"The Copper Hat" was recorded February of 2001 after a move to rural Pennsylvania. Many of the songs have stories behind their composition. During a visit to his mother, who at the time, was in the midst of Alzheimer's disease, he found that her husband had made her a copper wire hat in the shape of a pyramid to help improve her failing mind. She wore the copper hat, tied with ribbons under her chin, around the house. The song Copper Hat was composed when his mother spontaneously started dancing with complete innocence to his music with the copper hat on her head. 

The album is dedicated to his mother, the woman in the Copper Hat, who gave him the gift of piano.

A mention should also be made of the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.  Without a particularly memorable day spent there, there would be no Esmeralda & the 17 Goats.

1. November's Cascade              4:58
2. Passages                             5:51
3. Esmeralda & the 17 Goats     6:09
4. When You Come Home        4:06
5. Person in the Mirror            5:54
6. Dancers in the Sky            5:04
7. The Copper Hat                3:41
8. Sweet Em                        4:47
9. Northern Dancer                5:10
10. The Wedding Song            8:46
11. The Merced                      4:52
12. In the Garden                   4:43
13. Dreams for TJ                    5:00

Available as Digital Download from CD Baby or iTunes

(Royalty Free must buy through this website)

Copper Hat photo shoot with Ian Bradshaw

By Kathy Parsons, Mainly Piano:

“The Copper Hat” is Greg Maroney’s second album of original piano solos. Greg is a very passionate and eloquent composer/pianist who refers to his pieces as “soundscapes” - “a musical rendering of the way different places, events, and people affected me.” The pieces are varied in style, from the quiet ballads, “When You Come Home” and “Passages,” to the swirling, sparkling “November’s Cascade” and the dramatic “Esmeralda & the 17 Goats.” Maroney has a very powerful playing style that is exceptionally effective in expressing a wide range of emotions. His extensive classical training is obvious but tempered with his jazz background, and his musical palette is very colorful. “Esmeralda” is a real stand-out, but I also really like the pensive “Person in the Mirror, ” which is played mostly in the upper registers of the piano - melancholy and questioning, this is a beauty. “The Merced” is also gorgeous. I assume the title refers to the Merced River in California. The piece flows and meanders, much as a river does, giving it a dreamy quality but also a sense of purpose. Maroney’s music is substantial but accessible, and I highly recommend it. 
 

All music in this collection was composed and performed by Greg Maroney

Copyright©2001 Emerald Mountain Music