Isadar

Early life

Isadar was born in Church Point, Louisiana, and is a Cajun of Acadian ancestry. He is a graduate of Notre Dame High School in Crowley, Louisiana. He is a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In his teens, Isadar played flute, piccolo and oboe in his high school band and was the Drum Major during marching band season. He was a member of the mixed vocal and hand-bell choirs at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Lafayette, Louisiana. He had minor roles and contributed musically in area community and college theatre productions. According to an interview published in The Huffington Post, he is distantly related to the former child actor Keith Thibodeaux best known for playing "Little Ricky" in the popular I Love Lucy and The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour television shows.

Musical style

Isadar was first inspired by 80s British pop music, particularly the music of Kate Bush. He was also inspired by music made with the Fairlight CMI. However, after attending a Baton Rouge, Louisiana concert in 1989 by Windham Hill pianist Liz Story, Isadar began to also compose solo works for the piano.

In March 2012, Grammy award winning guitarist and founder of Windham Hill Records, William Ackerman produced a solo piano project for Isadar at his Imaginary Road Studio in Windham County, Vermont. The project, titled Reconstructed, is a re-working and re-recording of tracks Ackerman felt were the strongest from the six solo piano albums Isadar released since 1990. After working together, Ackerman stated, "The music we recorded ranged from the achingly beautiful to the breathtakingly technical, all of this rendered expertly through the unique musical lens that Isadar offers us." The album peaked at the No. 2 chart position of the Zone Music Reporter for June of the same year and was nominated for "Album Of The Month" for July, and subsequently nominated for "Album Of The Year" by the Spanish website, ReviewsNewAge. The album went on to be submitted for consideration into 5 categories for the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. In September 2014, the track "Uncertainty" from Reconstructed was included on The Gathering II, a compilation featuring a new generation of musicians produced by Ackerman continuing the Windham Hill Sampler legacy. The compilation peaked at the No. 1 chart position of the Zone Music Reporter during September 2014.

Instruments

During the production of his 1998 album Cycles, Isadar acquired a Fairlight CMI from Herbie Hancock through Hancock's producer Bill Laswell. Isadar also utilizes the Disklavier player-piano in the production of his solo piano recordings. He additionally releases his piano music in this unique software format.

Cover songs

Isadar has covered two Madonna songs, "Burning Up" & "Get Together". He also made a cover of Kate Bush's "Running Up that Hill (A Deal with God)". Music videos were made for all three of these covers. For his 2007 album, LiFe v.2.o he made a cover of Toni Childs' song "Dreamer." He has also made two solo piano covers of two compositions written by pianist Liz Story, "Wedding Rain" & "Things With Wings".

Video projects

Isadar has appeared in many self-produced and directed music videos designed to accompany his vocal music. Among the best known is "Dream Of The Dead" which was directly influenced by the album The Dreaming by Kate Bush.

Several collections of Isadar's music videos have been released on DVD. Additionally, DVD volumes of his solo piano performances have also been released.

Series One & Two of his music videos and piano performances were cable-casted in 2009 and 2010 (re-aired in 2012) on New York City's public access television station, Manhattan Neighborhood Network. In 2010 and 2011, these same two Series also aired in California on Channel LA36, a public access television station reaching the greater Los Angeles area. Series One was converted into an iTunes Store Video Podcast.

On May 11, 2012, Isadar performed a live solo piano concert to promote the release of his Will Ackerman produced Reconstructed album at the historical "Grand Opera House of the South" in Crowley, Louisiana. The concert was filmed and released on DVD as The Grand Opera House Of The South Presents: ISADAR.

Discography