Anton Schwartz to Appear at The Grand February 2, 2008

Schwartz' following has increased steadily since joining the San Francisco jazz scene in 1995. He was born in 1967 and raised in New York City where he began playing clarinet at twelve and switched to the saxophone at fourteen. Enchanted with jazz, his early development was encouraged by jazz masters Warne Marsh and Eddie Daniels. While in high school, he formed a group with future stars Peter Bernstein and Larry Goldings and appeared in concert with both Lionel Hampton and Woody Herman.

In college, Schwartz earned a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Philosophy at Harvard University, graduating magna cum laude in 1989. He went on to Stanford University, where, as a National Science Foundation fellow, he performed doctoral research in Artificial Intelligence. Throughout his college years, he continued to play music, holding the prestigious first tenor sax chair in the Harvard Jazz Band, after Don Braden and before Joshua Redman.

Eventually, Schwartz was drawn to a full-time jazz career. In the years since, he has received accolades from listeners and critics at high-profile jazz venues across the country, including the Blue Note in New York, Washington D.C.'s Blues Alley and the Monterey Jazz Festival. His frequent appearances at Yoshi's in Oakland, Calif. draw sellout crowds. One such concert was broadcast nationwide on NPR's JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater in December, 2005.

Each of Schwartz' four CDs has earned top reviews and strong airplay, with his most recent, Radiant Blue, rating in the top five on national jazz radio charts. While his own composing earns significant praise, Schwartz remains as much at home with the great jazz standards as he is with his own compositions.

The San Francisco Bay Guardian reported, "Anton Schwartz has everything you want to hear in a modern jazz saxophonist--an appealing, consistent tone, an abundance of ideas fueling both his compositions and his improvisations, and superb taste in musical collaborators."

$25, $30, $35, $45 & $50; www.atthegrand.org, by phone at (209) 831-6TKT (6858) or in person at the Grand Theatre Center for Arts Box Office. Box office hours are Monday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., and one hour prior to each performance.

Official Website: http://www.atthegrand.org