Mari Falcone Bio

Most musicians can only dream of the kind of multi-faceted career realized by pianist, keyboardist, musical director, conductor, composer, arranger and vocalist Mari Falcone. She began her professional life in the 80s touring with Donna Summer, and has since toured with Amy Grant (the singers mainstream breakthrough Heart in Motion tour), Nell Carter, Deniece Williams, Vikki Carr, and Kevyn Lettau. Shes composed for television and film, written for Broadway, made countless television appearances, and travelled the world several times over making music.

Yet until now, there was a missing link in Falcones musical life. The creation of her all-instrumental debut recording And All This was a true labor of love encompassing her classical piano training, love for the R&B and pop music of her formative years, and her passion for gospel music. "Ive been so blessed to have so many doors open for me over the years, but its been difficult finding time to devote to original material while juggling so many behind-the-scenes activities, she says. "My songs all reflect aspects of who I am musically, and writing them was a process of discovery and rediscovery of music I hadnt explored in a long time - music without boundaries.

Without boundaries is the perfect way to describe the multitude of musical influences which inform her compositions, performance style, sense of form and production choices. As a young, developing musician growing up in suburban Chicago, Falcone took her early cues from The Beatles, Elton John, Motown, James Taylor... song driven pop music of that era. Hearing Keith Jarretts solo recordings encouraged her to follow her own musical inspiration. And since moving to LA, her career path has swung from the R & B styles of Summer and Williams to writing and playing for Christian artists like Helen Baylor, Debby Boone and Kim Hill. Mari has always risen to the occasion without losing sight of her individual style.

Growing up, I practiced classical music but I listened to pop, and I made the choice to do pop even though I was encouraged to pursue a career as a classical soloist. She adds, its not that my music sounds classical, but theres an approach, a touch that permeates it, and that ends up in my writing along with pop and jazz. Her debut is a perfectly realized blend of all these musical sensibilities.

The song My Soul is a good example of the musical stew that Mari cooks up. Her piano combines with three percussionists recorded live in a song that somehow manages to evoke Aaron Copland, stride piano, a Midwestern hoe-down and a Latin jam session all at the same time. Then theres her powerful rendition of a Bach prelude accompanied by Michito Sanchez on the cajon (from Peru - just a wooden box with a hole in it). The results are mesmerizing and stunningly unique. Other memorable moments include the eloquent solo piece Dawn, the gentle sway of the title track, the poignant sweetness of Tuscany Morning and the soulful, gently funky Song For Terri. The tender, rhythmic "Rosalina is dedicated to her Cuban-born piano teacher from her days at the University of Miami.

And All This--whose title refers to a favorite Biblical passage--begins with the energetic romp "Jojos Call, which features Pedro Eustache swooping and soaring on flute and Justo Almarios soprano sax dancing along side. "I opened with an aggressive song to confound peoples expectations, says Falcone. I am a woman and I play the piano, and that may lead to an image of something very soft and sweet. But however melodic my style is, I love rhythm too. Its two very different sides of my personality. Theres one side thats very lyrical and sensitive, and another, she says, smiling mischievously, that just wants to kick butt.
One of the highlights of the recording process for Mari was the process of joining together with other world-class musicians to realize her musical vision - musicians like Vinnie Colaiuta, Jerry Watts, Bill Maxwell and Michael Shapiro, among others. The thing I loved about these guys is that basically they played what I heard in my head. When Vinnie came in and played ŒJojos Call - which I wrote the night before the session - he just came in and immediately felt it.

Now with the release of And All This, Mari and her band (often performing in tandem with her husband, vocalist/songwriter Bill Cantos) are playing live a lot more often, and the response is gratifying. For example, My Soul is a song about my soul, but people will come up and tell me how much joy it brings them and how it feels like its about their soul. That touches me.

Its been such an amazing experience to be able to do what I love, she says. Its nice to finally have an opportunity to share a deeper side of myself with people who know me as a musical director or composer in the service of others. My great hope is that the music on And All This will speak peace to peoples hearts - even if they dont know what it is that affects them so much, they'll feel something that goes beyond words.

Mari Falcone 
And All This
Unto Him This Christmas solo piano
Mari Falcone/Bill Cantos 
Embrace the Cross: Songs About God , Volume 1
Steve Amerson 
Cross In The Road (Keyboards)
It’s Christmastime (Keyboards)
Helen Baylor 
Love Brought Me Back (Writer)
Debby Boone 
The Snow Angel (Composer, Producer, Arranger)
Bill Cantos 
Who Are You (Keyboards, Arranger, Co-Producer)
Movie In The Night Sky (Keyboards, Writer, Arranger, Co-Prod.)
Nell Carter
“The Proprietor” soundtrack (Keyboards)
Haven Come Let Us Adore Him (Writer)
Kim Hill 
The Fire Again (Keyboards)
Patti LaBelle 
This Christmas (‘96 re-release) (Keyboards)
Maranatha Music 
Praise 20 (Writer)
Minako Obata 
True Peace Of Mind (Keyboards)
Brand New Day (Producer)
Donna Summer 
All Systems Go (Vocalist)
Grammy's Greatest Moments (Keyboards - live performance)
Richard Todd 
Rickter Scale (Keyboards)
Voice Of The Homeless 2 
I’ll Be Home For Christmas (Keyboards, Arranger)
Lindsay Lloyd Wallace 
My Favorite Time Of Year (Writer)