Outsider, Outlier
Out NOW on Out Of Your Head Records
Hannah Marks is a bassist, composer, and educator living in New York City. Marks’ debut album, Outsider, Outlier, is an explosive rendering of her search for belonging and empowerment. A nod to her love for punk, noise, and free improvisation, Outsider, Outlier released on Out Of Your Head Records on October 20, 2023.
“an astonishing piece of multi-layered music” Turn Up the Volume
“a very mature record from a young artist with very strong ideas who does not hold back anything” Citizen Jazz
“…that combination, the marriage of punk and jazz, is so fresh and unique and fun that I couldn’t get enough of this album in 2023 – and probably won’t for a long time. It is challenging and compelling in all the right ways, and I urge everyone to give it a listen.” Everything is Noise
“The powerhouse music that emanated from the stage was staggering.” WBKM Host Tim Lewis, of Outsider, Outlier’s June 2022 Radio Bean show
"...this perfect encapsulation of my teenage years as an angsty gen-xer, crushing relentlessly and telling nobody" - "giving us the best Sonic Youth song, well, since Sonic Youth broke up. And that video? <chef's kiss>" Dakin Hardwick for Spinning Platters on “(I Wanna B Ur) 90s Dreamgirl
Hannah Marks’ Outsider, Outlier consists of ten compositions performed by a unique ensemble that hybridizes jazz and rock. All music and lyrics were written by Marks, whose influences span a wide range of artists including Sonic Youth, Becca Stevens, Ornette Coleman, Esperanza Spalding, and Deerhoof. Like Marks, these artists prioritize storytelling, but also utilize an array of sonic textures, and rely heavily on improvisation at the core of their music. Marks is already well known as a rising bassist on the NYC jazz scene, having performed with luminaries like Geoffrey Keezer, Nasheet Waits, Terri Lyne Carrington, Anna Webber, Miles Okazaki, Ingrid Jensen, Kalia Vandever, Matt Wilson, among others. However, Outsider, Outlier showcases a different side of her expansive musical personality, influenced by her love for punk, noise, and free improvisation, with lyrics at the forefront. The songs are mostly through-composed, with carefully constructed improvisational sections that illustrate raw energy, passion, anger, and sadness throughout the project. But make no mistake, her formidable talent on both the electric and double bass is on full display throughout the recording.
Outsider, Outlier documents Marks’ search for belonging, love, and empowerment through examining key relationships in her life. Musically, radical tempo and stylistic changes represent the tumultuous nature of unhealthy relationships and ensuing bouts of anxiety. Marks uses elements of campy musical cliches and musical theater-like melodies to poke fun at her emotions, treat them with playful energy, and create a safe yet cathartic space to process her feelings. The album documents her struggle to trust in herself and others — ultimately ending on a hopeful note with the lyric “what scares you first will help you grow.”
Marks composed the music for Outsider, Outlier over a four year period, at first dabbling with lyrics but not making them a focus. With the forced break in touring and live performance that the pandemic caused, she decided it was the right time to hone that element of her compositions. She began classes with GRAMMY-nominated songwriter Becca Stevens, and it was Stevens that first remarked that the budding compositions sounded more rock oriented than jazz. Through touring the East Coast, she cultivated musical and personal relationships with her bandmates, many of whom she first met at the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music in 2018. Featured on Outsider, Outlier are Hannah Marks (electric bass/double bass, compositions, background vocals), Sarah Rossy (lead vocals), Lee Meadvin (guitar), Lex Korten (piano), Nathan Reising (alto saxophone), and Connor Parks (drums). The recording is a testament to her resilience during a tumultuous time, during which she took a deep creative dive into her artistic mission and purpose. Marks' hope with Outsider, Outlier is that her compositional style may render improvisatory jazz and grunge rock elements to be more accessible to audiences both inside and outside the jazz realm. The album was recorded at Bunker Studios in Brooklyn, NY on September 9, 2022, with Caroline Davis as the in-studio producer and Lee Meadvin heading up all post-production. It was engineered by Todd Carder and mixed/mastered by Lee Meadvin.
Lexi Brown (2023)