Discography

Works In Progress

When a happy audience member asks “How can I get that song you guys just played?” and the work is so new it’s not even on an album yet, here’s how you can (probably) hear it.

This is “Works In Progress”. It may be a only copyright demo* (the version registered for legal purposes with the US Government Copyright Office), or a half-recorded session tape, or it could be a mastered, finished work that hasn't got a home yet in a larger work. If it’s not a final version, that just means you can join us as baby grows up! Check back now and then and see what is being created in the laboratory!

* Yes, everything here is copyrighted. All rights reserved, etc.

Blue – Pieces for Guitar Vol 3

Here are new pieces that form the core of the sucessor to "Rubato" and "Equinox". Here I am playing on my 1949 Martin D-18 dreadnaught guitar. Enjoy, and more soon!

Also: Check "Works in Progress" for the newest pieces and songs. Thanks!

The Cambridge Cowgirl

When I write for guitar, I create specific musical statements, and I like them to have space so they don’t get buried under voices and other instruments. And the vocal blend that Cindy and I have is a delicate thing: I do not want to cover it up. So here, as on “Home Isn’t Home”, is my one guitar, and Cindy and me singing a single track each.

And drums and bass when really needed (wait: what is happening to my precious concept?). Oh, yes: I also include one more musician per song to add color: pedal steel on “Worthy” and “Cambridge Cowgirl”, and banjo on “Just Listen”. Within this (smallish?) palette, we make things as huge as possible.

But, if you attend a live show, just our single voices and my guitar create the same vibe. So maybe my concept works after all!

“Cambridge Cowgirl” is a mini-album. You can download it, and I also have ‘not-full-length’ CDs available for CD loving folks. Just email me at marklemairemusic@gmail.com.

Missoula

“Missoula”: the original working title was “The Noir Project”. It started out as more jazzy and smoky- and now it’s becoming…hmmm. Not sure!

The concept is to limit myself to my one guitar, my voice, and Cindy’s voice-- the small palette of instruments we use at a live show. I try also to avoid adding lots of overdubs, but do allow a simple rhythm section and one ‘guest instrument per song- similar to “Cambridge Cowgirl”. There’s Banjo on “Missoula”, and solo horn on “Tight Spot” and “Another Man on Your Mind”. But on many songs, my single guitar does most of the work.

If we got this right, it will not seem like a limited palette to the listener, but a full meal, made with simple ingredients. Downloadable, of course, and I have inexpensive, ‘not-full-length’ CDs available for CD lovers.

Equinox

On Equinox, I am creating a musical work that flows from piece to piece without interrupting the mood. The idea is to provide a backdrop to your thoughts as you (for example) stare out the window on a foggy morning and sip your coffee.

But I also want to bring you on a journey: there are hills and valleys as we move through the music. I have asked fretless bass soloist Michael Manring to add his specific sound to some pieces. There are moody jazz-ballad drums on "Remind Me Again", and a full string section on "My Little Girl".

The physical CD is in a deluxe Digi-Pak case and sublime British oceanside photography by Neil Hulme.

Home Isn’t Home

Home Isn’t Home is the first album with Cindy Lemaire as my fellow vocalist. On this CD, we limit ourselves to my one guitar, and our two voices — the small palette of instruments we use at a live show. But sometimes I DO hear drums & bass. A few times, I added it in.

A photographer creates a different kind of composition if he restricts himself to black and white. By the same token, when musicians choose fewer instruments, they have to use them more inventively. The center of all these songs is the one guitar part and the two voices the audience hears when Cindy and I perform live.

If we got this right, it will not seem like a limited palette to the listener, but we did a lot with a little!

Rubato – Pieces For Guitar

Creative ideas often come from that space between wakefulness and sleep, the doorway between two worlds. The inspiration for Rubato comes from this twilight place of semi-consciousness. I only let others hear it after it was almost completed, for fear that any response — good or bad — might stop the creative process. Even now, that vulnerable feeling may come across when you listen. It’s not a lonely, feeling, but a solitary one.

This is the 25th anniversary reissue. I've removed certain tiny clicks and string squeaks that have annoyed me for years and now the audiophile tools exist, so ... beautiful! Also never before seen photos from the original Malcolm Lubliner shoot, plus new artwork, and a new introduction by the artist (me!) in a deluxe Digi-Pak jewel case.

Practice Makes Perfect

This album comprises many different production styles- from full-out rock band to just guitar & voice to quasi-classical. Usually, I have a single concept, a particular approach. Here, the process took place over several years, so I am in different phases..

“Companion”, for instance, has three French horns. “A Deeper Sense of the Seasons” and “Cornsilk” were recorded as a set-- both tunes have similar rock roots styles. “Deep Shade” was a guitar improvisation that I just kept adding to, playing everything. For the final touch, the incredible John Santos overdubbed all the percussion.

Just a few examples.

So the common thread that pulls this all together is my own musical identity through these years.