In a style best described as Pop Nouveau, "Belle Epoque" is progressive piano based songs written and sung by pianist David Scott Crawford. Four string arrangements by Grammy Award Winner Paul Buckmaster. Recorded in Chicago, LA and London.

14 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Progressive Rock, POP: Piano



Details:
Hi. So Iâm not going to write this bio in some sort of fake third person way. Youâre hearing it straight from the horseâs mouth, so to speak. Neigh.

My name is David; most people call me Dave. There is another David Crawford here in Chicago, (Middle name âMaxâ-plays with Poi Dog Pondering), so I am going with my middle name from now on to spare everyone the confusion. David Scott Crawford here. I play piano, sing and write the songs. You can call me Dave.

My childhood was pretty much a whirlwind of extreme contrasts and different countries and schools all around the world. My father, a petroleum engineer, accepted various assignments around the globe. To give you some idea of this, I was born in Lafayette, Louisiana. When I was age two we moved to Perth, Australia. At age four, I headed off to San Francisco, where we lived for four years, and then moved to Tripoli, Libya, where there was a large American and European community at the time. Then we moved to New Orleans for eight month and then to London, England for two years. The family headed up to Aberdeen, Scotland (where I made frequent visits) while I attended a boarding school in Asheville, North Carolina. I attended college in Chicago, and except for one year in Nashville, have lived here ever since. I play all over Chicago, especially The Redhead Piano Bar, which is quite well known around the world.

Strongest impressions of places I lived (not to mention the places we visited in between!)-
Lafayette- (none-too young to remember)
Australia- First memory rolling down a hill, petting Koala bears at the zoo, and family outings in the outback.
California-aged seven, dropped a rock off a school overpass and hit a stopped car on the hood. I felt terrible and blamed it on the kid behind me. Driving through the Haight with my family, while my grandfather tsk tsk tsked the whole time. Submarines in Oakland Bay, and holding my breath while riding in the back seat crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.
Libya-beautiful turquoise Mediterranean, fabulous Roman ruins along the coast, and frequent power outages. Cous cous, and our small VW Beetle surrounded by a herd of annoyed camels.
New Orleans-race riot at my Jr. High, first big crush on a girl.
England-green and rainy and great McVites chocolate biscuits. Attended school in Wimbledon and Cobham. Wrote my first song at a summer camp in Lymington-a big Victorian mansion converted into a boy's school (across from the Isle of Wight).
Aberdeen, Scotland-Dunnator, Crathes and Cragievar castles. Shaggy red-haired Highland cows. Walkerâs shortbread and lots of grey rain and granite. Roe deer in the den. Narnian snow on my first Christmas in Aberdeen. The Dons playing football in the snow while the loyal Aberdeen fans froze their asses off.
North Carolina-Blue Ridge Mountains, intro to Tolkien, back packing through Pisgah National Forest. Autumn campfires and shooting stars. 'Gone to Carolina'.
Chicago- Deep dish pizza, Lake Michigan (a huge mother of a lake), and Siberian winters. No hills.

So I released my first CD âA Room of Green Rainâ in 1998, which was recorded in a rather unorthodox way. It was a live show recorded at a coffee house (just me on piano and a cellist), and enhanced in the studio with strings, percussion and vocals, etc. over the next year. Very influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites and the 19th English Romantic movement.

In all the places we had lived and traveled in between, I had only been across France on a high speed train en route to Switzerland. My new CD, "Belle Epoque", was born out of my very first trip to Paris in 1999. I went back two more times after that in 2000. The Art Nouveau style and the Belle Epoque architecture and motifs made a huge impression on me. I'll never forget a visit to a Parisian black box theater where I saw an avant garde production of Racineâs âEstherâ in French. My very first night in Paris, fighting jet leg, I went up to Sacre Coeur and heard nuns singing an ethereal liturgy. Most of the color snap shots in the "Belle Époque" CD booklet are pictures I took on trips to Paris. The cover, "The Flying Mirror" was done by a great Parisian photographer name Eric Pouhier. I played a Steinway or Böesendorfer grand piano on all the songs on this album.

I suppose all of these ingredients and more have made their way into the sounds of my new CD âBelle Époqueâ. A highlight was working with Paul Buckmaster, who did four string arrangements for this album. Youâll have heard Paulâs distinctive arrangements on Elton John classics such as âTiny Dancerâ, âYour Songâ âLevonâ â60 Years Onâ and âBurn Down the Missionâ, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Carly Simon, and if you are thinking heâs a âhas beenâ-wrong. He won a Grammy in 2002 for Trainâs 'Drops of Jupiter'.

David Hentschel, who engineered several of Elton's albums (Nominated for a Grammy as Best engineer for "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"), and famous for his Synth extravaganza arrangement for "Funeral for A Friend" (Don't believe me-check the GBYBR liner notes), played synthesizer on two songs on "Belle Epoque" and he mixed the entire album in England.

"Belle Époque" was recorded in Chicago (all the piano & rhythm tracks), LA (most of the guitars and strings), and England (David Hentschelâs keyboard parts. It was mastered at Abbey Road Studios by Simon Gibson.

I think youâll really enjoy this album, whatever kind of music you like. I call it Pop Nouveau. Email me. Cheers, DSC