Northern New Jersey based flutists Steve Markoff and Patricia Lazzara joined forces with pianist Allison Brewster Franzetti for an exciting new album titled Timeless.
Timeless is a collection of well known songs from the genres of pop, rock and soft rock which this highly talented trio has transformed into flute and piano driven cover songs. When you experience the melodies of The Beatles’ Yesterday or Eric Clapton’s Wonderful Tonight (among many other fine song choices) through the performances of Steve, Patricia and Allison, you suddenly realize how something so familiar could suddenly sound so refreshing and new!
With 18 songs included in this enjoyable listening experience, other memorable titles such as American Girl, Havana, Unchained Melody, Titanium or If You Could Read My Mind receive flute and piano makeovers. It’s safe to say that the emotional potency of each of these memorable melodies takes on hypnotic and mesmerizing qualities when played by flutes and backed by a piano.
Steve (alto flute) and Patricia (concert flute) first met when Steve came to Patricia for lessons. Years later, Steve found himself with credits on Patricia’s ninth studio album (Radiance). Timeless follows that release by one year.
Lazzara is an acclaimed soloist, chamber and orchestral musician. She is the 3-time winner of the Artists International Competition and has performed at the esteemed Carnegie Hall many times as well as the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. She also won other awards including the Florida Flute Association Performers Grant for Advanced Study. Patricia also won the National Flute Association Convention Performers Competition.
Allison Brewster Franzetti was a 2014 and 2018 Latin Grammy Nominee for Best Instrumental Soloist without Orchestra. She has also garnered worldwide acclaim while performing on numerous Grammy-winning recordings.
On a mission to bring flute music to people who do not typically sit down to listen to flute music, Steve, Patricia and Allison have succeeded in delivering such a project. You might be surprised this album came about by accident.
This project came about somewhat by accident. The original plan was for a Spring 2020 album of mainly new works “Romances in Blue“. We had also scheduled an early-September 2019 concert for flute, alto flute and harp. This was going to be a combination of new-wave, classical and pop music representing the favorites of the three musicians, entitled “Playing Favorites“. As it turned out, the harpist was having health issues, so we scratched that about a month before and substituted some fresh new arrangements of pop songs, past and present.
That concert went off nicely and we said to ourselves “man, that was a lot of fun and the audience went CRAZY”. We really couldn’t believe the reaction the audience had to hearing this type of music on flutes. That’s when we got the idea to get together with our colleague Dmitriy Varelas of Toronto, Canada to arrange more. Before we knew it, there was more than enough for a 70-minute album…
Discussing how Timeless came together by accident.
This group of talented creatives are already planning a 2020 album release! you can listen to Timeless on Spotify or HearNow.
Connect with Steve Markoff and Patricia Lazzara on Facebook or the official website.
