MARK WADE - Songs From Isolation
Self Release - www.markwademusicny.com
Mark Wade (bass)
Mark Wade has come a long way since I reviewed his home recorded 'Event Horizon' which was then taken on by Edition46. After picking up his first electric bass as a teenager, Mark Wade taught himself and became good enough to gain a place at New York University, studying with renowned bassist Mike Richmond who encouraged him to take up acoustic bass for jazz along the way in his B.A course and hone his arco ( bowing) technique and sight-reading abilities in order to better play European classical music. Richmond, along with Ray Brown, Paul Chambers, Scott LaFaro, Michael Moore, and Red Mitchell remain influences on Wade's work and style. Now almost 25 years on, Wade has had a career as a professional bassist in New York City and performed at Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Blue Note, Birdland, and other venues as well as in Europe and the UK. He has played with James Spaulding, Eddie Palmieri, Conrad Herwig, Harry Whitaker, Pete McGuinness, Peter Eldridge, Don Byron, and appeared on The Today Show with Stacey Kent. Wade is a faculty member of the jazz department at Lehigh University.
I reviewed both his previous releases 'Event Horizon' and 'Moving Day'. Even two years on from its release 'Moving Day' is getting new reviews as different people find it. Mark is one of those musicians where, not only is his music thoughtfully arranged and put together but it tells a narrative which the listener understands even if they have not read a press release. 'Songs From Isolation' - an EP of 5 tracks - is no exception. A solo project, made during a global pandemic the numbers tell the stories of different aspects of life, from the multi layered interchanges of 'Intents and Purposes' to the blues of 'Isolation Blues' which relate to the listener a sense of change.
COVIC -19 meant live gigs stopped and incomes fell off a cliff in an instant. Country after country succumbed. Musicians, creative as ever, used whatever tools they had, mostly technology and virtual gatherings, collaborations and gigs bbecame the norm. Mark Wade decided a global pandemic was the right time to produce and release a solo project. It was something he had always wanted to try but never had time for so, why not now? One of the greatest challenges was getting to know the technology and for Wade, this was a learning curve and one which proved him a diligent student.
Creating a solo work also meant Mark Wade could really explore the depths and range of both electric bass and acoustic bass in ways he had not been able to before. In the recordings, Mark Wade uses the body of the acoustic double bass and strings to produce percussive, resonant sounds, whilst also using the full extent of the strings' bowed effects. To this he adds the acoustic bass, an instrument which he describes as his first love and the joy of including it here is clear.
With the music come 5 videos which are integral to the release. Five different looks, five different ways of exploring video technique. The recommended experience is to listen to the music first and then turn the videos on - you get 2 different stories of each track , one with just audio input and the other as the visuality alters perception which demonstrates how the videos emphasise of change the perception of each number.
'Hours 'Til Dawn' is a tune that shifts between a straight eighth feel and swing feel in 3/4. The foot tapping rhythm set up by the acoustic in the opening phrases is taken over by first a duet of acoustic and upright bass and then bowed double bass. The counter rhythm in one phrase used by the
upright bass against its bowed self makes for interest. The use of the bow adds beautiful and grounds the piece cleverly. A second listen with the video switched on adds elements which you might miss using just audio whilst listening with audio allows you to pick up things you miss in the video interpretation like the ghost notes as the player passes over strings to play the one intended. Win-win.
'Intents and Purposes' is a merge of four distinct musical vignettes - possibly more as two of them have a split time. The first is a gentle harmonics on the electric bass in upper register, the second a gorgeous song from the upright, deep and emotive. The third is created on plucked upright, the vibration clear and the colourful changes creative, as it evolves into a swung, rhythmic patterned section. The fourth is another bowed section which now sighs across the top of the rest. Next the sections are merged and different rhythms evolve from each pattern making it feel like more than 4 explorative solo extensions. Now is the time to remind yourself this is all one player. The video watch is surprising because you get a second feel for the piece. Now you have a choice. Aurally, the music speaks one language but accompany it with the video as it switches from stairways, to walkways, from dark places to light and you get a different narrative. It is off balanced and well, weird but enjoyable at the same time. It also gives maybe an insight into the mind of the composer and how he saw the music.
