Gary Marks (musician)
Template:Infobox Musical Artist / Author
Gary Marks is a modern rock songwriter, novelist, lead vocalist, rock and jazz pianist, and guitarist. Marks has arranged and produced dozens of records throughout his career. His most recent album, No Turning Back, was released in April 2013.
Biography[edit]
Marks gained initial popularity in the 1970s in New York and California with albums such as Gathering, Upon Oanda’s Wing, and Thoughts of Why. Decades later, all three recordings were dubbed “folk-rock classics” by the international press when they were re-released in Europe and Asia starting in 2006.[1]
The players on Marks’ first three recordings included guitarist John Scofield,[2] virtuoso horn player Paul McCandless[3] of “Oregon,” pianist Art Lande[4] (ECM Records), trumpet player and film score writer Mark Isham,[5] vibraphonist David Samuels,[6] and pianist Michael Cochrane.[7]
A 2017 review by Rush Hour Distributions in Europe had this to say about Gathering: "In 1973, at the age of 22, singer-songwriter Gary Marks self-produced his first album, Gathering. It is now considered a classic — a totally unique amalgam of folk-rock-jazz that seems to get richer and more powerful through the years." It came out on the prestigious but tiny "JCOA" label, run by Carla Bley. Original copies go for $400–500 on eBay nowadays, since it has never been reissued. Kindred Spirits found a copy in Jazzanova's collection and contacted Gary Marks, who is still very much active as a musician/writer, to license to album.[8]
"What makes the album extra special is the fact that the band included guitar legend John Scofield, the renowned jazz pianist Michael Cochrane, and one of the top vibraphonists in the world, David Samuels. At the time, none of them were known to the general public. In fact, Gathering was the recording debut for each of them. "Gary played the guitar and sang live with the band on these tracks. No overdubs were used, and all nine tracks were first takes."[8]
Art Lande, Paul McCandless, and Mark Isham joined Scofield and Samuels on the Upon Oanda’s Wing and Thoughts of Why recordings. Jazz Magazine’s W. Patrick Hinely wrote, "A flow chart of 'Upon Oanda's Wing' might closely resemble some of Milton Nasciemento's EMI albums, which still serve as a paragon for anyone trying to be equally convincing across the board, from tight vocals and arrangements to wide open instrumental playing."[9]
In 1985 Marks’ music took a stylistic turn. His fourth major album release, Only Time Can Tell, gathered together notable rock players in the San Francisco Bay Area. One of the songs, "Only Time Can Tell," was covered by Teresa Trull on her album A Step Away, and received international airplay. When reviewing Marks’ recording of Only Time Can Tell, Larry Kelp of the Oakland Tribune wrote, “Marks shows a knack for combining a catchy and memorable song with mature and often brilliant lyrics about love . . . and finding a place in the world . . . a rare thing in the world of commercial music.”[10]
Even though Marks would go on to release seven more recordings, he dropped out of the public eye and stopped touring after the release of Only Time Can Tell in order to focus on his novel writing.
Marks has written over a dozen novels and a number of non-fiction works. His first novel, written in 1988, was a book set in the late 1960s, titled The Dance and The Diamond Sky. Sherry Robb[11] of Robb Literary, Los Angeles wrote: "An amazing book, beautifully written, about a critical time in our country's history. Though this coming of age tale is about a time decades removed, 'The Dance and the Diamond Sky' generates wisdom that directly reflects upon the internal and external struggles we face today. There are no clichés here. There is humor, plenty of drama, and a great ending. A story that needed to be written finally was."
Marks also released his second rock album in 1988, The Real World, which brought him further commercial success as a songwriter. Cris Williamson and Teresa Trull recorded three songs from The Real World. Bay Area music reviewer Derk Richardson wrote in BAM (Bay Area Music Magazine) about The Real World: "Superb songcraft . . . keen arrangements. If familiar reference points are Steve Winwood and Bruce Hornsby, Marks demonstrates as much care to the architecture of a song as those two certified platinum stars did on their most recent outings. Each song is intelligent, exceptional . . .”
Since the 1990s Marks has continued to work in the literary world while also writing and recording songs. For his latest CD, released in 2013, “No Turning Back,” Marks composed and performed all of his electric guitar tracks in open tunings.
Discography[edit]
Recordings[edit]
- 2013 No Turning Back
- 2010 From Here
- 2007 A Whisper Can Change the World
- 2003 Self Portraits
- 1999 Bountiful
- 1994 If All They Said Was True
- 1988 The Real World
- 1985 Only Time Can Tell
- 1977 Thoughts of Why
- 1975 Upon Oanda’s Wing
- 1973 Gathering
International Re-releases[edit]
- 2016 Gathering / re-release in Japan and Asia
- 2013 Thoughts of Why / re-release in Japan and Asia
- 2012 Upon Oanda's Wing / re-release in Japan and Asia
- 2007 Gathering / re-release in Europe
- 2005 Anthology II for iTunes
- 2005 Anthology I for iTunes
Publications[edit]
Novels[edit]
- 2019 Lilly's Last Words
- 2017 Beyond Henry
- 2016 Autobiography of an AI
- 2015 My Name Was Don
- 2015 Shelby's River
- 2014 Emily's Game
- 2013 WOW
- 2012 Rain Dreams
- 2010 Journey Through the Riotous Dark
- 2009 (T)here
- 2009 Somewhere Beautiful
- 2007 Super Star
- 2007 Orbiting Chaos
- 1991 The Fall of Eros
- 1988 The Dance and the Diamond Sky
- 1968 Timshel's Choice
Non-Fiction[edit]
1990 / 1991 Gary Marks Piano Method Books I and II 2019 The Book of Is
References[edit]
- ↑ http://www.inpartmaint.com/#/post-8469. Retrieved May 13, 2014
- ↑ http://www.johnscofield.com/. Retrieved May 12, 2014
- ↑ http://www.paulmccandless.com/. Retrieved May 12, 2014
- ↑ http://www.artlande.com/. Retrieved May 12, 2014
- ↑ http://www.isham.com. Retrieved May 12, 2014
- ↑ http://www.dsamuels.com/ Archived 2014-06-05 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 12, 2014
- ↑ http://www.michaelcochrane.com/. Retrieved May 12, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 (2017) Review from Rush Hour http://www.rushhour.nl/distribution_detailed.php?item=38598
- ↑ Kindred Spirits | Artists. Retrieved May 8, 2014
- ↑ Kelp, Larry.(1985) Oakland Tribune. Retrieved May 7, 2014
- ↑ Robb, Sherry.(1988) http://www.therobbcompany.com/home.html. Retrieved May 15, 2014
External links[edit]
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- American rock songwriters
- American male songwriters
- 20th-century American novelists
- American rock singers
- American rock pianists
- American male pianists
- American jazz pianists
- American rock guitarists
- American male guitarists
- 21st-century American novelists
- 1950 births
- American male singers
- American male novelists
- Songwriters from New York (state)
- Guitarists from New York City
- 20th-century American male writers
- 21st-century American male writers
- Novelists from New York (state)
- 20th-century American guitarists
- 20th-century American pianists
- Jazz musicians from New York (state)
- 21st-century American pianists
- 20th-century American male musicians
- 21st-century American male musicians
- Male jazz musicians
