Marcus Rezak released his recent EP, Truth in Sound, on April 30, the day after the passing of Tony Markellis. The news of the beloved bassist’s death came at a particularly weighty time for Rezak—Markellis, alongside drummer Russ Lawton, keyboardist Ray Paczkowski and percussionist Kalyan Pathak, backed the guitarist and songwriter on his new record.

“I was completely shocked and heartbroken to learn of his passing on the day of the album release,” Rezak recalls. He notes that one of the things he respected most about Markellis was his commitment not only to his own playing, but also to uplifting the musicians around him. “Tony’s entire life was dedicated to music,” Rezak says. “He really instilled a lot of faith into young musicians. He felt like his mission was to always try and help the younger generations and pass on this special thing that he knew so well.”

As for the album, Rezak notes that Markellis had a palpable impact on Truth in Sound. “His contributions to the album are endlessly clear, [from his] large-]than-life sound to his melodic and harmonic choices, his remarkable, improvisational approach and his groove concepts,” he explains.

Rezak first connected with Markellis through Lawton, when the drummer performed with Rezak during a Shred Is Dead gig in Burlington, Vt., in the fall of 2019. From that meeting, Rezak was ultimately able to enlist Markellis and Paczkowski. “I thought about who I would just dream of playing with and which sound I was really going for on this one,” Rezak notes. “It turned out to be more of a singer[1]songwriter, groove album. And what better musicians than the people I grew up listening to.”

Indeed, while Truth in Sound does contain extended improvisations and inspired lead playing, Rezak was primarily concerned with instilling the lyrical content of the album with a sense of wonder, encouraging listeners to interpret the songs in their own way. “The lyrical writing, and the care we put into the vocal outcome, is something I’m really proud of,” he explains. “That was the focus for this album, for sure. Lyrically, you can kind of see some storylines, but you can also make your own stories from it.”