A mix of original piano improvisations and refined traditional religious hymns, Held In The Light is an intimate-sounding, all instrumental solo album, released in late 2017 / early 2018 by Maryland-based recording artist Dan Chadburn. In his brief yet insightful CD liner notes, Dan states that among his fondest memories remain as a youngster attending church every Sunday morning with his parents and also playing church organ in the same church. Also in the Held In The Light liner notes, Dan’s parents are also praised in as being an encouraging factor in his musical career. As always on his unique sounding piano albums, Dan makes you feel he’s performing just for you, with a rare musical gift that often times sets him apart in a field of crowded competitors. With its up close and personal studio sound, Held In The Light was recorded in Sedona Arizona with mixing and mastering engineer Joe Bongiorno and the album was co-produced by Dan and longtime partner Tom Nichols. What is even more amazing on Held In The Light is how Dan recreates a kind of hallowed spirit and aura of these hymns that he first heard and played so early on in his life. Many of the hymns, as revoiced for piano by Dan, date back to the late 1800’s although, in his approach to playing them as instrumentals, Dan also shows how important the chord structures were and still are to 20th century music and even to rock music. For example, track nine is Dan’s solo instrumental version of the famous hymn “Morning Has Broken”, which dates back to 1931 when it was first heard and appreciated later, in recent times in a mass consciousness kind of way, thanks to Rick Wakeman’s piano performance and composed piano solo in the song covered as a pop song on the 1971 Cat Stevens album Teaser And The Firecat. As Dan intended it to be, each of these hymns has a rich and unique history and, while ten of the 13 tracks on Held In The Light are Dan’s own piano versions of these timeless hymns, three of the tracks—including the title track—are actually recent, original piano improvisations composed by Dan. All of Dan’s albums are filled with a rich, sonic texture and fine attention to detail and with Held In The Light, Dan Chadburn reaches yet a new level of piano artistry.