For those not in the know, Mark Vickness began his musical training on piano at age six.

The road from there to the modern fingerstyle guitarist he is today included a bachelor’s and master’s degree in composition, studies in classical piano, guitar, sitar and tabla.

Add to all that years as a performing jazz guitarist, composer and arranger, several film scores and two decades of recording and performing as the instrumental half of the acoustic fusion duo, Glass House (with singer David Worm - and which has thus far released three CD’s and an EP), and you can clearly see a man dedicated, still, to honing his craft.

Mark’s performing experience spans a huge range of genres from free improvisation to West African drum and dance ensembles, from Motown and funk bands to big band jazz and orchestral conducting.

Indeed, Mark has a unique approach to solo modern fingerstyle guitar. He plays custom instruments including a baritone guitar built by renowned luthier Michael Greenfield, an eight string guitar which Mark helped design with luthier Matt Mustapick and an eighteen string acoustic double neck.

In addition to original tunings and the extended use of percussive effects, tapping, harmonics and effects, Mark employs sympathetic resonance in how he strings and tunes his guitars to produce a lush, rich sound.

Three years after releasing his debut solo CD, Places, Mark has just released his brand new album, Interconnected. Featuring four new solo modern fingerstyle compositions and four original pieces with his new ensemble (who are also named Interconnected), the ensemble brings together two-time Grammy-winning violinist, Mads Tolling, cellist Joseph Hebert, Dan Feiszli on upright and electric bass and tabla virtuoso, Ty Burhoe.

1. 'Interwoven' (ensemble)
2. 'Grey Skye' (solo)
3. 'Hot Apple Stuff' (ensemble studio version)
4. 'Bodega Blue' (solo)
5. '6 in 7' (ensemble)
6. 'Mia Lucia' (solo)
7. 'For Every Child' (trio)
8. 'Hot Apple Stuff' (live) (ensemble)
9. 'One Day Over A Thousand' (solo)

A totally unique artistic vision, Mark along with Interconnected approach musical creation as a solemn opportunity to express the interconnectedness of humanity, and of all things, through the universal language of music here on Interconnected, which culminates in an exquisite work of musical art.

This magnificent, truly magical at times, free flowing and oh-so wonderfully rich embodiment of free-form Jazz, classical guitar, amidst a sea of New Age and Folk-inspired, modern day compositions, opens with the gorgeous, cinematic at times 'Interwoven' (ensemble) and backs that up with the Latin-flavored acoustic guitar work of 'Grey Skye' (solo), the playful, Celtic-embroidered 'Hot Apple Stuff' (ensemble studio version), and then we get both the sterner, more stoically imbued guitar work of 'Bodega Blue' (solo) and the ethereally-inspired, hypnotic Celtic vibe of '6 in 7' (ensemble).

The ornate guitar work of 'Mia Lucia' (solo) is up next and is followed by the precise, yet soothingly opulent 'For Every Child' (trio), a live recording of 'Hot Apple Stuff' (ensemble), with the album closing on the sweepingly melodious milieu of 'One Day Over A Thousand' (solo).

“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," Mark explains.

"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. Some of the pieces on Interconnected come from a deeply personal place."

"'For Every Child' was written for every person who has either experienced or known someone who has gone through the trauma of losing their innocence to childhood sexual abuse as I did before age ten."

"'One Day Over A Thousand' is dedicated to all those who lost their lives to Covid-19, and to my dear friend Holli Ross, who died while this piece was being written.”

Official 'Interwoven' Music Video

www.MarkVickness.com