Mark Anderman – Guitars, keyboards, percussion, MIDI arrangements
Bennett Friedman – Tenor sax on Keep The Change, flute on Para Armando
Jerome Fleg – Clarinet on Unspoken
Kjell Nordeson – Drums on Para Armando
Sara Williams – Oboe and flute on Unspoken

Composed, arranged, and produced by Mark Alun Anderman © 2024 TMRW Media (BMI)
Recorded at TMRW Studios and at Santa Rosa Junior College
Engineered, edited, and mixed by Mark Anderman and Rudolf Budginas
Mastered by Jake Stillman at Stillman Sound
Mojave Desert cover photo by Roger C. Anderman
Portrait photo by Thomas Chown
Para Armando is dedicated to the memory of Chick Corea
So Alive, So In Love is for Kathy
TMRW Media #T1020

Available on: Amazon Music, Apple iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, and most other music services.

Album Notes

Horizon is a 21st-century jazz album that fuses improvisation with classical structure through an eclectic palette of styles guided by a rock aesthetic. Long before I got into jazz, I was a fan of 70s and 80s progressive rock including Yes, ELP, Rush, Genesis, and King Crimson. I feel Horizon is my first album to properly acknowledge my prog-rock roots, particularly the finale Second Chance. I was inspired by Frank Zappa to go all-in on irregular time signatures and unusual metric combinations. Only two of the eight tracks are in common 4/4 time, the rest are rhythmically experimental. Recalling Bach and Beethoven, this album features a recurring motif that provides continuity by appearing in most of the tracks. The album is likewise unified by recapitulation: the coda of the finale reprises the coda of the opening track in the manner of classical symphonies and Yes’ Close to the Edge.

Horizon represents five years of work interrupted by the COVID-19 Pandemic and other life events, but it is here now, and I sincerely hope you enjoy it! - Mark Alun Anderman, 2/29/2024

Horizon

The Horizon is where Earth ends and Heaven begins—the launching point for dreams of flight.

The opening handclaps in 7/4 sound a pulse of 6 that changes to 5 every fourth bar. For further contrast, the bridge sections are in 6/4 with a pulse of 5, changing to 4 every eighth bar. The guitar melody introduces the recurring motif while the tonality of the tune progresses from a series of Lydian modes centered on C, to a middle section in A minor, then resolving to G major in the coda.

Turning Point

Sometimes we reach a point when it is not okay to stay how we are. The old way doesn't work anymore—we need a new vector.

The metric pulse of Turning Point is based on a 6/8 clave rhythm adapted into 3/4, while the bridge alternates between 4/4 and 5/4 felt in a hypermetric pulse of 7. The tonality of the piece centers around a G minor 11th chord. It is primarily in Phrygian mode, but much of the melodic line derives from C pentatonic minor.

Unspoken

When you truly share an emotional bond with someone, sometimes you don't even need to speak. You can just look into their eyes, and everything is understood.

Unspoken is in traditional Sonata form (beloved by classical masters like Haydn and Mozart) with an exposition, development, recapitulation, and coda. The overall key is D major, but with parallel harmonic motion on a minor third cycle that takes it far afield. This track is graced by Jerome Fleg on clarinet and Sara Williams on oboe and flute. Their masterful woodwind playing here is its own form of unspoken dialog.

Keep The Change

When your life feels secure and your day is going well, you don’t care about a few dollars and cents. "Keep the change!""

This is a funk blues with a twist. I was always inspired by Steely Dan's ability to write tunes that sounded authentically bluesy without following the cliché 12-bar progression. My solution here was to avoid the IV chord and find other harmonic areas. I am honored to feature my longtime friend Bennett Friedman on the tenor sax. This is also one of the rare times that I played and recorded a keyboard solo, here on a delicious Hammond B3 organ patch.

Para Armando

This piece is in memory of Armando (Chick) Corea. Chick’s music was a massive influence on me. I loved his approach to fusion—remaining true to his Latin jazz roots while embracing the sound and feel of rock.

Para Armando opens with a classical guitar solo loosely based on the Spanish classic Romanza, recalling Chick’s use of Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez as the intro to Spain. This leads to an up-tempo unison line between the flute, guitar, bass, and piano reminiscent of Got a Match?, then into a Latin tune built on the chords to 500 Miles High. The metric feel moves from cut time into a compound groove alternating between 6/4 and 12/8. For my guitar tone, I was channeling Al Di Meola, Carlos Santana, and Frank Gambale. I am privileged to feature Bennett Friedman on flute and Kjell Nordeson on drums—both contributed so much to the sound of this track.

Inside

A Pandemic-inspired piece, a reflection on the complex emotions that arise from being shut off from other people for long periods of time. Musically, it is a study in eleventh chords centered in A minor but modulating through nearly every key by Tonnetz relationships in a constantly fluctuating metric pattern of 4/4, 6/8, and 7/8.

So Alive, So In Love

This tune is dedicated to my life-partner Kathy—a celebration of the everyday joys of being in a stable, loving relationship with a wonderful person. Just a straight-up 4/4 jack swing tune in the “Key of K” (B major).

Second Chance

How often in life do we crave a second chance? A do-over? One more shot?

This is one of the most complex pieces I have ever written: a slow, lush string introduction sets up the odd-time piano motif, followed by a multitude of electric guitar tones backed by punchy horn lines and Latin percussion. The meter is constantly shifting between groups of 5, 6, and 7—in some ways unpredictable, yet also relentlessly logical. The key is C minor, but freely moving between the Dorian and Phrygian modes. After a frenzied ride, the action comes to a pause with a classical guitar interlude in E-flat minor to set up the coda. The coda is based on a yearning progression from E-flat minor to B-flat minor that leads toward the final key of D-flat major. The rhythm settles into a steady pulse of 6 as the intricate handclaps return, and finally a full recapitulation of the coda from the opening track.

In the end, perhaps we all deserve a second chance.