Scenes from a Velvet Room

The seeds of Stephan Moccio’s fourth studio album were sown in the early 2000s, after he bagged a gig as house pianist at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto. It was here that the Canadian-born, Los Angeles-based composer, performer and producer learned how to connect at a deep level with people, including those who paused a conversation or stopped thinking of the day’s top-dollar deal to listen to what he was playing. Scenes From A Velvet Room moves between the melancholy, laid-back style that Moccio used to hook his lobby audience, condensed elegantly in the languid “Beneath The Amber Hour” and “Melt”, and the seductive charm of “Pink Lady” and “Bossa Noir”. Branford Marsalis catches the Moccio vibe to perfection in three duo numbers, “Like An Old Photograph” haunting among them. Moccio’s trip down memory lane takes him to dark places, far from the world of relentlessly upbeat pop promos and after-show parties associated with his post-Four Seasons career as a hit-making songwriter.