Mark Hofgard: Press

The inspiring melodies on THE OPENING will be perfect for play in many stores. Using piano and keyboards as connecting threads, Mark Hofgard partners with saxophone, acoustic guitar, and Celtic whistle to explore such themes as magic, love, flight, and spirituality. A former attorney now based in Colorado, Hofgard finds inspiration in his work as a nature guide. "Spending an extended period of time in a remote, natural setting creates the space to see life differently," he says. "When we are open to the flow of life and love within nature, miraculous things begin to happen." These lighthearted, peaceful compositions certainly reflect Hofgard's sentiments. I especially like the simple piano-sax duo in the opening "A Candle's Glow." Shelve this CD by your register to give customers the chance to snap THE OPENING up.

With piano, sax, guitar, and other instruments, pianist/composer MARK HOFGARD gets us back to nature. He points the listener in a direction where we can be in touch with our real selves. The artist presents music inspired by nature and wilderness. This project gives us a very nice relaxing blend of instruments. Here the piano is especially nice and with sax and guitar adding support and texture, the music offers pure energy, uncluttered by the crass human ideas or technological greed. It is one of he nicest most listenable works of recent note. Lush musical and earthly landscapes are painted by the musical tones and sounds. I especially liked "A Candle's Glow." THE OPENING is a great instrumental listen. The idea is to be open to ideas - to nature. I found this album to be a relaxing delight.

Impressionistic piano man that let nature guide his composing has a way of standing out from the pack and making a gentle but compelling listening experience. With varied coloration from various instruments and sidemen added along the way, this set captures the lessons from Paul Winter sets and adds a nice, new spin that would make the master smile.

It's New Age instrumental music that's easy on the ears: soft saxophone, electronic orchestration and eloquent piano arrangements comparable to Jim Brickman or George Winston. The pretty piano melodies are relaxing - perfect for meditation, yoga or calming you while driving on busy freeways. "Soaring" lives up to its name, starting slowly then picking up the pace to a thunderous mix of guitar and piano. "That's Magic" is an enthusiastic toe-tapper with just the right blend of piano, sax and percussion. "Shaman's Journey" effectively weds piano and flute to create an ethereal, mystical vibe. The 11 piano-driven melodies are well crafted and fresh. Mr. Hofgard is keenly skilled at building drama into each song, making them an adventure in sound without overdoing. He calls it music to explore your "inner landscape," and it was inspired by the wonders of nature and wilderness. Consider this music a rock garden for the soul.

"When we open to the flow of life and love within Nature, miraculous things begin to happen," writes composer, pianist and recording artist Mark Hofgard in the liner notes of his latest release, THE OPENING. Featuring piano, keyboards, organ, soprano saxophone, guitar, Celtic whistle and electronic wind instruments, the album took five years from conception to realization. Hofgard, trained as a classical pianist from an early age, also spent a number of years as an attorney and an entrepreneur until his relatively recent return to musical composition. Gently twinkling piano easily evokes emotion from serene, subtly pulsating melodies. The 11 largely instrumental pieces that compose THE OPENING are strikingly upbeat in nature, and natural in delivery. Individual instruments never infringe upon each other, nor do individual tracks distract the listener form the album as a whole. This is consistent with the loose theme of THE OPENING, that of exploring your own inner landscapes. Standout tracks include "Uncovering the Star, Park I," a languidly flowing, softly undulating piece that, combined with "Uncovering the Start, Part II," could readily relax even the most uptight client, and the sonorously beautify final track, "Love Is," featuring a wonderful, wordless vocalization courtesy of Amy Sapp. This is a solid addition to any bodyworker's musical library.

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