'A Conspiracy of Lemurs' ( more than one lemur is a conspiracy) follows Wade on a walk around his neighborhood absorbed by his smartphone. This track features a funky groove and slick melody that again pairs the electric and acoustic bass. The body of the upright is used to create reverberating beats. The sounds of the city which can be heard at the beginning, are drowned out as the music takes over. With the video this makes sense as Wade sits in a park, the sounds of the city all around him, plugs in his smartphone headphones and now the music drowns the city out. Mark watches as he trades solo ideas with himself on both basses and switches on to the music and out of the surroundings in an instant. Both the upright solo work and the electric bass solo are impressive and the track demonstrates not only Wade's musical ability but also how intuitively he understands how to use both types of bass to their best effect.
'Blues in Isolation' was the first track I heard from the release set. I was impressed then and now several listens on I am still impressed. This is an acoustic track featuring a heavy, blues rhythm and a quirky, lighter groove, which adds texture and pattern to the rhythmic form. Percussive rhythms added by the body of the bass give it a kick and when you add to the mix some pretty darn good bowed bass solos and there is nothing not to like. This is a great bluesey number and possibly the stand out track from the release, not least for the emergent bass solo around the three minute mark where Wade takes the rhythm motif and continues with it , lifting it out into the solo - which is emotive and gorgeous. The video has a poignant start with quiet roads, the sound of birdsongs heard in the city with less traffic before the visuals switch to Mark playing.
The final track 'Nothing Like You' features vocalist Teri Leggio Wade, to pay tribute to the late Bob Dorough. Together they perform Gil Evans’ arrangement of the number from the 1967 Miles Davis release 'Sorcerer' using Wade's favorite arrangement of the number and Evans' original version (which includes no piano). The video is interesting, with the Wades undergoing several costume changes - Terri has a dozen in the just over two minutes of the song, so you get an injection of fun and light heartedness.
There are moments in the recordings when the rhythm is slightly off kilter and the tempo of one recorded part takes a second or two to catch the other parts but that, in a strange way, adds to the attraction of this music, especially when you know the background. As you listen, the character of the player comes through. . This is a complete project and one which will inspire fellow musicians and anyone who thinks C-19 won in any way.
Reviewed by Sammy Stein
Self Release - www.markwademusicny.com
Mark Wade (bass)
Mark Wade has come a long way since I reviewed his home recorded 'Event Horizon' which was then taken on by Edition46. After picking up his first electric bass as a teenager, Mark Wade taught himself and became good enough to gain a place at New York University, studying with renowned bassist Mike Richmond who encouraged him to take up acoustic bass for jazz along the way in his B.A course and hone his arco ( bowing) technique and sight-reading abilities in order to better play European classical music. Richmond, along with Ray Brown, Paul Chambers, Scott LaFaro, Michael Moore, and Red Mitchell remain influences on Wade's work and style. Now almost 25 years on, Wade has had a career as a professional bassist in New York City and performed at Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Blue Note, Birdland, and other venues as well as in Europe and the UK. He has played with James Spaulding, Eddie Palmieri, Conrad Herwig, Harry Whitaker, Pete McGuinness, Peter Eldridge, Don Byron, and appeared on The Today Show with Stacey Kent. Wade is a faculty member of the jazz department at Lehigh University.
I reviewed both his previous releases 'Event Horizon' and 'Moving Day'. Even two years on from its release 'Moving Day' is getting new reviews as different people find it. Mark is one of those musicians where, not only is his music thoughtfully arranged and put together but it tells a narrative which the listener understands even if they have not read a press release. 'Songs From Isolation' - an EP of 5 tracks - is no exception. A solo project, made during a global pandemic the numbers tell the stories of different aspects of life, from the multi layered interchanges of 'Intents and Purposes' to the blues of 'Isolation Blues' which relate to the listener a sense of change.
COVIC -19 meant live gigs stopped and incomes fell off a cliff in an instant. Country after country succumbed. Musicians, creative as ever, used whatever tools they had, mostly technology and virtual gatherings, collaborations and gigs bbecame the norm. Mark Wade decided a global pandemic was the right time to produce and release a solo project. It was something he had always wanted to try but never had time for so, why not now? One of the greatest challenges was getting to know the technology and for Wade, this was a learning curve and one which proved him a diligent student.
