Not Free Jazz. Not some esoteric concept album that you either “get or don’t get.” Not music that you have to work at. A great CD to put on and groove to as are all the No Explanations projects. At our first live show in 2014, we opened with a song that we composed on the spot. This was our way of warming up and establishing our connection together while people were actually watching and listening. We called that piece No Explanations.
That is exactly what we did this time in the studio. We used that chord progression to warm up. It became the title track. Then we proceeded to create all new material on the spot, on the fly, for the rest of the CD. Because the songs were created in the moment, we decided that the titles should simply be a listing of the actual time it took to create the pieces. With the exception of the talking in between tracks, this CD only took as long to record as it takes to listen to. No Explanations is actually a “live-to-tape,” completely spontaneous recording, never to be duplicated.
The Prophet, is a composed song which we built together, and then added vocals to. There is an out-take from Round Trip called a Moment of Peace, which we really enjoyed playing in 2014, and wanted to share with our listeners now. There is a solo, country, guitar piece, (Yep! Country - because we can), composed by Mark and performed by Dan called Mountain Air. No Explanations is a true jazz CD in the sense that it involves improvisation at the highest level of communication. It is a classical CD in the sense that the best classical musicians have always been able to create on the fly. That is what composition is: Improvisation slowed down and then documented.
The Round Trip CD (2014), is a combination of written material and sketches that were built on the fly in the studio. The entire Joie de Vivre recording (2015), started out as a jam session between Dan and Mark and it lead to documented pieces with minimal improvisation. Our Christmas CD, December Moment (2015), is a collection of Christmas classics presented in a traditional jazz trio format, with little deviation from the original melodies. Our latest outing, No Explanations, is a completely spontaneous work of art. It occurred in the studio on April 20, 2016. We are certain that you will find it to be an uplifting and enjoyable listening experience.
We will now take the chords and themes that we came up with for this recording, and perform them live, as often as possible, until we have honed our skills further as improvisors and listeners. The studio is more risky than the live arena if one is to truly throw caution to the wind. We did not find this project to be scary or risky at all. Years of practice, and trust in our mutual friendship eliminates all risk. Couple that with the fact that all good music comes from God, and we are unconcerned with the judgments of anyone. We are pleased to offer another eclectic recording to our fans.
No one creates from nothing. God is always present during the creative process, and He is, without question, the initiator of the process. You have here a jazz album well worth the price of the project, and a band of brothers in Dan and Mark that you, the listener, can trust to always be offering the real deal.
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| Dan Leonard |
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| Mark Christopher Brandt |
01. No Explanations
02. 3:35
03. 4:14
04. 6:04
05. 6:01
06. 2:57
07. 3:17
08. 6:22
09. 6:02
10. 3:37
11. The Prophet
12. A Moment of Peace (Alternate take from Round Trip Sessions)
13. Mountain Air
Dan Leonard: guitar
Mark Christopher Brandt: acoustic piano
The voice of The Prophet, James Majewski
All music composed by Leonard/Brandt except The Prophet, A Moment of Peace, and Mountain Air, composed by Mark Christopher Brandt. All songs ©2016 Heart of the Lion Publishing Co/BMI. All rights reserved.
