Mark Vickness Interconnected

Since the 1960s, one of the most successful cultural hybrids in music has been the confluence of western world music with Indian themes. The Beatles love of Ravi Shankar brought Indian instrumentation to rock music, exposing the instruments, scales, and structure to North American and European audiences. Jimmy Page infused several tracks with that same ethos and countless others have since. Yet it is still compelling and noteworthy when someone can blend those styles that are half a world away, together in a new fashion.

Oakland-based guitar virtuoso Mark Vickness' latest project Mark Vickness Interconnected takes his inspired acoustic guitar mastery and pairs it with some world-class accompanists to create worldly blends of style and instrumentation with the purpose of uniting us beyond language. To complement his highly inventive playing, Vickness is joined by the tasteful playing of cellist Joseph Hebert and bassist Dan Feiszli as well as two-time Grammy-winning violinist Mads Trolling who adds a homey Americana warmth with his fiddle-style playing, and tabla virtuoso Ty Burhoe. The use of the tabla as the album's primary rhythmic touchstone makes for an eclectic, worldly sound. However, rather than acting as a flashy gimmick, the infusion is seamless and never feels forced. The result is a true infusion of cultures and styles to create an instrumental album that bridges many divides.

Vickness says of the album: "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.”

The opener 'Interwoven' leads as the mission statement for the album. Gorgeously melancholic violin and cello underpin Vickness' nimble, rolling fingerpicking. He eventually engages in a light slapping style which fits like a hand in a glove with Burhoe's measured tabla. Chiming harmonics, delighted strums, beautifully cascading runs. All work together in effortless harmony to produce a track that conjures up all of the good in the world. Warm sunshine, happy faces, playful animals, treasured memories.

'Grey Skye' employs some more ambitiously stretching chords and further harmonic bells. 'Hot Apple Stuff' demonstrates the height of homespun Americana. The sweet-as-pie number strongly evokes olfactory memories of pastry cooling on a windowsill of a country home and a summer evening on the prairies. All of a sudden, the tablas no longer tie the memory exclusively to the mysterious Indian sub-continent with its unfamiliar customs. The tablas, the fiddle, and the acoustic guitar work together in harmony. Bridging cultures to create something greater than the sum of its parts like a diverse community pulling together to create a multicultural society.

'6 In 7' does lay into the air of mystery with reverberating drone notes of the strings vibrating sympathetically. The sombre fiddle recalls a robust medieval culture, not unlike Howard Shore's scoring of the Horse Lords. Burhoe and Vickness again locking into a dense polyrhythmic simpatico to give the scurrying of life and chaos underneath Trolling's overarching, guiding violin.

Mark Vickness Interconnected harnesses the power of a wide range of backgrounds, styles, and instruments and shows how glorious harmony can be created when we all work together. These are masterful players creating at a peak level. The degree of skill and craftsmanship, as well as unrestrained creativity, is truly impressive. This record is the antidote for the age of vitriol and divisiveness we live in at the moment. A meditative mantra of inclusiveness.