Marshak says that, whereas his last CD, “Groovosphere (2006), was a more groove oriented record with more atmosphere and chill type of sounds, his new record, On The Rocks, “has everything (including) ballads, straight ahead jazz and South African flavors. It is really kind of risky in terms of all the elements that I put together. If I was on a label, they may have deterred me from being so diversified, but I like all of these sounds. I have my own label, so I thought I would put them all on the CD.”   

Even though Marshak acted as his own producer for the project, and many of the tunes are original compositions, he encouraged the musicians who appear on this project to bring their own attitudes and add their flavors to the music. “I want people to bring their own signatures to the music. Even (when I perform) live, I tell people, ‘What happened on the record, happened on the record, make sure you respect it, but scratch in your own name here and there,’” says Marshak. 

That sense of individual cohesiveness has contributed to an album that flows smoothly, is uplifting and, particularly with some of the tunes such as “New York Avenue” and “Did You Know,” creates that kind of mellow ambience that allows you to drift away, leaving your cares behind.  

Marshak reminds one of San Diego-based guitarist Patrick Yandall, who can lays down the smoothest of guitar licks but, when necessary, powers up the amps and breaks loose. Take for instance the title track, “On The Rocks,” of which Marshak says, “It starts cranking up the bass, and it is borderline straight ahead jazz, but with a nice song structure so it will not scare off contemporary or smooth jazz fans. There are some R&B [influences] and pop [elements] on the CD. Some people may say that the album should play from start to finish in one big sequence, but I don’t think that it has to be that way [although] in some ways it is tempting. I like to take the listener through some mysteries, travels and adventures. You have to choose your songs selectively when you are spreading it (the music) out and you are incorporating R&B, jazz and blues. You have to sit down with the songs and create a nice story from start to finish.”   
 
 

When the Springsteen song, “I’m On Fire,” was first suggested to Marshak, he was not that excited about recording it, because he had several R&B tunes that he was more interested in. Eventually, after listening to the tune, he decided to give it a go. He recorded both instrumental and vocal versions of the song, and now is quite excited about the final production.  

“The Bruce Springsteen song should [fit] not only smooth jazz, but pop rock radio as well. That will be a whole other endeavor, and is uncharted territory for us,” says Marshak.   

“The Prince tune, “Kiss,” was a song that I always loved. We played it a couple of times while just goofing around on gigs and people responded to us. I said, ‘Let’s do it,’ and the next thing I knew I had some great gospel players on it, such as Jeff Kashiwa. The song took on a life of its own,” says Marshak. 

Venturing into uncharted territory is nothing new for Marshak, and with the release of his fourth CD, he is still reveling in being an independent artist on his own label. “You aren’t boxed in; you can go ahead and be an artist without any hesitation. I can create my own vision and really shape the form. I can expand the horizons of what is [referred to] as jazz or instrumental music.” 

“Sanibel,” is another of the songs that found its way onto On The Rocks, and continues to push the guitarist’s musical boundaries even further. “It is a South African inspired piece. I had played it, but never recorded it, but people kept asking me why I hadn’t recorded it. It doesn’t have smooth jazz radio flair to it, but it does have some memorable qualities. We had two South African guys from Paul Simon’s band play on it, Bakithi Kumalo (electric bass guitar, from Soweto Township South Africa) and Maurice Goldberg (saxophone). We recorded it at my brother Chris’ studio,” says Marshak.  

What can the listener expect if they attend a Matt Marshak gig?  The guitarist/songwriter says, “The shows always tend to be funky. I like to play wildly on guitar, and during the show, I like to break it down two or three times. We also do covers of Larry Carlton’s ‘Sleepwalk,’ and Eric Clapton’s ‘Wonderful Tonight.’ Those songs make people go, ‘Wow, we didn’t know you could do that.’” 

Whether you are spinning his new CD or hearing him live, Marshak says that “The listener will get from me a heartfelt presentation. I try to get into the nuances of things, bringing the songs down and featuring solos from my band. The little nuances [are important], where the listener can say, ‘I appreciate what you guys did, and picked up on it.’ I try to go the extra length, and I am fairly fortunate that people do notice when I do that.”