at the Kinetic Jazz Festivals were recorded and are available as commercial CD releases.⁷⁰ On the 2011 Kinetic Jazz CD release, pianist Roger Dean comprehensively explores the Stuart piano soundscape in his performance improvisation of ‘Cloudspotting’. His performance begins with a portrayal of the very low frequencies of the Stuart range.

In Cloudspotting, Dean combines the Stuart sound with the sound of a sampled and treated piano sound. The sustain transient in the sampled sound has been extended beyond the capability of an acoustic piano, nevertheless the Stuart sound has tonal qualities that are compatible with the enhanced electronic sound. The sustained quality of sound of the sampled piano is not dissimilar to the Stuart sound.

We are at the point monumental scientific, technological and intellectual changes.
The post Mechanical Age presents particular challenges for historically focused cultural pursuits deeply rooted in the mechano-crafts of antiquity. Electricity is central to most contemporary technological operations and the vast majority of music realated experiences uses electricity as its energy source.⁷¹

I sense that Wayne Stuart envisages an acoustic piano sound that could be regarded in the 21st century as contemporary as the digital sampler, or computer.

Wayne Stuart maintains a position that his piano design is a reaction to significant changes in Western artistic aesthetics that date back to the Impressionist movement from around the mid 1860s. By increasing the importance of the harmonic and dynamic aspects of the sound envelope (vertical) to the time and ethos focused tradition (horizontal), enabled an explosion in radical new ways of expression. The old narrow European tradition expanded to embrace a ‘world music’ that reflects not one particular idea of sound but has potential to integrate with many traditions where vertical or ‘colour’ based sound has been the cultural preference. Stuart’s vision is for a multi dimensional orchestral approach to piano tone building where both the vertical and horizontal elements of the attack and decay transients of the sound envelope are integrated and explored. The clarity of sound attainable in his designs is due to low levels of in harmonicity. Non masking and harmonic integration with other musical instruments and sound types is an important outcome of this approach. This achievement sets Stuart’s work apart in the modern music forum. The sound fashion adopted for the acoustic piano of the 20th century is fundamentally an American ideology and aesthetic. It is not culturally nor universally representative but rather, reigns as a consequence of political and economic dominance. This last statement is clearly stated on the Steinway web site with President Bush congratulating them for spreading the American way around the world! sup>72

⁷⁰Kinetic Jazz Festival 2011,info@kineticjazz.com, Sydney: 2011, compact disc.
⁷¹Roger Dean,“Cloudspotting”Kinetic Jazz 2011. With Roger Dean, Recorded January and April 2011, info@kineticjazz.com, 2011. Compact disc.
⁷²Wayne Stuart, speaking on3“Innovations In Piano” Know Your Music.
⁷³Wayne Stuart, email interview with author, Monday, 18 April ,2011.