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Gathering includes guitar legend John Scofield, the amazing jazz pianist Michael Cochrane, and one the of the top vibraphonists in the world, David Samuels. But at the time none of them were known to the general public. In fact, Gathering was the recording debut for all of us.
I was “discovered” while playing a solo gig in New York at The Mercer Arts Center. A recording engineer, who called himself Michael Tapes, asked me if I wanted to record for free at one of the best recording studios in the city, and of course I said yes. He asked me if I had a band. I didn’t. But of course, I said yes, because why pass up the opportunity to record with a full band? So he told me to let him know when we were ready.
After jamming with a number of local players back in Boston where I lived, no one felt like the right fit. I needed to find players with their own unique sound. So I went into the music departments at Berklee School of Music and the New England Conservatory and wandered through the hallways, listening to students playing in the practice rooms.
I met Michael Cochrane because he was playing an amazing solo over a jazz piece. So I knocked at his practice room door and asked him if he wanted to record with me in New York. “Like, what? Who are you?” was his initial response (or something like that)!
Of course, I had my 12 string guitar with me. So I sat on the floor and sang him some of my songs. We immediately connected. I said, “We need a guitar player. Who’s the best guitar player in Boston?” So he gave me John Scofield’s phone number.
I met John at his apartment and played him Ballad for Autumn Eyes. He agreed to be in the band. I said, “Great! Who’s the best vibes player in Boston?” He gave me David Samuels’ phone number. And they became the core of my band for my first three albums.
I did not know how to read music notation, and still don’t. In fact I didn’t even know the names of some of the chords I was playing at the time. So David had to create chord charts for all the songs.
We were all in our early twenties. It was the first time any of us had ever been in a recording studio. So, even though Ultra Sonic Studios had 16 tracks (keeping up with The Beatles in those days) none of us knew we could play tracks separately, or that we could punch in if we made a mistake.
So we set up in a big circle, like we did during our rehearsals in Michael’s living room, and recorded every song live, no overdubs. As it turned out, all nine tracks were first takes.
Gary Marks (December 2024)