US Instrumental Folk/Jazz Prog project MVI (Mark Vickness Interconnected) published the official video for the title-track from the new album “In the Rain Shadow” out on May 17, 2023. Watch the video through the YouTube player below:
I formed MVI (Mark Vickness Interconnected) in 2019. In addition to my steel string modern fingerstyle guitar parts, the initial group consisted of Mads Tolling (violin); Joseph Hebert (cello); Dan Feiszli (bass) and Ty Burhoe (tabla). Given the experiences that inspired the music on “In The Rain Shadow,” I decided to add two more musicians to the group bringing us to a total of seven. We were incredibly fortunate to include the virtuoso wind player, Matt Renzi (playing oboe, english horn and saxophone) as well as the Grammy Award winning percussionist, MB Gordy, whom I have known since graduate school at the California Institute of the Arts in the late 1970’s.
I first became exposed to the idea of an interconnected, interdependent world as a teenager. Although I had virtually no exposure to music outside the Western tradition growing up, that changed once I got to college. I was mentored by a composer and Jazz pianist (Relly Raffman) who urged me to expand my musical horizons as much as possible. So I began to study and play music from India and West Africa as well as broaden my understanding of European music and the vast array of Western Popular Music (Jazz, Rock, Folk, Funk, Blues, Soul, etc.). As a result, I eventually became the kind of musician that reflects the reality of the interconnected world we live in. MVI is intended to embody that idea.
As a composer, this is my dream ensemble. Each musician is an accomplished soloist adept at many different types of music. They all bring an astounding breadth and depth of musical understanding and experience. There is almost no style of music, no musical culture or era that we cannot draw from. We have a classical trio (violin, cello, oboe), a Jazz quartet, percussion instruments from almost every continent and culture, and virtuoso players capable of playing pretty much anything I put in front of them from funk to raga style improvisation, from interwoven counterpoint to Rock power chords, from a fast Irish 12/8 romp to an ambient textural musical tapestry and more – they do it all with ease and with an infectious energy that is palpable on every track. I could not be more grateful to be able work with these remarkable musicians!
Purchase and Stream the album here: https://mvi.hearnow.com/
Tracklist:
- High Desert (4:35)
- The Gorge (5:04)
- Alluvial Fans (5:04)
- Stillness (for Will) (5:02)
- Roadrunner (4:52)
- Rupak (for Ty) (3:34)
- Cloud Shadows (5:23)
- On The Cliffs Of Mohr (4:42)
- In The Rain Shadow (3:55)
Lineup:
Mark Vickness / Acoustic & Electric Guitars
Dan Feiszli / Upright & Electric Bass
Joseph Hebert / Cello
Mads Tolling / Violin
Matt Renzi / Oboe, English Horn, Saxophone
Ty Burhoe / Tablas
MB Gordy / Percussion
