The only piece that was composed for the final recoding produced by No Explanations was a piece called The Prophet.

Every track on the "Black CD" as it has been affectionately labeled was improvised on the spot with single takes for each track.

The Prophet was a vocal track with a lyric that Mark composed in the late 1980's while he was sitting in his apartment in Northern Virginia. Years later Mark brought this lyric, along with a powerful backing piano track to the second day of recording. He and guitarist, Dan Leonard proceeded to create and arrange the piece in the studio. The lead vocal was sung by a friend of Mark's and the background vocals were sung by Mark's three daughters. Mark himself contributed to the backing vocals and all of this has been scored out exactly as it went on the day of the recording.

Joie de Vivre was an instant hit in the Irish Dance world. It was released in March of 2015 and Mark was featured in the May 2015 Irish Dance and Culture Magazine where he shared the inspirations for this CD and many of his other works.

There are scores and parts here for piano, violin, guitar and the pieces range from in depth chamber music to a 3 part Suite for Irish Dancers along with some very energetic folk and jazz pieces.

The score for the title track with the vocal part is included and the percussion scores document the rhythms of hand claps and the hard shoes of Championship Irish dancer Shani DuFrain that were recorded on several of the songs.

All scores are detailed, exact and ready to perform.

Round Trip features the sketches and scores from one of Mark's most eclectic and powerful projects to date.

There is so much music that came forth on this recording from just two musicians: The virtuosity of guitarist, Dan Leonard and the virtuosity of pianist/composer Mark Christopher Brandt is documented here in this first of 3 recordings that came from four years of powerhouse performances in venues and clubs throughout the Washington D.C. area.

These are well documented charts of all written material along with clearly marked sketches for the improvised sections.

This is an excellent companion to owning the actual recording. There are very few musicians with this kind of simpatico and musical oneness. It is fortunate that Mark and Dan were documented both in the studio and in these written scores.

In a world where transcriptions of jazz piano solos and classical music scores dominate the energy of even the most marginal piano students (and lovers of solo piano) this book comes as a welcome oasis in the modern music desert.

Many pianist will find fertile ground to enhance their repertoire and their studies of both the improvised and the composed music for piano. These parts range from detailed lead sheets to neatly printed sketches to completely written out piano pieces.

The music featured in this two-disc set will provide ample growth and challenge with the combination of simple melodic beauty and unique application of what has always been available to listeners but is never explored by modern composers for fear of not being accepted globally.

Mark does not fear obscurity and as a result his integrity and his unique qualities as an artist are evident in all of his compositions.