Anton Schwartz

Anton Schwartz
Born (1967-07-16) July 16, 1967 (age 57)
OriginNew York, New York, United States
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)saxophonist, composer, educator, educational technologist
InstrumentSaxophone
Years active1990s-present
LabelsAntonjazz
Websiteantonjazz.com

Anton Schwartz (born July 16, 1967) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer based in Seattle, Washington and Oakland, California.

Biography

Anton Schwartz was born and raised in New York City, the son of Tony Schwartz, the audio documentarian and media theorist, and Reenah Lurie Schwartz. He attended The Dalton School, during which time he studied jazz privately with Warne Marsh and Eddie Daniels,[1] and studied advanced mathematics at New York University and Columbia University. He earned his Bachelor's, Phi Beta Kappa, in Mathematics and Philosophy at Harvard University in 1989,[2] whereupon he entered the Doctoral program in Computer Science at Stanford University on a National Science Foundation Fellowship.[3] There he pursued research in artificial Intelligence, specializing in reinforcement learning.[4] He left the program to become a full-time musician, but not before earning a Master of Science degree along the way.

Musician

He has released five CDs as a leader, on his own Antonjazz label.[5] They have garnered extensive national radio play[6][7] and strong reviews.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] His 2006 CD, Radiant Blue, featured Peter Bernstein (guitar) and Taylor Eigsti (piano) and hit number Four on the U.S. jazz radio charts.[6] His most recent release, Flash Mob, featured Dominick Farinacci (trumpet) and Taylor Eigsti (piano) and enjoyed a long run on the radio Top 10.[16]

Schwartz performs periodically at Yoshi's. One such performance was broadcast nationally in the U.S. as an hourlong episode of NPR's JazzSet.[17]

Recent performances by Schwartz include an hourlong concert of unaccompanied saxophone for the 2013 San Francisco Jazz Festival[18] and as a soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra at Boston Symphony Hall (2014).[19]

Educator & Educational Technologist

In 2019, Schwartz released Random Roots, a music practice aid app that utilizes skill acquisition techniques such as varied practice, the spacing effect, the testing effect, context dependency, illusions of mastery and the generation effect. In 2013, he described the practice methodology that inspired the Random Roots app in a blog post of the same name.

In 2021, he released ScaleMate, a music theory app aimed at helping musicians deepen their understanding of scales and musical harmony.

Schwartz is a faculty member of the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley, California,[20] has taught frequently at The Stanford Jazz Workshop, and has been Artist-In-Residence at Harvard University[21] and The Brubeck Institute.[22][23]

Discography

  • When Music Calls (1998, Antonjazz)
  • The Slow Lane (2000, Antonjazz)
  • Holiday Time (2004, Antonjazz)
  • Radiant Blue (2006, Antonjazz)
  • Flash Mob (2014, Antonjazz)

References

  1. ^ "Anton Schwartz: Interview by Jazz Improv". Jazz Improv magazine. Vol. 7, no. 2. Spring 2007. pp. 129–130.
  2. ^ "Harvard College Phi Beta Kappa Members". Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  3. ^ Gilbert, Andrew (2006-10-08). "Anton Catches On". San Francisco Chronicle.
  4. ^ Schwartz, Anton (1993). "A reinforcement learning method for maximizing undiscounted rewards". Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Machine Learning. Morgan Kaufmann. pp. 298–305.
  5. ^ "Anton Schwartz Discography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  6. ^ a b "Jazz Album Chart" (PDF). JazzWeek. 2006-10-05. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  7. ^ "Jazz Album Chart" (PDF). JazzWeek. 2014-03-03. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
  8. ^ Conrad, Thomas (November 2006). "CD Reviews: Anton Schwartz, Radiant Blue". Jazz Times.
  9. ^ Kopp, Ed (Jan–Feb 2007). "Anton Schwartz, Radiant Blue". JAZZIZ.
  10. ^ Bedford, Winthrop (Winter 2005). "Anton Schwartz, Holiday Time". Jazz Improv. Vol. 5, no. 2. p. 294.
  11. ^ Astarita, Glenn (2000-03-01). "The Slow Lane, Anton Schwartz". All About Jazz.
  12. ^ Richardson, Derk (1998-11-25). "Anton Schwartz, When Music Calls". San Francisco Bay Guardian. Vol. 33, no. 8.
  13. ^ Garelick, Jon (March 2014). "Anton Schwartz, Flash Mob". DownBeat Magazine. Vol. 81, no. 3. p. 60.
  14. ^ Astarita, Glenn (2014-02-03). "Anton Schwartz: Flash Mob". All About Jazz. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  15. ^ Yanow, Scott (March 2014). "Anton Schwartz - Flash Mob". L.A. Jazz Scene. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  16. ^ "Anton Schwartz: Flash Mob". JazzWeek. 2014-04-11. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  17. ^ "NPR's JazzSet: Anton Schwartz Quintet". npr.org. 2006. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  18. ^ "Anton Schwartz". SFJAZZ. 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-02-28. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
  19. ^ "Harvard Night with Alan Gilbert". Boston Symphony Orchestra. 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
  20. ^ "California Jazz Conservatory Faculty". California Jazz Conservatory. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
  21. ^ "Harvard Alums Return to Celebrate 30 Years of Making Music". Office for the Arts at Harvard. 2002-03-02. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  22. ^ "Brubeck Fellowship Program". University of the Pacific. Retrieved 2010-10-22.
  23. ^ "Brubeck Summer Jazz Colony". University of the Pacific. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-20.