On both our CDs, Rob Mounsey and I had agreed that we would each bring in a ballad to the project. On the "LOCAL COLOR"(Denon) CD, Rob contributed "Mahana" and "The Blue Rose" was my entry. On our current release, "YOU ARE HERE," my ballad represents, I think, one of my favorite pieces of writing to date. "Anhelante"(which I have translated from the Spanish dictionary to mean "yearning" or "longing") is the fullest realization of my studies of the voicing style of Clare Fischer. His influence permeates this composition. Rob seemed to be most fascinated by the fact that the tune moves in and out of tempo. In general, on the CD, there is a significant Latin and Afro-Cuban presence, it's in the 'attitude' of the music and is physically supplied by the brilliant performances of percussionist Marc Quiñones. When "Anhelante" does go into tempo, it is done in the style of a 'bolero' rhythm, with Marc supplying the necessary patterns on congas, bongos, and timbales.
     Though I have enjoyed many of Clare Fischer's recordings over the years, I was greatly inspired to study his scores more closely upon hearing his CD, "LEMBRANÇAS"(Concord Picante). He performs on this CD with a '90s version of what would have been a Fender Rhodes in another time. The sound is especially beautiful and lends itself to a particular voicing style where small clusters of notes seem 'hidden' within the chord. It seems that this style does not always translate well to the acoustic piano. Perhaps the best examples of these kinds of voicings are found in the 'bolero' sections: [A-2] and [C]. Even though [A-2] can be described as a vamp over an Fm9(#7) and suggests that one might improvise using the F-melodic minor scale, if you look at bar 3 you can see that a C7(alt.) voicing is hinted at which gives the feeling of a V7(alt.) resolving to im7. The inclusion of this one chord gives the vamp a very special hypnotic quality, and if you follow only the top voice of each chord, it stands as a melody in long tones on its own.
      The composition also features the usage of one particular voicing which employs two major triads, one atop the other. The upper triad is usually in the first inversion and the lower triad in the second inversion. These appear in all the rubato sections: [A], [B], [D], and the [Tag] or the coda. You're looking at what is essentially the mini-score Rob and I used to perform the piece. For those of you who might never have seen this style of writing a lead sheet for a 'free ballad,' I should explain a couple of notations. In the rubato sections I essentially use the fermata to indicate that in the space after the chord, the player can improvise. In several places you will also see the use of a wavy line(from left to right). I employ this to indicate that, in these spaces, I may improvise something. It is telling Rob to be alert and leave the space open. Once the recording was completed I made some adjustments to the written music to accommodate improvements we made as the piece developed from the initial draft. No matter how detailed my mini-score is, I can't say enough about just how beautifully Rob consistently performed it, and with a most beautiful electric piano sound of his own creation. I really hope you enjoy listening to this piece and exploring harmonies such as this on your own.

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