ANTON SCHWARTZ

ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
"I came to the West Coast to work on a doctorate degree at Stanford in artificial intelligence. Before that I was an undergrad in math and philosophy at Harvard, so I was originally headed into quite a different direction than music.

"I'm 31 years old, and about three years ago I made the diecision to leave the academic rat race and become a full-time jazz musician. When Music Calls [on AntonJazz], my first record, became the first incarnation of my new life choice.

"I originally came from New York City and grew up in Hell's Kitchen, and although I was never part of the New York jazz scene, I used to play with Larry Goldings and Peter Bernstein when we were all in high school together.

"People kept asking me when I was going to make a record, even though I've been busy playing clubs, festival shows and museum gigs.

"I used the record as an excuse to lay back and do some writing. I worked with my regular group on the album, and after a few conceptual discussions in the studio, we rolled tape direct to two-track. I hope listeners will come away with a lasting feel for the songs I wrote. When Music Calls is about a group, a concept, and more than anything else, it's about melody."