is that from the beginning and continuing to today, Gronau has always played original material and has never covered compositions by others. In college, Gronau majored in music, German and theater-science.
Once again there’s a connection between jazz, new age and progressive rock. It’s all about the music, genres be damned!! Once again from CDBaby: 
Uwe…
is a master of many musical styles with numerous eclectic recordings. His musical enthusiasm and boundless creativity cannot be contained. Primarily a keyboardist, on some tunes he plays solo piano, on others synthesizer or organ, and often he mixes together several keyboards, at times with bass, percussion, drums or other sounds. His music ranges from new age to space, from jazzy to progressive-rock, from ambient or avant-garde to extremely melodic with pop sensibilities. He only performs and records original music. Thoughts of Tomorrow was produced by Gronau with his longtime musical associate Clemens Paskert.
The album title Thoughts of Tomorrow suggests Uwe has done some pondering about the future. What he says about the future is….. “I think humans are smart enough to create a good society for future generations, and one of the keys is the utilization of music.” From CDBaby…..
Gronau strongly believes that art, and specifically music, is a tie that binds together every human from all countries and cultures. “There are special things in life that can only be described by music and art. If you try to open the secrets simply with words, it is impossible, and the secret will not exist anymore. Not even the military or police could calm down the restlessness of people who have a presentiment or foreboding of life without secrets and wonder. Art is an absolute necessity for humans to live a good life on this planet.” Read Full Post
I strongly agree with Uwe’s sentiments!
After listening to Thoughts of Tomorrow, I listened to several of his other albums including Flight 14, Visions and Time Rider and I enjoyed them all! I think that I have found a great artist for those times when you just like to drift with some music!! So check out his music
Links
Website
MySpace
CDBaby
Reverbnation
YouTubeHere’s “Night on the Roof” from the album Visions
