Eric Heilner – Blues Phantasia
Self-Release – 2024
6 tracks: 27 minutes
Blues Phantasia is the second album from pianist and composer Eric Heilner. According to Heilner’s website, he grew up in a household imbued with classical music. He took piano lessons starting at age 6 and advanced so far as to tie for third place in a New Jersey children’s piano competition at age 13. As a teenager, Heilner abandoned classical piano…However, he did not completely give up playing—an accidental exposure to the seminal boogie-woogie piano piece “Honky Tonk Train Blues” by Meade Lux Lewis (1927) led to a lifelong passion for playing blues & boogie woogie piano.
A touring and working musician for a number of years, Heilner walked away from the music business after turning thirty, placed his electric piano in the attic, and, as he put it, became a “respectable” member of society. According to his one-pager, in the early 2000s, with the encouragement of his wife and family, Heilner came out of his musical retirement and started playing blues and rock and roll. He was also drawn back to his classical roots, with entire musical pieces and themes running through his head. Heilner eventually began studying composition at the Juilliard Evening School. Within a few years, he was composing fully developed pieces for chamber ensembles and orchestras.
While Heilner continues to devote most of his time to composing, he can still be found playing blues keyboards in his favorite haunts in and around New Jersey (as his one-pager states). In January 2024, Heilner represented the North Jersey Blues Society in the Solo/Duo category at the International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis, Tennessee.
Blues Phantasia is Heilner’s homage to the blues and boogie-woogie piano style he fell in love with as a teenager. The instrumental album was produced by Heilner and VD King and features four original numbers and two covers.
“Blues Fantasia” kicks off the album with a barrel-house inspired run and builds to a masterful piece of piano-playing. “Hills and Valleys” is slower and sultry with an opening reminiscent of Patsy Cline’s immortal “Walkin’ After Midnight.” Next up is Carole King’s “Chains,” always a rousing number and a true toe-tapper as performed by Heilner. “RumBoogie” has that ragtime edge along with Heilner’s deft piano skills, while with “In a Mist,” he harkens back to his classical music roots.
Blues Phantasia ends where it began with a tribute to Heilner’s boogie-woogie inspiration—Meade Lux Lewis and his “Honky Tonk Train Blues.”
Eric Heilner is a talented piano-man in his own right and continues his evolution as an artist and composer. Blues Phantasia is sure to please those barrel-house and boogie-woogie enthusiasts looking for some fresh new takes on a time-honored blues genre.
