by Robert E. Martin

Although he did not win any awards at the 18th Music Awards Ceremony on April 26th, Midland based Bryan Rombalski and his formidable group of musicians was undoubtedly one of the stellar performers of that evening, proving that the future of Jazz as a viable form of musical expression is indeed alive and strong in the tri-cities.

Recently Rombalski released an incredible CD of original material entitled The Awakened Heart, which I urge anybody that enjoys excellent music to purchase.

A sharp intellect once wrote that the world is a comedy to those that think; a tragedy to those that feel. But as writer/philosopher Ambrose Bierce once surmised, in each human heart are a tiger, a pig, an ass, and a nightingale. Diversity of character is due to their unequal activity.

With The Awakened Heart, Bryan Rombalski has created a symbiotic balance between all of these suppositions, realizing through the fluid textures of song structure that human emotion is never 'captured', if indeed it is destined to run free, but most effectively 'revealed' by embracing the polarities that define us in a conscious act of 'balance'.

That which Eastern thought ascribes to the 'yin & yang' of existence - the plus and minus polarity that leads to the yearning of expression, reaches expansive heights on this new release.

If Rombalski's freshman release Devotion exemplified the passionate and meditative approach taken by the artist toward his music and life, The Awakened Heart serves as an extension of musical architecture that reaches beyond the boundaries of structure precisely because it is built upon a firm foundation of discipline and craftsmanship.

Bryan's notes and remarkable phrasing are given added shape and symmetry by the immaculate accompaniment of noted keyboardist Armen Chakmakian, and reinforced by the precision of percussionist Paul Nieft, Jr., forging the steady, incessant, and metaphorical 'beating of the heart' which when caught in synergy as a trio, bends, flows, swells and cascades with the acceleration of emotion.

Within the cycle of songs that comprise this CD one can hear the evolution of form - a music that reaches beyond linear patterns of predictability, but unfurls with each new listening, reminding us that while the sun may rise every morning, each day is singular - warming our souls with fresh promise.

When you listen to this CD you need to do so with fresh ears, because predictability has no place in an 'awakened heart'. And with this new music Bryan Rombalski has created a miraculous synthesis of lush sonic clarity within 10 distinct songs that flow into rich thematic continuity.