Island Dreams

Here's a piece I just finished (I hope)..  Called Island Dreams, I hoped to catch the feeling of lightheartedness, and happiness.  It started with more of a Reggae beat, But I modified it back to only a hint  of Reggae (organ, flutes part)

Island Dreams  - 

Island Dreams Score - https://app.box.com/s/rr9sxhn4v9ccx1xhr2gkbzvnkv1g318z

Ohh, You always take me to some imaginary place. I love the bass line + rhythms... Also the organ... well, everything is very nice. I like the change at 2:33 (back in 3:55 or so), a good moment for a new section. 

Very good use of syncopation, too. You're very talented imagining all those colors and feelings and translate them into music.

You've heard Gershwin's Cuban Overture, I imagine. I love Gershwin, but this captures an essence of a place better than that piece, I feel, despite the Overture being fantastic as a standalone. 
The atmospheres you get while staying under one framework are very well done. 
It felt a little stilted how the same progression and general melody line was just being redone by a different each time in the beginning. It felt elementary.
The progressions or keys could really change around though. Caribbean chord progressions definitely don't just stay around, and I'm a firm believer that the power of music comes from changes. 
You've got a good thing going here, but to hit that high mark, take some time with a couple hours of island music and see what you hear. 

Thank you Luis sand Monarcheon, that's a very good idea..  Often my compositions start as a kind of jam. Then as I get some ideas accumulated, it becomes apparent to me, what it is I was trying to state.. By this point I have several parts created..  I confess, I get lazy, cause I've already spent so much time, getting to where I already am.  (chord wise, melodic, and # of tracks).. I don't want to 'start over'. 

That is where I should re-access the chord structure, and the melody, and rebuild from there (start from scratch). As a young man, I played in bands, and have seen videos, where bands, just 'jam' often for quite a while..  Tape it, and then later decide 'the good parts' (different chord structures they explored) and then assemble a song, from the good parts of their noodling..  It is harder to do that, when it is only one person playing..  

Lately I spend a fair amount of time working out a chord progression, before laying anything down..  Then as I build something, it becomes harder to alter/add chord changes, cause I've already laid down a dozen tracks..  

But you are exactly right.. Once I have gotten some decent parts together, I need to take the extra step of re-working, adding chords, then re-do my existing parts to accommodate.

I've also been experimenting with longer pieces, And yes, after 3 - 4 minutes, more chordal variety, new section is often needed to sustain interest. 

My next approach should be to try out my  chords and motifs, just sticking to perhaps just playing a piano patch, chords and melody, until I am sure of what it is I am exactly aiming for. 

This is just an idea.

I think your music is so rich that a bit of focus on working the whole structure (the form) would make your music even better. I am talking about a global plan of the piece where you think about parts that could be modified in terms of harmony, modulation, change of rhythm, etc. You have fantastic raw material and your developments are amazing and fresh, anyway.