MP3 Rob Schwimmer - Beyond The Sky

Virtuoso piano music with a strong sensual core--Is it classical? is it jazz? Tonal? Funhouse mirror tonal? Sometimes strange, always lyrical, always personal -- from quietly intimate to "my hair is on fire" (plus some theremin)

19 MP3 Songs
CLASSICAL: Contemporary, JAZZ: Weird Jazz



Details:
While Rob Schwimmer has worked with some of the preeminent artists of our time (including Wayne Shorter, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Simon and Garfunkel, Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, Chaka Khan, Paul Simon, Laurie Anderson, Bette Midler, Queen Latifah, Arif Mardin, Adam Guettel, T-Bone Walker, etc.) his own music has been elusively hard to come by. While playing with all the aforementioned artists exhibits great versatility, it does little to prepare one for the singular strength of his own personal musical vision.

From his Suite, in turns virtuosic, inward-looking, and evocative of another place/time, through the wistful Two Songs Without Words, the mysterious little dances and prismatic distortions of his Four Miniatures, the explorations of tonality, contrapuntal freedom, and conversational interplay of Three Tone Poems, the quiet intimacy of Prelude and Postlude, the passionate theremin/ piano elegy Waltz For Clara and, finally, the lyrical bending and re-casting of four Hallucinations On Popular Songs, revealing himself a master musical storyteller.

Don't forget to see the CUSTOMER REVIEWS!
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QUOTES
Not only is Rob Schwimmer one of my first call piano players, he's also a great artist in his own right. His compositions, technique and interpretation all come together on Beyond The Sky--Some of the best piano playing I've ever heard! --Arif Mardin, legendary producer, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

Beyond the Sky is fantastic. In every way....writing, playing and pianistically. Dynamically. Lyrically. I could go on. Congratulations. You're killin', man! Michael Brecker, Grammy winning jazz saxophonist/composer

Utterly unique...Virtuoso in the extreme...One of a kind...Such great surprises! The structures are so thoughtful and complete...I couldn't wait to hear the next track...The most imaginative version of Stormy Weather I've ever heard...The world deserves to hear you! (Beyond the Sky) --Leonid Hambro, renowned classical pianist/ piano competition judge

This solo piano exploration (Beyond The Sky) by Rob Schwimmer is full of passion and love...his execution and ideas flow with a beautiful sense of freedom that captures you from his first phrase to the last. --Joe Lovano, acclaimed jazz saxophonist and composer

Rob Schwimmer uses the piano like a French impressionist painter uses a brush⦠painting scenery, mood and atmosphere taking me to strange and beautiful places. This music is incredible, very original, takes great chances and I've never heard anything quite like it before--I love it! He is a true artist. --Geoffrey Holder, Tony Award Winning Director, Actor, Choreographer

Rob Schwimmer tells compelling stories with his fingers. When they connect with a piano keyboard, the music connects with us, and we hear passions, adventures, love stories, and tall tales, all told in an involving, personal style. --David Garland, WNYC New York Public Radio

Rob Schwimmer is an insanely great player Ernie Rideout, editor Keyboard

Stunning Boston Herald

It's Beautiful! Subtle, intriguing music. If Skriabin grew up listening to the best American pop, he would sound something like this. --Limor Tomer, Whitney Museum Adjunct Curator of Performing Arts, Music Curator at BAM, Lincoln Center Festival, Symphony Space

Rob is a technical and musical virtuosoâ¦A monster of the piano Attencion (Mexico)

Master Improvisor WNYC Radio

...grace with power Option

Brilliant El Independiente (Mexico)

... an incredible musician and a fantastic theremin player! Elliott Sharp
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About ROB SCHWIMMER and About BEYOND THE SKY
Rob Schwimmer is a composer-pianist and thereminist who has performed and recorded throughout the world. His work is a brilliant meld of musical discipline, sensuality, technical acumen, and freedom--A combination that has made Rob's debut solo piano album Beyond The Sky so highly anticipated. His personal vision of music reflects a unique and probing sensibility combined with his vast experience in many genres with great and fascinating artists.

