The
music community is buzzing with excitement about the debut CD release
by guitarist Dennis Haklar titled 'Lizard's Tale', featuring guest
performances by music legends Jon Anderson (YES) and Larry Coryell.
Also featuring Mark Egan on bass (known for his work with Pat
Metheny) and Thierry Arpino (known for his work with Jean-luc Ponty) on drums, 'Lizard's Tale' is an
enchanting, dynamic jazz-inspired album filled with emotional
virtuosic performances.
"Dennis
Haklar asked me to sing on his very inspired album earlier this year,
we had already been working on a large scale project dealing with
Ancient Asian music, so it was such fun to hear what he was creating.
I said I would enjoy singing ideas as they came to me, and to join
vocally with such great musicians. It has been a pleasure for me to
sing on this album, I hope that people will find time to relax and
enjoy." - Jon Anderson
Hailing
from Amboy, New Jersey, Haklar studied jazz guitar at an early age.
At Rutgers University he became interested in Electronic music and
worked with a modular Arp 2600 synthesizer with many osc modules,
sequencing, as well as several reel-to-reel tape machines, creating
sounds in unorthodox ways. After college he joined the Improvising
Structures Ensemble, which was an avant garde outfit that performed
the music of John Cage, Terry Riley, as well as original
compositions. Dennis entered one of his pieces into a young composers
competition and won a student membership to IRCAM in France. This
culminated in a master class with Pierre Boulez at Carnegie Hall; an
evening he conducted and premiered his masterpiece "Explosante Fixe".
Haklar confesses "I was never the same after that divine
experience!"
And
how did Dennis Haklar secure such music icons as Jon Anderson and
Larry Coryell to perform on his debut album? Dennis explains, "A
few years ago I began to collaborate over the internet with Jon
Anderson on a large-scale work. Charka Music, very involved. I had
also sent him some music I had written. He sang on several pieces and
we continue to collaborate. When I was working on composing the music
to 'Lizard's Tale', I had sent Jon four compositions we had just
recorded in the studio – 'Leap Of Faith', 'Prelude To Dawn', 'Dawn
Of An Era' and 'Crossing Over'. He quickly responded with the perfect
vocal tracks and really helped convey the meaning of the songs. I
love working with Jon!" As far as connecting with guitar legend
Larry Coryell, says Dennis, "I had known Larry Coryell for several
years studying jazz improvisation and composition with him. I had
presented some songs to him that I was preparing for this project and
asked if he would be interested in playing on the recording session
and producing it. He agreed and we got to work straight away. We had
composed the title track in one sitting. As the project developed we
had agreed that the best rhythm section for this would be bassist
Mark Egan and drummer Thierry Arpino."
"This
was a great session - it was a real 'Jersey-New York' thing complete
with bedbugs in the hotel down the street from the studio, which was
either too hot or too cold - plus there was all kinds of equipment and
mechanical problems. Nothing went smoothly - hence it was a great
record, sometimes it's like that. Dennis's European-inspired work ethic
also paid off - especially for his compositions and arrangements. One
twelve-string part he wrote for me was not easy to play, and he was
makin' me sweat - but I got it after he showed me the correct fingering.
Mark Egan and Thierry Arpino were superb - we've been playing together
for some years now, and they are a tight team. I was blown away by the
beautiful contribution made by the great Jon Anderson - I've always been
a fan, and he certainly has evolved to a special place in the vocal
spectrum. And so in tune!! It was a crazy session - and a good one -
that's why I nicknamed this date as 'Denny and the Mad Hungarians'." -
Larry Coryell
The
concept behind 'Lizard's Tale' is awareness. The lizard represents
friendship, and is quick to escape from harms way. The lizard can
survive for long periods of time in harsh environments. The pieces on
'Lizards Tale' evoke the ability to look inward for peace and harmony
with the universe, to flow with it. "Leap Of Faith" is about
courage to face the unknown and leap without fear. "Dawn Of An Era" is
about the realization that this is not the same world as your
fathers and we must adapt to survive, like the lizard. As the lizard
runs across the desert, he looks to the heavens and dreams of
crossing over. We journey with the lizard.
In
closing, Dennis has this message to impart to his listeners: "Look
inward to find that place of peace. Move towards the realization that
we all come from a place of love. There are always conflicts
surrounding. Unrest is an ever-changing world. Let go of bad energy
and amp the good. My wish is that people hearing the music will
become a part of it, and allow it to become part of them."
Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com
Jazz from Amazon.com
No comments:
Post a Comment