AND ALL THIS - Mari Falcone
Produced by Mari Falcone, Bill Cantos and Andy Waterman
Recorded and Mixed by Andy Waterman
With:
Justo Almario, Bill Cantos, Vinnie Colaiuta, Pedro Eustache, Richie Gajate-Garcia, Pat Kelley, Bill Maxwell, Michito Sanchez, Michael Shapiro, Ramon Stagnaro, Dave Stone, Jerry Watts
FROM THE ALBUM:
All songs written by Mari Falcone except*
The creation of Mari's all-instrumental debut recording And All This was a true labor of love encompassing her classical piano training, love for the R&B and pop music of her formative years, and a passion for gospel music. “My songs all reflect aspects of who I am musically," she says, "and writing them was a process of discovery and rediscovery of music I hadn’t explored in a long time - music without boundaries.” Which is the perfect way to describe the multitude of musical influences which inform her compositions, performance style, sense of form and production choices. “Growing up, I practiced classical music but I listened to pop, and I made the choice to do pop even though I was encouraged to pursue a career as a classical soloist.” She adds, “it’s not that my music sounds ‘classical’, but there’s an approach, a touch that permeates it, and that ends up in my writing along with pop and jazz.” Her debut is a perfectly realized blend of all these musical sensibilities.
The song “My Soul” is a good example of the musical stew that Mari cooks up. Her piano combines w ith three percussionists recorded live in a song that somehow manages to evoke Aaron Copland, stride piano, a Midwestern hoedown and a Latin jam session all at the same time. Then there’s her truly unique rendition of a Bach prelude accompanied by Michito Sanchez on cajon. Other memorable moments include the eloquent solo piece “Dawn,” the gentle sway of the title track, the poignant sweetness of “Tuscany Morning” and the soulful “Song For Terri.” The tender, rhythmic “Rosalina” is dedicated to her Cuban-born piano teacher from her days at the University of Miami.
And All This begins with the energetic romp “Jojo’s Call,” which features Pedro Eustache swooping and soaring on flute and Justo Almario’s soprano sax dancing along side. “I opened with an aggressive song to confound people’s expectations,” says Falcone. “I’m a woman and I play the piano, and that may lead to an image of something very soft and sweet. But however melodic my style is, I love rhythm too. It’s two very different sides of my personality. There’s one side that’s very lyrical and sensitive, and another,” she says, smiling mischeviously, “that just wants to kick butt.”
One of the highlights of the recording process for Mari was the process of joining together with other world-class musicians to realize her musical vision. “The thing I loved about these guys is that basically they played what I heard in my head. When Vinnie (Colaiuta) came in and played “Jojo’s Call” - which I wrote the night before the session - he just came in and immediately felt it.”
“It’s such an amazing experience to be able to do what I love,” she says. “It’s nice to finally have an opportunity to share a deeper side of myself with people who know me as a musical director or composer in the service of others. My great hope is that the music on And All This will speak peace to people’s hearts - even if they don’t know what it is that affects them so much, they’ll feel something that goes beyond words.”