Rachel Flowers

[KIPMEISTER]

Has anyone heard any new information on this wonderful gifted person?

[Spiral]

Maybe it'd be better to start with a more fundamental question. Who is Rachel Flowers and why is she so wonderful and gifted?

[progeezer]

Maybe it'd be better to start with a more fundamental question. Who is Rachel Flowers and why is she so wonderful and gifted?

Youtube is your friend. Prepare to be slack-jawed.

[Spiral]

Youtube is your friend. Prepare to be slack-jawed.

Oh, I figured Youtube could always be plan B, but it's even better to get a direct answer from a human being who has an idea how to explain it. I'll do some searching one of these days, probably once the holiday's over...

[Joe F.]

Oh, I figured Youtube could always be plan B, but it's even better to get a direct answer from a human being who has an idea how to explain it. I'll do some searching one of these days, probably once the holiday's over...

There were numerous threads on her at the old site. To sum it up, she's a very talented keyboardist and flautist and has a bunch of videos of her playing ELP stuff (like all of Tarkus among others). She was in her mid-teens in some of these videos. She also happens to be vision impaired.

[N_Singh]

She can play ELP. She can play Debussy. She can do modern jazz. It all seems so effortless for her. Incredible talent.

[Dana5140]

[progeezer]

Emo knows who Rachel is!

[gryphs also]

Rachel is enough to get any sane person never to try to play a keyboard. And it's not just the technical skill...you can feel the passion in her playing.

[Joe F.]

Emo knows who Rachel is!

He does? Who knew?

[no.nine]

There was an incredible clip up on YouTube of her playing Steve Reich's "Piano Phase", which is meant for a pianist playing against a tape, or alternately, two pianists - and she played it ALL BY HERSELF! She managed to get one hand to go in and out of phase with the other! My mind boggles just THINKING about how someone could do that. And IIRC, it was a spontaneous performance, not even rehearsed. It was simply amazing. Sadly, last time I looked for it, it had been taken down. Or maybe it was just made private. Either way, I can't access it any more.

[Rachel's Mom]

There was an incredible clip up on YouTube of her playing Steve Reich's "Piano Phase", which is meant for a pianist playing against a tape, or alternately, two pianists - and she played it ALL BY HERSELF! She managed to get one hand to go in and out of phase with the other! My mind boggles just THINKING about how someone could do that. And IIRC, it was a spontaneous performance, not even rehearsed. It was simply amazing. Sadly, last time I looked for it, it had been taken down. Or maybe it was just made private. Either way, I can't access it any more.

The Piano Phase video is back by popular demand.

[Dana5140]

Hi, Rachel's Mom- I posted the link to this on the other Rachel Flowers thread! Amazing performance!

[Jubal]

and she just recently did a fantastic cover of Zappa's "Inca Roads", where she plays and sings everything herself. Even Zappa fans are in awe of her!

[no.nine]

The Piano Phase video is back by popular demand.

Thanks for posting this! It's so good to see it again. I didn't remember that anyone else had done this before (one person, that is). But that doesn't make it any less remarkable.

[Dana5140]

no.nine- there are clips on youtube of other solo performers of this, but Rachel is by far the youngest.

[no.nine]

Thanks, Dana, I'll have a look. Still blows my mind that one person can do it!

BTW, I watched Rachel's performance of Emerson's Piano Concerto on piano & flute. Is there anything she can't do??!

[MoZo]

Hopefully, this link will work. Something new from Rachel Flowers (at least mew to me). Most excellent, as always. https://soundcloud.com/rachelflowers...edium=facebook

[MoZo]

New too....... (too much holiday cheer...)

[Yanks2014]

I have to say, the Piano Phase clip did nothing for me, the piece, not the performance -so annoyingly repetetive. Obviously it's an incredibly hard piece to attempt, and I give her all the credit in the world. We often throw around the term genious a bit too often around here. But I think we are witnessing one with Rachel. She's composing now, the obvious next step. I expect great things from her, and am no longer surprised by what she can accomplish, I just accept that she can do anything she puts her mind to.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Amazing performance. But, I somehow kept expecting Pete Townshend and John Entwistle to blast in...

[Zeuhlmate]

I thought Piano Phase was great !
Yanks2009 - it might be easier to get, if you knew Soft Machine's tune The soft weed factor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU8n2HgT9B4

[progeezer]

So happy to see you here, Rachel's mom!

Hope you continue to read all the deservedly wonderful things that people here are saying about Rachel.

Having been a performer of one type or another for 55 years, I've heard & seen a lot. If your daughter doesn't become an international sensation, there is absolutely no justice in this world afaic.

[Yanks2014]

I thought Piano Phase was great !
Yanks2009 - it might be easier to get, if you knew Soft Machine's tune The soft weed factor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU8n2HgT9B4

Sorry, couldn't make it too far into that. I just can't stand what to me is overly repetitive music, it just gnaws at my brain. Not denying the difficulty of performing such music, but it will never be for me. But we are sidetracking things, and this thread should be about Rachel.

[JKL2000]

For some reason I put off listening to Rachel Flowers until now. All the covers and hype surrounding them put me off I guess. But I’m now listening to her album “Going Somewhere” after hearing a song from it on someone’s playlist, and it’s excellent! I knew she was talented, and I’m really impressed with how well the album is produced and engineered. I haven’t been to any of the festivals at which she’s performed, and now I’m hoping she might perform at Progday - 2021?