Product Description Born in Hollywood, CA in 1961, Davol moved to Colorado when he was seven. With primarily classical piano training, he developed an interest in electronic music as a teenager. High school and college years exposed him to jazz and classical harpsichord. His first compositions became the collection of pieces on the Mystic Waters album in 1989. This seminal work made it to #15 on the Billboard New Age Chart, and remained on the charts for 25 weeks. The music from his albums has been used worldwide in TV, radio, video and multimedia productions. Interestingly, Davol's career was originally in Microbiology, not music. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1989, and worked as a medical researcher until 1996 when he started a commercial venture, producing music for multimedia. This experience allowed him to write music in very diverse styles, and work with other instrumentalists. Inspiration for Davol's compositions come from life events or activities, such as running, one of his favorite pastimes. 'The Last Mile' (Nature of the Beast album) is a perfect example of this. His other life obsession is the French language, which he speaks fluently and has studied in France. Davol's fourth album, 'Open Book', was very popular with radio programmers, making it to #5 on the New Age Voice chart. Fans do the best job at describing this album: 'It's inspiring music that doesn't sound contrived.' 'Without a doubt, 'Open Book' stands out as probably the best contemporary instrumental release of all time. Every piece is superlative in both performance and sonics. The CD is at times uplifting,free-spirited and also pleasantly moody. Such a treat to my ears that I listen to the CD almost everyday in my car. Very highly recommended for it's musical beauty! Buy it at any cost.' 'For lovers of instrumental music, here's a gem. Davol has proved that he still maintains the edge in his music. He's written and produced another incredible journey with his magical signature. It's a shame that artists such as Davol haven't received the press they deserve.' 'Davol is a survivor and has delivered a beautiful piece of work in an age of pop fluff.' About the Artist Davol's debut release, Mystic Waters, was one of the best-selling New Age records of 1989, reaching the Top 15 on the Billboard New Age Chart and the Top 30 on nationwide NAC radio. Paradox expanded his rhythmic foundation and sonic textures to firmly establish himself as one of New Age music's leading composers. Nature of the Beast, the third release of composer/arranger Davol combined his melodic genius with an imaginative palette of sounds to create a work of remarkably original flare. With Open Book, Davol continues the journey through rhythmic landscapes and cinematic vistas, to create a work of great personal expression. Born in Hollywood in 1961, Davol moved to Colorado when he was seven and has spent most of his life in the Rocky Mountain state. His musical side was first expressed through the trumpet. When he was thirteen, he grew bored with the fact that his primary instrument was monophonic, and shifted over to classical piano. That was followed by high school exposure to synthesizers and jazz, harpsichord studies in college, and heavy influence and inspiration from the music of Claude Debussy, Jean-Michel Jarre, Andreas Vollenweider and Tangerine Dream. By the time he moved to Denver in 1983 to pursue a Ph.D. in microbiology at the University of Colorado Medical Center, Davol's future life seemed firmly outlined. Step one: get the Ph.D. and spend his life doing research in medical virology. Step two: stay sane by playing lots of music at home. It was a fine plan, but one that didn't take into account his own talent. "I took a little music theory in high school, but never ventured to write my own music. I would listen to a lot of things and say to myself 'that's interesting - but they should have done this differently here.' I got a Macintosh and some MIDI sequencing software for my home studio, and it was like a door had opened inside me. I found myself able to test all kinds of compositional experiments and get immediate results. At that point all these ideas just started pouring out. I was ready to start writing." In 1988, Davol produced a short demo tape as a present for some friends. They passed it on to friends, one of whom brought it to the attention of James Marienthal, president of Silver Wave Records. Marienthal liked what he heard, and backed up his interest with a recording contract for the project that became Mystic Waters. Interestingly, the success of Davol's music led him to pursuing his music career full-time. After Paradox, he took a leave from his work as a microbiologist, and gave the music his complete attention. Since that time, he has started the company, GIRA Sound & Audio, producing and distributing his music, as well as that of other instrumentalists in the form of CD-ROM music libraries for multimedia applications. Open Book is the first audio CD release on his GIRA Audio label.