Tim Bruer Composer & Pianist

Recorded between December 2019 and September 2022 by Richard Belkner at Free Energy Device

Mastered by Michael Lynch

Cover Art by Timothy John, detail from a painting titled ‘Early Morning Huon River’

CD Design Cheryl Orsini

All compositions by ⓒ Tim Bruer

Bravery lies at the heart of any solo instrumental or vocal performance…for any artist, simply finding the courage to walk alone onto a stage, or in this case into a recording studio, and lay bare their entire creative soul in such an exposed manner is not only admirable but incredibly risky. I suspect that for many artists, comparable effort is directed towards combatting the struggles with anxiety, self worth, and perfectionism that go hand in hand with the lifetime of practise and preparation required to perform solo. With such high stakes, it would be tempting to apply unnecessary virtuosity in an attempt to impress, yet the artist responsible for ‘Love Letters’ impresses us…not with virtuosity (although there is plenty of subtle skill required to execute these compositions!), but with maturity, rich musicality and the honestly of a musician with decades of experience as a creative musician under his belt.  

Tim Bruer is a fascinating artist…a highly respected bandleader, sideman, writer and teacher who embodies the spirit of creativity in jazz…In ‘Love Letters’ we observe a deeply experienced artist who has devoted himself to the lifelong pursuit of this eternally challenging, highly creative yet often unrewarding artform called Jazz. Regardless of the struggles of maintaining such a long and vibrant career in creative music, Tim Bruer has always been true to his inner creative voice and this recording is testament to his commitment to expressing himself honestly and with the utmost devotion. 

One of the many endearing aspects of this wonderful recording are the short vignettes of beautiful melodies and contrasting styles on offer. In my experience, many solo piano albums suffer from being epics…an opportunity to scatter ones entire bag of tricks or groove endlessly, but Bruer focuses on the song, distilling his ideas concisely and delicately to communicate the deep emotions which underly this musical journey.  

I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this album, from the compositions, the performance, the rare but poignant improvisations, the gorgeous cover art, great graphic design, and lastly the beautiful way this album has been captured by another Sydney gem, recording engineer Richie Belkner.

David Theak

Mar 26, 2023

Beautiful Melodies

A poignant combination of composition and improvisation

Superbly recorded by Richie Belkner

Bruer brings a lifetime of love of jazz and deep experience to this work

Artfully transcends jazz, into classical and back again