Frank Schiazza returned to the fold with the release of his eighth solo album, FOLLOWING THROUGH, a collection of soulful, jazzy songs in the style he's developed over the last two decades.

The album began life as a solo piano workout, with Schiazza honing his chops in the tradition of Gregg Allman, Tom Waits and Bobby Whitlock.

"The piano was the inspiration for this record," he said. "Guitar has been such a part of my soul that I needed to break away from it; challenge myself a bit. The piano is somewhat newer territory for me, so I really have to be into it to nail a track. You'll hear it on record - this is my most focused album in years, maybe ever, because I had to literally focus as hard as possible to make it work."

Unlike some of his recent records, FOLLOWING THROUGH isn't a concept record or a song-cycle built around a certain theme. Instead, it's just an album.

"I always approach albums with a certain theme in mind, and the projects usually end up being governed by that theme," he said. "This time, I let myself be the theme, so the songs are scattered, thematically, but not really, because they're all me... things I've felt, feared and conquered."

Sonically, the record is striking in its jazz and soul roots, and in its simplicity.

"I stripped it all back to its elemental form this time out: trust your instincts; minimize the overdubs. I had that in mind when I was cutting tracks for this record. The rule was simplicity. Drums, bass, piano, guitar. And voice. That's it. I want to let the melodies and the vocals do the talking, so I've pared everything back to basics."