Creating a solo work also meant Mark Wade could really explore the depths and range of both electric bass and acoustic bass in ways he had not been able to before. In the recordings, Mark Wade uses the body of the acoustic double bass and strings to produce percussive, resonant sounds, whilst also using the full extent of the strings' bowed effects. To this he adds the acoustic bass, an instrument which he describes as his first love and the joy of including it here is clear.
With the music come 5 videos which are integral to the release. Five different looks, five different ways of exploring video technique. The recommended experience is to listen to the music first and then turn the videos on - you get 2 different stories of each track , one with just audio input and the other as the visuality alters perception which demonstrates how the videos emphasise of change the perception of each number.
'Hours 'Til Dawn' is a tune that shifts between a straight eighth feel and swing feel in 3/4. The foot tapping rhythm set up by the acoustic in the opening phrases is taken over by first a duet of acoustic and upright bass and then bowed double bass. The counter rhythm in one phrase used by the
upright bass against its bowed self makes for interest. The use of the bow adds beautiful and grounds the piece cleverly. A second listen with the video switched on adds elements which you might miss using just audio whilst listening with audio allows you to pick up things you miss in the video interpretation like the ghost notes as the player passes over strings to play the one intended. Win-win.
'Intents and Purposes' is a merge of four distinct musical vignettes - possibly more as two of them have a split time. The first is a gentle harmonics on the electric bass in upper register, the second a gorgeous song from the upright, deep and emotive. The third is created on plucked upright, the vibration clear and the colourful changes creative, as it evolves into a swung, rhythmic patterned section. The fourth is another bowed section which now sighs across the top of the rest. Next the sections are merged and different rhythms evolve from each pattern making it feel like more than 4 explorative solo extensions. Now is the time to remind yourself this is all one player. The video watch is surprising because you get a second feel for the piece. Now you have a choice. Aurally, the music speaks one language but accompany it with the video as it switches from stairways, to walkways, from dark places to light and you get a different narrative. It is off balanced and well, weird but enjoyable at the same time. It also gives maybe an insight into the mind of the composer and how he saw the music.
'A Conspiracy of Lemurs' ( more than one lemur is a conspiracy) follows Wade on a walk around his neighborhood absorbed by his smartphone. This track features a funky groove and slick melody that again pairs the electric and acoustic bass. The body of the upright is used to create reverberating beats. The sounds of the city which can be heard at the beginning, are drowned out as the music takes over. With the video this makes sense as Wade sits in a park, the sounds of the city all around him, plugs in his smartphone headphones and now the music drowns the city out. Mark watches as he trades solo ideas with himself on both basses and switches on to the music and out of the surroundings in an instant. Both the upright solo work and the electric bass solo are impressive and the track demonstrates not only Wade's musical ability but also how intuitively he understands how to use both types of bass to their best effect.
'Blues in Isolation' was the first track I heard from the release set. I was impressed then and now several listens on I am still impressed. This is an acoustic track featuring a heavy, blues rhythm and a quirky, lighter groove, which adds texture and pattern to the rhythmic form. Percussive rhythms added by the body of the bass give it a kick and when you add to the mix some pretty darn good bowed bass solos and there is nothing not to like. This is a great bluesey number and possibly the stand out track from the release, not least for the emergent bass solo around the three minute mark where Wade takes the rhythm motif and continues with it , lifting it out into the solo - which is emotive and gorgeous. The video has a poignant start with quiet roads, the sound of birdsongs heard in the city with less traffic before the visuals switch to Mark playing.
The final track 'Nothing Like You' features vocalist Teri Leggio Wade, to pay tribute to the late Bob Dorough. Together they perform Gil Evans’ arrangement of the number from the 1967 Miles Davis release 'Sorcerer' using Wade's favorite arrangement of the number and Evans' original version (which includes no piano). The video is interesting, with the Wades undergoing several costume changes - Terri has a dozen in the just over two minutes of the song, so you get an injection of fun and light heartedness.
There are moments in the recordings when the rhythm is slightly off kilter and the tempo of one recorded part takes a second or two to catch the other parts but that, in a strange way, adds to the attraction of this music, especially when you know the background. As you listen, the character of the player comes through. . This is a complete project and one which will inspire fellow musicians and anyone who thinks C-19 won in any way.
Reviewed by Sammy Stein
