"There are many pianists out there who have razzle-dazzle styles using lots of notes and rapid arpeggios, but that's not where my heart is," explains Los Angeles-based musician Esteban Ramirez, who has released his second national album, Welcome Home, on the Descanso Music label. "My spirit leads me to quiet music where not every little space is filled."
Ramirez -- who plays solo acoustic grand piano (although four songs on the new album are piano-cello duets) -- remembers, "When I was growing up in my teens and twenties, developing my soft, gentle piano style, I was afraid people wouldn't like it, that it wouldn't be exciting enough for them. But as I played it for people over the years and they said they enjoyed it, I realized that sometimes people need quiet music. Music doesn't always have to have grinding guitars and heavy percussion. It can be for the quiet times in life too. There's a need in people's souls for calming, soothing, soft melodies."
Esteban was born and raised in the border-town of El Paso, Texas. "It was always passed down in my family that we had some Aztec Indian heritage, and in our family there was a strong attachment to all things related to the Aztec culture. We would often attend tribal dances by the Matachines tribe where they would wear big, feathered head-dresses and percussive walnutshell ankle-bracelets.
"My parents are quiet, early-to-bed-early-to- rise people. We were dirt poor. We went to a very conservative church. Piano playing, especially at church, was my only creative outlet and source of release. I began taking piano lessons when I was ten, and the next year I started composing little vocal and instrumental songs, and I also began playing piano at our church which I continued through high school. I developed most of my arranging style by taking those old beautiful standard church hymns and trying to play them differently than I had ever heard them played to make them as interesting as possible."
At 14, Esteban wrote out the score for one of his compositions, "River Raindrops," but "my piano teacher was not impressed." However, a few months later, Esteban was chosen to perform this same piece at the locally-televised Southwest Songwriters Showcase in a full 500-seat auditorium where he was the only musician to receive a standing ovation. He also won first place in his high school's annual talent show with an original instrumental composition, picked up a number of first-place medals in citywide classical music competitions, and did a vocal performance at the high school prom.
Ramirez attended Pacific Union College in Angwin, California (Napa County wine country) where he earned Bachelor of Arts Degrees in both International Communications and French. He spent his second year of college at the Institute of French Language at Collonges sous Saleve where he performed music at church and at the school. He organized the American students for a special musical presentation of the Pilgrims' story at Thanksgiving and he wrote several songs with French lyrics for the show which drew many members of the local community. Back in California, Esteban continued to perform at church, but also played at restaurants to make some extra money and to learn to perform for a different type of audience. He also sang in the college choir and took some additional piano lessons outside of college.
"I had a small voice inside telling me to pursue music even though I hadn't fully accepted it yet. But I always have felt most at home in the world when I am playing the piano." After college he moved to Los Angeles, got a job at the St. Joseph's Center raising money for their programs which helped homeless and low-income families. He also got involved with the Religious Science of Mind Church. "Their philosophy was to believe in yourself and the gifts that God has given you. This allowed me to start connecting with the potential I had as a human being. I started embracing music as my gift." Ramirez began writing more music. He recorded four orchestrated pieces in 1995 initially as a demo-tape for booking live performances, but soon he began selling the cassettes at church concerts.
Eventually Esteban was able to record and nationally-release his first album, Serenade to the Moon, comprised of all-original solo piano compositions. He expanded his performances to not only include more and more churches, but also clubs, cafes, coffee houses and seminars. For awhile he supplemented his income as a substitute teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. "That was a very tough, very sobering job. I saw there is a dire need for young people to have a direction in life." With the success of his first album, Ramirez was able to begin pursuing his music fulltime.
Esteban's musical influences have changed over the years. As a child, he remembers growing up hearing traditional Latin music (cumbia, Mexican ranchera, corridas and mariachi) as well as gospelpop music. When he began to take classical piano lessons, he started to enjoy "the energy and liveliness of Mozart, the drama of Chopin and the left-hand dramatic flourishes of Franz Liszt." In the Seventies, Esteban enjoyed disco (Bee Gees, Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer), rock bands like Styx and ELO, and "Grease." During the Eighties Ramirez turned to synth-pop bands like Duran Duran and Culture Club. In more recent years he has listened to everything from pop and rock to jazz and new age.
"My first album, Serenade to the Moon, was very autobiographical containing personal struggles, heartbreak and soul-searching pain balanced with the wonder of learning to express myself and remembering childhood innocence. The new album, Welcome Home, reflects changes in my life in the last few years. This recording is more a celebration of life that includes new places and new experiences."
"Echoes in Time" is a wistful, nostalgic tune containing the feeling of memories from the past combined with hope for the future. On "Sandbox," Esteban recreates the feeling of a child who, with intense concentration, is exploring his dreams and creativity within that tiny play area. First-time love is captured on "Love and Innocence" ("it's exciting, scary and heartbreaking all at the same time"). The title track, "Welcome Home," is about the special moment when a person returns to a home where loved ones are waiting. Esteban's personal imagery for "Dinner For Two" is a rich Austrian count in his castle playing the piano as a single, special guest arrives for an exquisite dining experience.
Imagine two people in love in their backyard among hedges and flowers breaking spontaneously into a "Garden Waltz." "New England" has the atmosphere of old American history. "Carnival in Paris" conjures up impressionistic images of an organ grinder with a monkey, ice cream stands, a clown with balloons, and gypsies offering games of chance. The next tune also is about Paris, specifically a "Window at Batignoles," a district where poets, painters and musicians congregated in the early 1900s. "Sometimes after learning new things and dealing with new relationships, you have to be by yourself, absorb what you have learned and maybe nurse some emotional wounds. That's what the tune 'Solitude' is all about." "Wings of an Angel" is Esteban's music for "that transiiton between life and death when a person crosses the threshold into afterlife." The album closes with the only non-original, Esteban's instrumental interpretation of the Judy Garland classic "Over the Rainbow" from "The Wizard of Oz" ("so many people can relate to being lost and desperately wanting to get back to a safe place").
"I put a lot of emotionalism into the music on this recording, but really I simply created Welcome Home as an album for people who love piano music."
