HOME; Songs of immigrants, refugees and nomads. In photographs of the earth taken from outer space, no national borders can be seen. It’s one planet, and it’s people tell the same tales, regardless of language.Willy Schwarz has been hearing those stories his whole life, and turning them into music. A superbly versatile instrumentalist, singer and songwriter, Schwarz has an uncanny ability to inhabit the songs and stories of multiple cultures, recasting them with love in a uniquely personal style that reflects his own life as a musical explorer. Sometimes the songs reflect the hopes and dreams of particular individuals; An old man’s nostaligia for the village culture of his youth, a dishwashing Mexican migrant’s lament, the reflections of an émigré taxi driver, or Schwarz’s own retelling of his parents’ immigration from Italy to the United States. Sometimes they reflect their author’s sorrow and outrage over the horrors of war, the consequences of inequality and hatred, and a hope for a better world. In a day when communities of refugees and immigrants figure ever larger in the news, it’s crucial to remember that for every depressing statistic, there are thousands of of distinct and personal stories; Stories not only of poverty, displacement and unemployment, but of hope, of Haspirations and dreams fulfilled. With a musician’s ear, Willy Schwarz hears those stories everywhere, and in the album HOME gives them expression in songs that are both unique and universal.
“ . . .The spectrum of the music is remarkable; the repertoire stretches from solo piano accompaniment to dynamic group playing, which through the engaging texts only gains in expressivity. Willy Schwarz gives immigrants, refugees and exiles their voices back, and in a certain way, their homes as well. . .”
—JAZZTHETIK
“ . . .Willy Schwarz has delved into his own family history for his new album, but is every bit as convincing as he adopts the voices of the world’s dispossessed. . .”
—THE JEWISH TELEGRAPH
". . .It journeys through the blues, Hindustani tala, Bulgarian trad, Tijuana waltzes, Celtic twilights, African funk, Jewish roots, show tunes, and Kurt Weill cabaret, constantly and consistently in tune with the humanity from which it's birthed and which it observes. A quite magnificent and moving work. . ."
—THE GUARDIAN
" . . .If anyone dismisses music as a mere distraction then point them in the direction of Willy Schwarz. . ."
-MOJO