Lisa Swerdlow is a pianist and composer of classical crossover, neo-classical and New Age music. Born and raised in Los Angeles, her childhood home was filled with music thanks to her father’s piano, accordion, mandolin playing, and his beloved RCA record player.
Lisa began studying classical piano at the age of six, and by age 16, she was writing and performing songs on piano and guitar. She went on to study music theory and composition at Humboldt State University and College of the Redwoods.
Lisa’s early musical influences range from the Classical composers to Laura Nyro, Carole King, Harry Belafonte, and Burt Bacharach. Later in life, she was drawn to the piano music of Keith Jarrett, George Winston, David Lanz, Eddy Palmieri, and Antonio Carlos Jobim.
In the 1970s, Lisa performed in coffee houses on Fairfax Avenue in L.A. and went on to play piano in a rock ‘n’ roll band in San Francisco. In the 1980s she performed at the West Coast Women’s Music Festival, and soon after toured Northern California with a ten-piece all women salsa band called Las Malandras. These genres have influenced her unique composing style, and Lisa has moved into more complex orchestration and arrangements in recent years.
Lisa’s solo piano compositions are featured on her debut CD “Equus Rising” (2017), and “Voyager” (2018). She followed up with “Lasting Impressions” (2020), and a series of singles: “Dawn Contemplation”(2020), “Still Here” (2019: This solo piano piece pays tribute to Lisa being a cancer survivor), “Carousel of Life”(2020), and “All Is Not Lost,” which released August 13, 2021.
In 2022 and early 2023 Lisa released several singles: “A Rhapsody Lives in You,” “November Moon,” and “Finding My Way.” Her recent EP project, the fully-orchestrated “Coming to America” Concerto, released on September 17, 2021 and is an homage to her Grandparents who immigrated from Russia to America in the early 1900s.
Swerdlow’s newest album release is “Through It All” This album is inspired by her wife’s struggle to overcome a very rare and aggressive cancer. Their love story spanning more than 27 years can be heard throughout the album. Unfortunately, Lisa’s wife passed away in March 2023.
This album is dedicated to Lucie Tetrault, Lisa’s loving wife of 27 happy years. It was recorded at piano haven studios in Sedona with sound engineer Joe Bongiorno, who also mastered the album. The beautiful cover art is by RickStevensart.com.
Here is what Lisa says about the first song on the album, “A Rhapsody Lives in You:”
‘We all have a song that is uniquely ours that resonates out into the universe, and this unique song dwells in our hearts and energy field and comes through in our laughter and our tears. It gives us our connection to the cosmic universe. I was inspired to compose this piece when my wife of nearly 27 years became ill with a very rare and aggressive cancer. Whenever I’d hear her laugh I could hear her life force in music. It’s the harmony of the cosmos that connects us all. We are a song!”
Lisa has woven the complex emotions of grief, loss and moving forward in her newest compilation of songs. Even the last song on the album, “Spring Equinox: Persephone Returns,” tells the tale of love and rebirth that is Spring.
Lisa lives in the Sierra Foothills of Northern California with her two horses and Tuxedo the cat. Lisa balances her time at the piano with beekeeping and organic gardening, which she has enjoyed doing for over 40 years.
Track listing:
- A Rhapsody Lives in You (Solo Piano)
- Song For Lucie
- Through It All
- Till We Meet Again
- Goodbye
- Finding My Way (solo Piano)
- November Moon
- Spring Equinox: Persephone Returns
More information is at Lisa’s official website: https://www.lisaswerdlow.com
Broadcast and Media Promotion:
LAZZ Promotions
Ed and Stacey Bonk
[email protected]
