“3” EP BY JONATHAN GROW: A MASTERPIECE OF PIANO COMPOSITIONS THAT TELLS STORIES WITHIN A CLASSIC THREE-ACT STRUCTURE
4 min read
Sometimes all you need is an environment conducive enough for meditation, an environment that is calm and relaxed to make you reflect on few things, then you put on this EP i have here from Jonathan Grow, the American pianist and composer, is all you need in that environment. He called this one “3” EP, which marks his 3rd studio project, hinting at a significant milestone in his musical journey. The EP is a collection piano-based compositions, centered around the theme of the number 3, offers a profound exploration of storytelling through music. What’s unique about this “3” EP is how each features composition narrates a unique story within a classic three-act structure. What inspired Jonathan Grow for this is his early boyhood years at the piano, and the number “3” serving as a homage to his musical roots and personal evolution. You dig? Haha that’s some crazy stuff right there. It’s his 3rd studio project, which marks his growth since he started his music career and that’s why he went on to name this EP “3” EP.
Now starting the EP is the track titled Les Trois Vies de Marie-Laure. A track that sets the stage for the rest of the EP to follow suit. This track starts calmly with single notes ringing in one by one with a back drop of another note adding depth and layers to main melody. Then the track takes shape as it goes on, it pans out with a melancholic tribute to neoclassical style, paying homage to Erik Satie. Then as the track goes on, you realize how simple yet introspective it is, laying emphasis on the journey of Marie-Laure from “All the Light We Cannot See.” The melodies are delicate and intriguing, it create this atmosphere of calm journey through a world you’ve not seen but have heard of it. Left alone to survive but on your own terms, and now you have to learn how to live within that world. You don’t know what may happen but you’re ready for whatever uncertainty life may throw at you, you’re hopeful and resilient you can go through it.
Then after you’ve come to realize you’re alone in this life and have lost anyone that could help you and now all you have of them is the memories they left in you, the next track “Le Vol” carries on the journey from track 1. In this song Jonathan Grow touches on themes of loss, grief, and acceptance. Now you know there’s no one else you can depend on, all you’ve got is yourself, so you have to accept the bitter truth and love with it. But then again it breaks you that a lonely child has to figure out this world alone and on the memories of those who once guided him or her. It’s crazy and the composition just does justice to the atmosphere of grief, loss and now you have to accept it and grow to shape your future. When you listen carefully you realize how the song has 3 bodies, each talking about each stage. Now all you have is to repeat ways till you find the true path, then time keeps ticking and it breaks you that there’s no one. The emotional drama breeded in you becomes clearer but you gotta survive and therefore you’ve to let it go. This track indeed is a masterpiece, it has the ability to pierce through your soul and give you memories of times where things were difficult and hard. But now you’ve out grown it and you’re a man now. Such creativity is what we need in the industry and I love every bit of this compositions, when they say music speaks, it’s not just words, but the elements of sounds too.
The last track on the EP titled “Devenir” just puts the icing on the cake. The track talks about Jonathan Grow’s own journey of transformation. The track brings in the style of Shostakovich, the young boy is how a matured man. It’s like now you’ve discovered everything there’s. So you know your way around this unfamiliar world you were brought into. Then as the song goes on you realize how it complements the stages of transformation, from slow beginnings to triumphant endings, this track portrays the importance of personal growth and self-discovery. The way the track pans out is magical with those intricate piano melodies swinging in here and there and making it like a journey that ended in happiness, wow, the switches from sad tunes to triumphant melodies, man o man I am overly hyped. This is creativity at its finest. See you don’t get to create music with just piano tunes and let it narrate such a story in this manner. Jonathan you’re a legend and I love this EP to bits. Just see the arrangements, from the first track to the last one, you’re just on the edge of your seat, you can’t contain the amount of creativity and how he was able to compose such melodies.
Well to me, I would say this the best piano EP compositions I’ve ever heard, the creativity, diversity, storytelling and storyline are all magical and magnificent. Someone tell Jonathan he’s a genius and the sky is his limit. Keep going Jonathan and never give up. I love this man, I really do. So what you waiting for? Go ahead and savour this “3” EP. Make sure it’s on your favorite playlist for the week and ENJOY!! Make sure to check him out on the links below for more;
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ2_OUf2priKcV698ntJ_Ww
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