VILLIERS AND THE VILLAINS – Songs Of Love And Fate (own label TVATV0915)

From Jazz Times and All About Jazz:

New CD Release By Veteran Jazz Harpist Scott Marischen Jazz Harp Like You Have Never Heard December 20, 2011

The long awaited CD by veteran Jazz Harpist Scott Marischen has been released this week. The triumphant music on Alligator Alley showcases Scott’s incredible talent for transforming what is considered by many a classical and traditional instrument, to a Jazz instrument. Scott treats the harp as an improvisational instrument of Jazz allowing for a much richer experience and boundless style. The tone of his harp is unlike any other and stands alone as a unique and full sound that provides depth to the tracks in a way not heard in any other release or by any other harpist

Scott performs mostly originals on this CD. His compositions are deep and introspective with rich melodies and a depth only a seasoned veteran can achieve.

Scott has been performing professionally in the South Florida area for over 30 years and has written, produced and played his entire career. He manages a full time event music business, working with professional musicians all over the state of Florida. He writes, transcribes, and plays full time and is well known as an incredible talent and a consummate professional. This CD has been a long time in the making. Scott plays live almost daily, and has always been asked for recordings for as long as he can remember.

“On many of the gigs I play someone usually asks me if I have a CD they can buy or where to get a recording. I just never really thought about it seriously since I am primarily a live musician. It was just about time…” Scott says. “It was difficult to narrow down what tracks to record, and how many. I have so many songs in my repertoire that I have written, played, and covered. I just picked out my favorites and what I thought would be the most consumable for this release. I have a long and extremely diverse list of songs that I would like to do on the next CD. Maybe get a little more introspective and do like a ten minute break down and build… I just didn’t want to do that on this first CD.”

Scott plans to start working on his next recording and is planning for Winter of 2015 release.

“Master harpist Scott Marischen and his band enthralled jazz lovers at the . Ana said, “ . . . good music to breathe in . . . makes me thankful to be alive and to be here . . . ” The band was Hal Roland on piano, steel drums & vocals, Matthew J. Bonelli on bass, Steve Rucker on drums, and Scott Marischen on harp.”

——————————————————————————-

“We wanted to have a guitar duo play our ceremony and cocktail hour so we contacted Tropics Entertainment about two flamenco guitarists we were interested in. They put us in touch with Scott Marischen who is a harpist but also a classically trained guitarist. I explained to Scott that we were looking for a guitar duo to play a lot of classic rock and modern songs. Matt plays guitar and I’m a huge fan guitar fan as well so this was super important to us. In talking with Scott he explained that the flamenco guitarists may not be the best route b/c they would have to learn all the songs and he said he already knew how to play a lot of the stuff we were requesting like the Beatles, Led Zepplin, Steely Dan etc. I told him the 3 songs we wanted for our ceremony and mentioned Little Martha by the Allman Brothers for the recessional. He said he didn’t know it but would be willing to learn it. Then one day I got a message on my voicemail from Scott playing it for me and I was so impressed thathe went out and learned it for me so I was sold. He was also willing to learn a Phish Song for the Processional and some Radiohead songs for the cocktail hour etc. A few weeks before the wedding I sent Scott the list of songs and asked him if he had picked the other guitarist and he called me to discuss what he felt was a better option. He suggested that instead of a Guitar Duo, he knew a local Viola player who is amazing and said he truly believed the music would be better if it was him and her playing. At first I was skeptical and a little bummed out b/c we really really wanted that rich Acoustic Guitar Duo sound. But I trusted him and in the end I’m so glad I did. He brought a woman named Debbie Spring with him and they couldn’t have sounded better. I was soo impressed with the sound and how well they played… as I was walking down the aisle I was noticing in my head how each note sounded like perfection and I couldn’t get over it. It was very obvious that he put a ton of time andenergy into learning and practicing the songs to get them right and I couldn’t be more pleased. I highly recommend Scott!”- Jaime and Matt 2010

———————————————————————————-

“Just wanted to send you a quick note to thank you for doing such a fabulous job this past weekend. We were beyond thrilled with your harp skills!!!! ” ~Rachel Halpern.

———————————————————————————–

“I just wanted to say a quick thank you for making our ceremony sound so beautiful! U couldn’t have been more on target with the sound and it really set the tone for our wedding. We are so happy and I wanted to let u know how happy u made us!! Thank u!!” ~ Danielle and Michael Greenstein.

“The cocktail hour was held on the Baumgartner Terrace (At the Milwaukee Art Museum) with a Jazz Trio all the way from Florida featuring Scott Marischen. Nothing is better at cocktail hour than Jazz Trio to please all, as well as a first dance to top all off.” – Eugenie and Kahlil New Berlin, WI

———————————————————————————–

” Please know how thrilled we were at the music at our daughter’s wedding. It was spectacular and it gave me great pleasure to have your services. Everything was perfect and I truly enjoyed the musical part of the wedding. It gave me great joy and I cannot wait to see our video once it is completed. Thank you again and again. Regards, Cathy Imburgia (St. Rose of Lima )

———————————————————————————————————————————————— “Just wanted to let you know that my wife and I really enjoyed your group performance yesterday afternoon/evening, while at The Gardens Hotel. Your playing of the harp, simply amazed us, and were at awe at your excellent performance! Looking forward in seeing you once again. Trust that we will not miss your next visit to Key West, and The Gardens Hotel. – Terry & Erika Gaberdiel, SSG US Army (retired), Key West FL