Michael Martinez, a pianist known for his Big Sur Marathon performances, and Sherry Finzer, who wows with evocative flute work, released an album in January and – fittingly – are celebrating with a release party.
They performed an impromptu jam together at a mutual friend’s party in Sedona last year and immediately felt an urge to team up and record.
Entitled Desert Meets Ocean, the album melds the artistic, spiritual energy of Sedona with the oceanic flow of Monterey.
Martinez composed eight of the songs in his first collaborative effort. Not knowing what to expect, when he heard Finzer play the first song, “The Joy in You,” it knocked him out. “It’s the first time I didn’t strive to do something great when writing this album,” he explains. “Something deeper comes out when you don’t try. It’s the action of letting go when the magic happens – and that’s exactly what I did.”
Martinez refers to their musical connection as a mystery, and it feels that way to Finzer, as well.
“You can’t explain it in words. It can only be felt,” she points out. “His music is very beautiful, so it’s very easy to create something with his music. We go up there to perform and this amazing magic happens. Every time we perform people are just like, ‘wow.’”
Desert Meets Ocean is also where structure meets improv. During their second performance, they created “Oceanic Bliss” and “Playful Grace.” Of those live improvisational singles, Finzer says, “That doesn’t happen with every musician that I play with, so there’s something very special.”
The intimate setting for the release party is perfect for audience interaction (at their last performance they let the audience choose the key and which flute Finzer plays).
“In this genre,” Martinez explains, “you can communicate something that can’t be communicated in words and when you get the right group of people, they resonate with that. What you feel when you play, certain people will pick up on that. And it’s truly, I think, for most people, a very transformative experience.”
Since friends are so much a part of what he does, Martinez will feature performances by Dave Holodiloff, Dennis Murphy and Wendi Kirby.
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