Category Archives: Mark Vickness
Acoustic Guitar Virtuoso Mark Vickness To Release Second Album 'Interconnected'
Acoustic Guitar Virtuoso Mark Vickness To Release Second Album Interconnected
Mark Vickness, acoustic guitars with Mads Tolling, violin; Joseph Hebert, cello; Dan Feiszli, bass & Ty Burhoe, tabla
Three years after releasing his debut solo CD, Places, composer/guitarist, Mark Vickness releases Interconnected featuring four new solo modern fingerstyle compositions and four original pieces with his new ensemble, also called Interconnected. In addition to Mark on acoustic guitars, the ensemble brings together two time Grammy winning violinist, Mads Tolling, cellist Joseph Hebert, Dan Feiszli on upright and electric bass and tabla virtuoso, Ty Burhoe.
Says Mark, "The music on this recording is intended to convey interconnectedness, the reality that we live in an interconnected, interdependent world, that we are all one human race. Instrumental music is an ideal means of expressing this because it is a universal language. This ensemble is comprised of musicians who are capable of a wide range of styles from different cultures and different eras. I worked hard to write this music with interconnectedness in mind, within each piece individually and in the relationships between the pieces themselves."
Mark began his musical training on piano at age six. The road from there to the composer/modern fingerstyle guitarist he is today included a bachelor's and master's degree in composition, studies in classical piano, guitar, sitar and tabla, years as a performing jazz guitarist, composer and arranger, several film scores and three decades of recording and performing as the instrumental half of the acoustic fusion duo, Glass House which has released three CD's, two EPs and a host of widely viewed YouTube videos. Mark's performing experience spans a huge range of genres from free improv to West African drum and dance ensembles, from Motown and funk bands to big band jazz and orchestral conducting. Schooled in composition by Pulitzer Prize winning composer, Mel Powell, Mark has recorded and performed with world renowned musicians including two time Grammy winners, The Turtle Island String Quartet, legendary bassist, Michael Manring, and guitarists Alex DiGrassi and Don Ross.
Mads Tolling
An internationally renowned violinist and composer, Mads is a two-time Grammy Award-Winner and the 2016 DownBeat Critics Poll Rising Star winning violinist. As a former nine year member of both Turtle Island Quartet and bassist Stanley Clarke's band, Mads has spent most of his professional life touring internationally. Mads has been featured on NPR's Morning Edition and his recordings have received rave reviews in Downbeat Magazine, Strings Magazine, The Washington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle. He has performed with The Who, Chick Corea, Ramsey Lewis, Paquito D'Rivera and many others.
Joseph Hebert
Joe has recorded and performed across multiple genres with hundreds of artists including Carlos Santana, Stevie Wonder, Tower of Power and Ray Charles. He is Assistant Principal cellist with the Oakland East Bay Symphony. The Oakland Tribune describes him as "one of the most eloquently expressive cellists in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Dan Feiszli
Dan has performed with such notable artists as James Moody, Raul Midon, and Mickey Hart. He has toured nationally and internationally with artists including Julio Iglesias, Nicole Yarling and Raul DiBlasio, and played in the pit orchestras for musical theatre productions including Hamilton, The Lion King and Billy Elliot. In addition to his career as a performer, Dan is featured on hundreds of recordings as both a bassist and recording engineer, and has recorded and mixed albums reaching the highest positions on the US Top 40 and Jazz Radio Charts. Dan's work with Mark dates back years as both a bassist performing with Glass House and recording engineer for Places and Interconnected.
Ty Burhoe
A disciple of the great tabla maestro, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Ty is internationally recognized for being instrumental in creating unique collaborations that weave tabla with other world traditions. He has been featured on many soundtracks including the academy award winning documentary, "Born into Brothels." Ty has recorded and performed with a broad range of artists including Zakir Hussain, Art Lande, Bela Fleck, Walter Becker (Steely Dan), Mamadou Diabate, Kitaro, Jon Anderson (Yes) and many more. Ty's collaboration with Mark dates back to early recordings with Glass House.
Interconnected was recorded, engineered and mixed by Dan Feiszli at his studio in El Cerrito, CA and at 25th Street Recording in Oakland, CA. The CD was mastered by Reuben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering, Burbank, CA. The CD cover art and design was done by Mateo Mok.
