Donald Rubinstein
Encyclopedia
Donald Rubinstein is a film composer, singer/songwriter and multi-media artist who is best known for his scoring collaborations with George A. Romero
and Avant-garde jazz/rock collaborations with such musicians as Bill Frisell
, Emil Richards
and Wayne Horvitz
.
. Though he left after finding the experience to be too constraining for his experimental ideas, Rubinstein would meet guitarist Bill Frisell
, whom he'd later collaborate with on numerous projects. Rubinstein then went on to study on private scholarship with noted piano instructor Madame Margaret (Stedman) Chaloff, whose other students included Chick Corea
, Herbie Hancock
, Keith Jarrett
and Steve Kuhn
.
through his brother Richard P. Rubinstein
, who had produced Martin for the writer-director. It was an innovative psychological horror film that equated vampirism with drug addiction and urban decay, and was set in Romero's favored location of Pittsburgh. To match Martins unique tone, Rubinstein created a Baroque jazz score to play a lonely young man who believes himself to be undead. This was the first time modernistic music had been heard in a "vampire" movie, and Rubinstein's Martin soundtrack would become a highly sought collector's item that Mojo magazine called "One of the top 100 Coolest Soundtracks of All Time."
When Romero next turned Camelot into a motorcycle Renaissance Faire for Knightriders, Donald Rubinstein would compose an equally innovative score, as well as appear in the film as the leader of a musical trio. Rubinstein became close friends with Ed Harris
on Knightriders, and would later write an unused score for the actor's directorial debut on Pollock
. In 2000, Rubinstein composed the score for Romero's allegorical horror film Bruiser, about a put-upon man who literally becomes faceless.
Donald Rubinstein's other soundtrack work included co-writing, with Erica Lindsay
, the main title of the television series Tales From the Darkside (as well as its theatrical version). He also wrote the main title and episodic music for the television series Monsters. He scored the documentary feature, Tangled Up In Bob: Searching For Bob Dylan, and most recently (2010) "Fugue For Motorcycle" for Emmy Award winning director Miguel Grunstein.
, Bob Moses, Eric Lindsay and Vinny Golia
among many other notable performers, collaborating with them in both film recording sessions and live performances. Peter Gordon
(Boston Symphony Orchestra
) commissioned a work for French Horn and subsequently a jazz trio, including celebrated bassist Anthony Jackson and percussionist Gordon Gottlieb (New York Philharmonic Orchestra). Jazziz Magazine included the duet "Fingers" by Rubinstein and Bill Frisell
on their "Celebration of the Modern Era" special edition 20th anniversary CD in 2003.
Also a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter Donald's work crosses normal boundaries. In 2009 he completed a CD of original songs, "When She Kisses the Ship On His Arm," for Bare Bones Records, which included Sharon Gilchrist
on mandolin and a vocal-duet with "country outlaw" Terry Allen
. Rubinstein has performed and co-written a number of songs with Allen, including "Vampires Parade" for his 2010 release "Too Late to Die." In the same vein Rubinstein has completed a duet of songs with Jono Manson, "Life is Orange," including guest artist John Popper
. While 2010 saw the release of three new Rubinstein CDs, there are three varied releases planned for 2011. An iconoclast, Rubinstein has released 22 CDs thus far with very little major label support. Maintaining an unusual tenacity of position, Rubinstein, with the support of fellow artists such as Ed Harris, Bill Frisell and others, has produced an unusually formidable body of work. Of Rubinstein's musical work, Steve Huey of Allmusic wrote, "Singer/songwriter, pianist, jazz experimentalist, soundtrack composer, beat-style poet -- Donald Rubinstein has somehow juggled all those hats over the lengthy span of his creative career."
Rubinstein has been exhibited at both The Museum of Modern Art and The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City in collaboration with famed artist Kiki Smith
. His single song CD, "Ruby Star," sung in duet with Robin Holcomb, was first sold at The Museum of Modern Art in 2003. During 2007 The Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, presented a 'thus far' large-scale celebration of Donald's work, including a screening of films he scored, art exhibit and a concert performance with special guests Terry Allen and John Densmore
. It also included Donald's directing premiere, "Tales From the Edge," a short animated film based on his drawings. Donald has shown at Linda Durham Contemporary Art in Santa Fe, Bemis Center For Contemporary Arts in Omaha, and Gallery 68 in Austin, Texas, amongst others. Two upcoming one-person exhibitions are scheduled at La Tienda Exhibit Space in Santa Fe, 2011, and The Fisher Press Gallery, Santa Fe, in 2012.
