Rob Schwimmer with Ethan Iverson
Two revolutionary musicians join forces to create extreme possibility
Photos: Minna Hatinen; Keith Major
“For his (Iverson’s) entire career he has been finding ways to be accessible while pushing the envelope.”
“Schwimmer immerses himself in whatever genre he’s traversing or transcending. Across all realms, he’s a virtuoso.” Stereophile
Rob Schwimmer is a triple threat composer-pianist, thereminist and Haken Continuum player who has performed and recorded throughout the world. The New York Times praises Rob for his "Virtuosity, magic, and humor."
In 2002 Ethan Iverson helped form The Bad Plus, a revolutionary and wildly successful avant-garde trio that The New York Times said was “Better than anyone at melding the sensibilities of post-60’s jazz and indie rock.”
Today, words like “eclectic” and “diverse” are commonplace. For Schwimmer and Iverson, an encyclopedic command of genre is an excuse to do the unlikely or even the nearly unthinkable. A good example is “A Day in the Life.” There is usually nothing worse than a Beatles cover, yet Iverson’s colorful arrangement for Pepperland for the celebrated Mark Morris Dance Group has proven to be a wild hit all over the globe. During Pepperland, Schwimmer’s theremin rendition of “A Day in the Life’ is an apotheosis that brings the house down, every single time.
When Schwimmer and Iverson play duo, they draw on certain American songbag classics, the stranger outgrowths of Germanic composers like Kurt Weill, Hugo Wolf and Erich Wolfgang Korngold, switching off playing piano solos, taking flight in wild freeform duos with Schwimmer manning his science fiction instrument, the Haken Continuum or theremin, and sometimes playing on two keyboards. A unique concert like none other.
Photo by Minna Hatinen. Hi-res download here
Photo by Keith Major. Hi-res download here