He has worked with Wayne Shorter, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Willie Nelson, Chaka Khan, Laurie Anderson, Bette Midler, Queen Latifah, Arif Mardin (Grammy Lifetime Achievement Recipient), Adam Guettel (2005 Tony), T-Bone Walker, The Klezmatics, Matthew Barney, Ang Lee, Maria Schneider (2005 Grammy), Gwyneth Paltrow, Marshall Brickman (2006 Tony Nominee), Mabou Mines, Geoffrey Holder, John Cale, Steve Buscemi, Burt Bacharach, Edie Brickell, Teo Macero, Hal Willner, Jack Douglas, Vernon Reid, The Everly Brothers, Ethel, James Emery, Kurt Vonnegut, Anjani Thomas, Odetta, Bob Belden, Drepung Loseling Tibetan Monks, Joseph Jarman, Alwin Nikolai/ Murray Louis Dance Company, Henry Jaglom, Talujon Quartet, Fred Anderson, Marc Ribot, Frank London, C&C Music Factory, Liza Minnelli, Sam Rivers and Mary Cleere Harran. He played keyboards, theremin and sang on Simon and Garfunkelâs "Old Friends" North American and European tours (2003-2004) and appeared in their CD/DVD "Old Friends: Live On Stage".

Rob's appearances as soloist with orchestras include The Little Orchestra (Lincoln Center); the New Haven Symphony Orchestra (Yale); and Red, An Orchestra. He has played venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Madison Square Garden, The Blue Note, CBGBâs and the Colosseum (Rome) before over 600,000 people.

He is a founding member of the legendary Polygraph Lounge music and comedy duo with multi-instrumentalist Mark Stewart. Other collaborations include his Theremin Noir (CD) with Mark Feldman and Uri Caine and The Zmiros Project (CD) with Frank London and Lorin Sklamberg. Rob is an original member of the NY Theremin Society.

His compositions have been featured in theater, television series and movies, documentaries and feature films. Rob is one of the few theremin virtuosos in the world. In addition to Theremin Noir, he has performed as featured theremin soloist for many projects including Matthew Barneyâs epic movie Cremaster 3, CBS television series, Now and Again and A&E's Breakfast With the Arts.

Mr. Schwimmer's work can be heard on CBS/Sony, Warner Brothers, Toshiba/ EMI, Def Jam/ Island, Manhattan/Blue Note, Dorian, NHK, Capricorn, Evidence, Knitting Factory, Polystar, Traditional Crossroads, Dreamworks SKG, Universal Pictures, TriStar Pictures, HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, CBS, NBC, ABC, Discovery, Lifetime, Noggin, A&E, NPR and Nickelodeon.
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about BEYOND THE SKY
Piano virtuoso Rob Schwimmer is an original and intrepid artist who on this album meaningfully negotiates the composer's formalism of classical music and the improviserâs freedom of jazz, blurring distinctions between both disciplines.

Schwimmerâs is a music of inclusion, both wry and ruminative, romantic and avant garde, minimalist yet expansive. The depth and breadth of Schwimmerâs musical and imagistic vocabulary reveal an understanding of the entire keyboard tradition both in his compositions as well as his use of improvisation. That it sounds like a personal vision and not a cross-cultural collision is testament to his rhythmic instincts and harmonic curiosity, his touch and articulation, the manner in which he is able to summon up in the course of a single passage, let alone an entire piece, a vision of the pianoâs wide-ranging stylistic and structural expanse.

From his Suite, in turns virtuosic, inward-looking, and evocative of another place/time, through the wistful Two Songs Without Words, the mysterious little dances and prismatic distortions of his Four Miniatures, the explorations of tonality, contrapuntal freedom, and conversational interplay of Three Tone Poems, the quiet intimacy of Prelude and Postlude, the passionate theremin/ piano elegy Waltz For Clara and, finally, the lyrical bending and re-casting of four Hallucinations On Popular Songs, revealing himself a master musical storyteller.
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