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
and Avant-garde jazz/rock collaborations with such musicians as Bill Frisell
Bill Frisell
William Richard "Bill" Frisell is an American guitarist and composer.One of the leading guitarists in jazz since the late 1980s, Frisell's eclectic music touches on progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more...
, Emil Richards
Emil Richards
Emil Richards, born Emilio Joseph Radocchia on September 2, 1932 in Hartford, Connecticut, is a percussionist who plays a variety of different percussion instruments.-Biography:...
and Wayne Horvitz
Wayne Horvitz
Wayne Horvitz is an American composer, keyboardist and record producer.-Biography:Horvitz, a "defiant cross-breeder of genres", has led the groups The President, Pigpen, Zony Mash, and the Four Plus One Ensemble...
.
Career Beginnings
Inspired to compose by his love of jazz, Rubinstein began music studies at Washington University. He first attended at age 16, studying political science and subsequently poetry. After deciding to devote himself entirely to music, Rubinstein learned the guitar and piano, then transferred to the conservatory and received a B.A. in music from Washington University in 1972. Rubinstein would move to Boston, where he spent two semesters at the Berklee College of MusicBerklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
. Though he left after finding the experience to be too constraining for his experimental ideas, Rubinstein would meet guitarist Bill Frisell
Bill Frisell
William Richard "Bill" Frisell is an American guitarist and composer.One of the leading guitarists in jazz since the late 1980s, Frisell's eclectic music touches on progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more...
, whom he'd later collaborate with on numerous projects. Rubinstein then went on to study on private scholarship with noted piano instructor Madame Margaret (Stedman) Chaloff, whose other students included Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
, Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett is an American pianist and composer who performs both jazz and classical music.Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey, moving on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in jazz, jazz fusion, and classical music; as...
and Steve Kuhn
Steve Kuhn
Steve Kuhn is an American jazz pianist, composer and trio leader.-Biography:He began studying piano at the age of five and studied under Boston piano teacher Margaret Chaloff, mother of jazz baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff, who taught him the "Russian style" of piano playing. At an early age he...
.
Film Scoring for George A. Romero
Donald Rubinstein was 26 when he was first introduced to famed horror filmmaker George A. RomeroGeorge A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
through his brother Richard P. Rubinstein
Richard P. Rubinstein
Richard P. Rubinstein is an American film and television producer, who has worked mainly in the science fiction and horror genres. In the 1970s and 1980s he collaborated frequently with horror director George A...
, who had produced Martin for the writer-director. It was an innovative psychological horror film that equated vampirism with drug addiction and urban decay, and was set in Romero's favored location of Pittsburgh. To match Martins unique tone, Rubinstein created a Baroque jazz score to play a lonely young man who believes himself to be undead. This was the first time modernistic music had been heard in a "vampire" movie, and Rubinstein's Martin soundtrack would become a highly sought collector's item that Mojo magazine called "One of the top 100 Coolest Soundtracks of All Time."
When Romero next turned Camelot into a motorcycle Renaissance Faire for Knightriders, Donald Rubinstein would compose an equally innovative score, as well as appear in the film as the leader of a musical trio. Rubinstein became close friends with Ed Harris
Ed Harris
Edward Allen "Ed" Harris is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his performances in Appaloosa, Radio, The Rock, The Abyss, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, A History of Violence, and The Truman Show. Harris has also narrated commercials for The Home Depot and other companies...
on Knightriders, and would later write an unused score for the actor's directorial debut on Pollock
Pollock (film)
Pollock is a 2000 biographical drama film which tells the life story of painter Jackson Pollock. It stars Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Robert Knott, Bud Cort, Molly Regan, Marcia Gay Harden and Sada Thompson.-Plot:...