Mark is endorsed by Greenfield Guitars, Montreal. He plays a Michael Greenfield G4 fan fret and a Greenfield G2B baritone guitar.
"The fingerstylist makes the most of this opportunity to showcase the limitless sounds and textures that can be achieved primarily with his custom Michael Greenfield steel-string guitars." – Pat Moran, Acoustic Guitar (on Places)
"'Vickness' acoustic compositions allow him to use his wonderful technique to convey atmospheric, emotional music that immediately draws attention. His stunning harmonics, perfect chord changes and ability to use the guitar as a percussion instrument are an amazing blend." – Vintage Guitar Magazine
Interconnected is scheduled for release on September 15th, 2020. The group is looking forward to touring as soon as it is safe to do so. In the interim, Mark is compiling material for a third solo CD.
To purchase: markvickness.hearnow.com
Website: MARKVICKNESS.COM
Facebook: facebook.com/mark.vickness
Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, Billy James, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com
Leave a comment	| posted in Mark Vickness, Press Release
Guitarist Mark Vickness To Release Debut Solo Album "Places" Inspired by Experiences Traveling America
Oakland, CA – After years as the driving instrumental force behind the guitar/vocal duo, Glass House, guitarist Mark Vickness releases his first solo CD inspired by experiences traveling throughout the US.
"Places" is a modern fingerstyle solo acoustic guitar CD featuring eight original compositions and an arrangement of the spiritual, "I Must Tell Jesus," which Mark recorded in memoriam to the woman who raised him who died in 2015 at the age of 99.
Says Mark, "Although the music on this CD is inspired by places I have been, it's also about the personal journey of delving into modern fingerstyle guitar in writing and recording these pieces."
Along the way, Mark enlisted the talents of his wife, Jennifer and his two children, Lucy and Will, to make this a family-inclusive project. Both Jennifer and Will contribute photos to the twelve page color booklet included with the CD. Lucy, who was recently named the Youth Poet Laureate of Oakland, offers one of her poems to accompany the arrangement of "I Must Tell Jesus."
The places and experiences that inspired these pieces include Thousand Islands Lake in the High Sierra Mountains of California (A Thousand Islands) where Mark got engaged, the Wind River Range in Wyoming where Mark had many tranformative first experiences, Prince William Sound in Alaska, New York City and Hawaii where he had a magical ocean encounter with manta rays (Flight of the Rays).
"Mark Vickness dazzles on his 8 string guitar/bass." – Tom Semioli, Minor 7th
Modern Fingerstyle Guitar is a genre that traces its roots back to a few early proponents, most notably Michael Hedges. The idea was to expand the musical vocabulary for the steel string acoustic guitar by employing percussive techniques, broader use of harmonics, unique tunings and better ways of amplifying the acoustic guitar to produce a richer, more layered, orchestral sound. That initial idea continues to motivate players to come up with new ways to push the envelope including the use of various effects and looping. Mark employs all of these techniques in these compositions.
Says Mark, "The only rules I set for this CD were that all the pieces be played on a steel string acoustic guitar and that I be able to perform them live as a soloist. I only broke the rules a few times. Because I come from a background as a composer, my focus was on the compositions themselves rather than on any particular fingerstyle technique."
In addition to writing and performing these pieces on guitar, Mark reached back to his love of composing for string quartet for the coda of the "Wonder Lake Suite." He also performs the tabla part on "Flight of the Rays."
"Places" was recorded, engineered and mixed by Dan Feiszli at his studio in El Cerrito, CA and at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA. The string quartet coda on Wonder Lake Suite was performed by two-time grammy award winning violinist/violist Mads Tolling and cellist Joseph Hebert. The CD was mastered by Reuben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering, Burbank, CA. The CD artwork was designed by Teo Mok.
Mark plays a Michael Greenfield G4 fan fret, a Greenfield baritone guitar, a Matt Mustapick custom designed eight string and an Ovation Celebrity Deluxe Double Neck acoustic guitar.
In addition to the video of "I Must Tell Jesus" (https://youtu.be/2N7BU1FVZG8), Mark will be recording several more solo guitar videos in the coming months as well as performing both as a solo guitarist and with Glass House. Glass House is currently in production for its next EP.
To purchase Mark Vickness's "Places": https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/markvickness
Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158 (US), glassonyonpr@gmail.com