Tim Story

by Linda KohanovThough he also recorded for Windham Hill at one time, this Ohio-based keyboardist is not related to Liz Story. His intimate style thrives on cavernous spaces, an element that eventually caught the attention of Hearts of Space Records, which released what is in many ways his best album, 1991's Beguiled. Other than some early guitar lessons, Tim Story is self-taught. With experience as a recording engineer and a studio musician under his belt, he turned his attention to composing and released his first albums on a tiny Norwegian label called Uniton in 1982. His music attracted the attention of Windham Hill's Will Ackerman, who released two of his albums in the late '80s and included several of Story's pieces on some of the label's samplers. Though his melodic voice is often expressed with uncommon delicacy on grand piano, Story sets the contours of his pieces with broad synthesized brushstrokes in hazy, enigmatic veils of color. Like Harold Budd, he also injects a profound sense of ambiguity into his compositions, suggesting emotions for which there are no words.