. In 2000, Rubinstein composed the score for Romero's allegorical horror film Bruiser, about a put-upon man who literally becomes faceless.
Donald Rubinstein's other soundtrack work included co-writing, with Erica Lindsay
Erica Lindsay
Erica Lindsay is an American saxophone player and composer. Erica Lindsay is an American jazz - saxophonist and composer....
, the main title of the television series Tales From the Darkside (as well as its theatrical version). He also wrote the main title and episodic music for the television series Monsters. He scored the documentary feature, Tangled Up In Bob: Searching For Bob Dylan, and most recently (2010) "Fugue For Motorcycle" for Emmy Award winning director Miguel Grunstein.
Recordings
As a prolific jazz composer, Rubinstein has partnered with Hank RobertsHank Roberts
Hank Roberts is an American jazz cellist and vocalist. He plays the electric cello, and his style is a mixture of rock, jazz, avant garde, folk and classical influences...
, Bob Moses, Eric Lindsay and Vinny Golia
Vinny Golia
Vinny Golia is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist specializing in woodwind instruments. He performs in the genres of contemporary music, jazz, free jazz, and free improvisation....
among many other notable performers, collaborating with them in both film recording sessions and live performances. Peter Gordon
Peter Gordon
Peter Gordon may refer to:* Peter Gordon , celebrity chef from New Zealand* Peter Gordon , composer and musician based in New York City* Peter Gordon , radio presenter in Surrey, England...
(Boston Symphony Orchestra
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
) commissioned a work for French Horn and subsequently a jazz trio, including celebrated bassist Anthony Jackson and percussionist Gordon Gottlieb (New York Philharmonic Orchestra). Jazziz Magazine included the duet "Fingers" by Rubinstein and Bill Frisell
Bill Frisell
William Richard "Bill" Frisell is an American guitarist and composer.One of the leading guitarists in jazz since the late 1980s, Frisell's eclectic music touches on progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more...
on their "Celebration of the Modern Era" special edition 20th anniversary CD in 2003.
Also a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter Donald's work crosses normal boundaries. In 2009 he completed a CD of original songs, "When She Kisses the Ship On His Arm," for Bare Bones Records, which included Sharon Gilchrist
Sharon Gilchrist
Sharon Gilchrist is an American bluegrass musician, singer, and the sister of Troy Gilchrist, also a bluegrass musician..-Youth:...
on mandolin and a vocal-duet with "country outlaw" Terry Allen
Terry Allen
Terry Allen may refer to:*Terry Allen , American Big Band singer*Terry Allen , American country singer and artist*Magnum T.A...
. Rubinstein has performed and co-written a number of songs with Allen, including "Vampires Parade" for his 2010 release "Too Late to Die." In the same vein Rubinstein has completed a duet of songs with Jono Manson, "Life is Orange," including guest artist John Popper
John Popper
John Popper is an American musician and songwriter.He is most famous for his role as frontman of rock band Blues Traveler performing harmonica, guitar and vocals...
. While 2010 saw the release of three new Rubinstein CDs, there are three varied releases planned for 2011. An iconoclast, Rubinstein has released 22 CDs thus far with very little major label support. Maintaining an unusual tenacity of position, Rubinstein, with the support of fellow artists such as Ed Harris, Bill Frisell and others, has produced an unusually formidable body of work. Of Rubinstein's musical work, Steve Huey of Allmusic wrote, "Singer/songwriter, pianist, jazz experimentalist, soundtrack composer, beat-style poet -- Donald Rubinstein has somehow juggled all those hats over the lengthy span of his creative career."
Art and Theater Works
Ed Harris and the Met Theatre produced "Buddha Baby" and "Premonitions" in Los Angeles. Rubinstein's third multi-media performance work, "Strum Road" also premiered there in 1997 to critical acclaim. "Pilgrim" a feature documentary by director Miguel Grunstein, based on Rubinstein's life and work, is currently shooting and is slated for completion in 2012.Rubinstein has been exhibited at both The Museum of Modern Art and The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City in collaboration with famed artist Kiki Smith
Kiki Smith
Kiki Smith is an American artist classified as a feminist artist, a movement with beginnings in the twentieth century...
