…De Mare paired Bruce Stark’s Urban Nocturnes as a crossover classical/jazz essay on city nightlife; it’s people who create the space, yet the space imposes upon a composition a distinct sound color and tempo vibe. Space is the spice rack of innovation. De Mare’s meticulous rendering gives us a space to absorb the transitions and intermingling.
— Rita Kohn, Nuvo online magazine, 2019

PROGRAM NOTES

After spending all of my adult life in large cities (Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo), in 2013 I moved to the lovely town of Redmond, Washington. Urban Nocturnes (2014) was commissioned by the prodigiously talented and imaginative German pianist Kai Schumacher. The title is perhaps misleading; it is a one-movement piece inspired by the diverse qualities of an urban night, and unfolds with a series of brief scenes, each distinct in character.

— Bruce Stark