Having recently celebrated an extraordinary 20 years since the release of his debut album Opal Fire, Omar Akram has created innumerable musical memories for fans with his many Billboard charting recordings and tours throughout the U.S. and overseas in England, France and most recently, China. While the Grammy-winning pianist/composer is grateful to have shared so many inspiring moments with appreciative audiences, his latest collection Moments Of Beauty is driven by and animated with a spirit of loving reflection and contemplation that taps into more personal cherished memories but also feels deeply universal.

Featuring the lush, dynamic aural coloring of the Niagara String Quartet – a renowned ensemble that has performed with superstars like Josh Groban and Rod Stewart – the gorgeously orchestrated 10-track set follows two of Omar’s most unique releases. Destiny (2019) was an epic, years-in-the-making album produced by legendary pop producer Walter Afanasieff, mixed by Grammy-winning engineer Dave Reitzas and featuring the 80-piece Slovak Symphony Orchestra conducted by Shardad Rohani (Yanni: Live at the Acropolis). The Light Will Come was a complete 180-degree creative turn, an intimate solo piano album comprised of songs he composed and debuted on “Omar’s Music Chamber,” his weekly YouTube docu-series and performance platform, during the pandemic lockdown era.

In many ways, Moments Of Beauty is the ultimate expression of an approach to composing and producing music that Omar has developed instinctively over the years. Whereas early in his career, when he released Opal Fire, Free As A Bird (2004) and Secret Journey (2007), he would go into the studio, take a seat at the piano and start creating. Now, ten years after winning the Grammy for Best New Age Album for the Gregg Karukas-produced Echoes Of Love, the pianist is in tune with letting life experiences, both joyful and challenging, serve as his chief inspiration. “I’ll be out somewhere, and something will happen that sparks an idea, which I’ll begin to express on the piano, which then leads to so many more,” he says. “That’s the wonder of creativity.”

This simple but magical process is exactly how Omar came to develop Moments Of Beauty – an album that led him to reflect upon his own mortality and the preciousness of each moment of life. On a family vacation to the charming Danish town of Solvang with his family, he had a sudden epiphany at dinner. While enjoying the time with his wife, 10-year-old daughter and eight-year-old son, he flashed back to 40 years earlier, when he was a kid eating dinner with his brothers and parents.

As he watched and interacted with his own children, Omar thought back to several cherished childhood memories. The son of a UN diplomat, he recalled a time living in Prague when he went on a family vacation to a resort with hot mineral springs. The first time he snuck down to play the piano in the lobby, a crowd gathered around – and he was invited back to perform many times. One of the pieces he improvised then became the intro to a composition he later played at his concerts as an adult. Another sweet memory that came to mind was sitting with his brother in the back seat of his dad’s red VW Bug as they drove across the Brooklyn Bridge and took in the stunning Manhattan Skyline, looking out the window without a care in the world.

“The unique feeling of time travel and a realization how time goes by so quickly became the genesis of “Passage Of Time,” which became the catalyst for the whole album,” Omar says. “Each composition represents a tiny moment of my life that I created and could now look back on, most often quite joyfully, yet sometimes with that joy shadowed with a sad and bittersweet but still life affirming feeling about the things that matter most. Once I started working on the album, I saw a fascinating interview with a 100-year-old man on some Discovery Channel show. He seemed to take so much pleasure thinking about incredible times he had enjoyed throughout his life. I wanted these songs to convey a similar sense of fulfillment and gratitude. Music gives me a special way of expressing and forming a deeper connection with the emotions that come with those memories.”

Starting with the free flowing yet deeply emotional opening title track “Moments Of Beauty,” Omar invites us to make special connections of our own to his heartfelt musical reflections. The lyrical, easy swaying “Dancing On My Own” is Omar’s personal way of feeling especially grateful in a world – especially in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles – where even many accomplished professionals are dissatisfied with their lives.

A title and generally melancholy piece like “Sorrow” would seem at odds with an album about celebrating beauty, but it makes sense as an expression of his regret that Omar’s father passed away only a few weeks before his son was born. It was a time of great joy and sorrow at almost the same time; the song ends on a note of optimism via the high notes of a violin. Along those lines, the cheerful, whimsical melody of “Falling In Love” captures the excitement and hope he and his wife felt on the day their son was born. Another sparkling album highlight, “Special Gift” could apply to a once in a lifetime moment like this – or simply a sense that every day is worth cherishing. Other lovely points of entry to these incredible Moments Of Beauty include “Promises,” a thoughtful meditation on people in his life whose promises don’t materialize, leading to perhaps better possibilities; the dark and brooding “Mystery,” which finds him questioning some of life’s heavier eternal questions and choices; and the easy grooving, gently optimistic “Someday.”

On the high energy, emotionally liberating closing track “Walking Free,” Omar offers an intimate glimpse at the amazing family dynamic at the heart of this album and all of his music. “It’s an emphatic musical statement featuring my wife and kids singing, doing their choir thing,” he says. “At the very end, you hear my son laughing. This brings everything together. Inspired by a beach walk with them near our home, it’s a tune about really being at peace with myself, surrounded by people who love me. These are the kind of beautiful moments we can move forward with, feeling happy and fulfilled.”  

Growing up a true citizen of the world, Omar had the opportunity to take piano lessons from a member of the Prague Symphony Orchestra, who was one of the top music teachers in the Czech Republic. Attending numerous ballets and symphonies, his earliest influences were classical – starting with Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, with later exposure to Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky and Shastakovich. Living in Cuba at age 14, he had the opportunity to chat with none other than Fidel Castro at a diplomatic reception. Omar’s resulting curiosity for Cuban culture led him to local clubs, where he talked the musicians into letting him sit in with them—an experience which resulted in his lifelong passion for love for Latin rhythms and Latin-styled acoustic guitar sounds.

Returning to the U.S., Omar caught wind of the international electronic music of Jean Michel Jarre (France), Kitaro (Japan) and Vangelis (Greece), all of whom he credits for piquing his interest in synthesizers, electronic music and composing. Key influences along the jazz and pop spectrums included Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Prince. Settling in L.A. in 1993, he began performing solo piano gigs and playing in Top 40 bands. His musical wanderlust continued with travels throughout the U.S. and frequent jaunts to England and France. He traces his evolution from rigid classical pianist to creating his trademark brand of instrumental pop and world music to the inspiration and global success of new age piano legends George Winston and David Lanz. 

“Creating Moments Of Beauty taught me a lot about the value of life experiences – being grateful for those in the past and being open to new ones in the present and future,” says Omar. “Stylistically and production-wise, it reminds me of my first album Opal Fire, especially with its feeling of simplicity in the melodies and the simple truths they convey.”