. His single song CD, "Ruby Star," sung in duet with Robin Holcomb, was first sold at The Museum of Modern Art in 2003. During 2007 The Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, presented a 'thus far' large-scale celebration of Donald's work, including a screening of films he scored, art exhibit and a concert performance with special guests Terry Allen and John Densmore
John Densmore
John Paul Densmore is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the drummer of the rock group The Doors.-Early life and The Doors:Born in Los Angeles, Densmore attended Santa Monica City College and Cal...
. It also included Donald's directing premiere, "Tales From the Edge," a short animated film based on his drawings. Donald has shown at Linda Durham Contemporary Art in Santa Fe, Bemis Center For Contemporary Arts in Omaha, and Gallery 68 in Austin, Texas, amongst others. Two upcoming one-person exhibitions are scheduled at La Tienda Exhibit Space in Santa Fe, 2011, and The Fisher Press Gallery, Santa Fe, in 2012.
Personal life
Rubinstein currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with his wife, the performance artist, Audrey Nadia Rubinstein.Awards
- 1997: ASCAP Special Award in Theater Arts
- 2007: ASCAP Plus Award for Jazz/Popular Composition
- 2009: ASCAP Plus Award for Jazz Composition
Discography
- Martin (LP, Varese Sarabande Records, 1979)
- The Witness (Cassette, Desert Link Record, 1979)
- Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (GNP Crescendo Records, 1991)
- Time Again (Rhombus Records, 1997)
- Scars and Dreams (Blue Horse Records, 1998)
- Martin (Levelgreen Records, CD reissue 1999)
- A Man Without LoveA Man Without Love"A Man Without Love" was the British entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966, performed in English by Kenneth McKellar.The song is a ballad, with McKellar comparing a man without love and a man with love...
(Blue Horse Records, 1999) - Music For Ocean Travel (Blue Horse Records, 2000)
- Long Parade (Blue Horse Records, 2000)
- Maya (Rhombus Records, 2001)
- Painted Stranger (Rhombus Records, 2001)
- Ruby Star (single song CD, produced for Museum of Modern Art Exhibit with Kiki Smith, 2003)
- A Celebration of the Modern Era (Jazziz, 2003)
- BruiserBruiserBruiser normally refers to:*A big husky man.Bruiser may also refer to:*Bruiser , an indie rock trio that features ex-Local H drummer Joe Daniels.*Bruiser , a motion picture from veteran director George A...
(Black Starlight Records, 2004) - Lost Trail Hymn (Black Starlight Records, 2005)
- Circus BoyCircus BoyCircus Boy is an American action/adventure/drama series that aired in prime time on NBC, and then on ABC, from 1956 to 1958. It was then rerun by NBC on Saturday mornings, from 1958 to 1960...
(Black Starlight Records, 2006) - AcceptanceAcceptanceAcceptance is a person's agreement to experience a situation, to follow a process or condition without attempting to change it, protest, or exit....
(Rhombus Records, 2007) - Tangled Up In Bob & Other Songs (Rhombus Records, 2007)
- Martin; The Unused Score From PollockPollock (film)Pollock is a 2000 biographical drama film which tells the life story of painter Jackson Pollock. It stars Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Robert Knott, Bud Cort, Molly Regan, Marcia Gay Harden and Sada Thompson.-Plot:...
(Perseverance RecordsPerseverance RecordsPerseverance Records is a record label which releases film scores on CD and online. Releases are usually accompanied by extensive, well-researched booklets...
, 2007) - Take the Dark Away (Spacebar Recordings, 2008)
- KnightridersKnightridersKnightriders is a 1981 film written and directed by George A. Romero. It was filmed entirely on location in Pennsylvania, especially in Fawn Township and Natrona...
(Perseverance RecordsPerseverance RecordsPerseverance Records is a record label which releases film scores on CD and online. Releases are usually accompanied by extensive, well-researched booklets...
, 2008) - When She Kisses the Ship On His Arm (Bare Bones Records, 2009)
- Too Late to Die (Bare Bones Records, 2010)
- Love Hunger (Bare Bones Records, 2010)
- Life Is Orange (self release MANSTEIN: Jono Manson & Donald Rubinstein, 2010)