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Lighting up the dark
Dan Romel 24, knows what's good
about moving back into the basement of
his parents'home in Brooklyn after sever-
al years away at college: "Ilust woke up,"
Romer says at about 1 p.m. He's standing
in his baclryard amid beer bottles from a
week ago, lighting a cigarette. Though he
does his own laundry "I can still sneak up-
stairs and steal food," he saYs.
The musician says he loves the vibe
of Brooklyn right now. "To the left of myhouse is a deejay, and to the right is a
drummer," says Romer, whose new CD,
"TWo New Sciences!" is just out.It's in-
spired by some of his musical touchstones,
like David Bowie's "The Rise and FalI
ofZiggy Stardust and the Spiders From
Mars" and the Who's "TommY."A jazz kid grows up
Eldar is settling into a six-night stand at
the Blue Note startingAug. 28 just as he's
settling into a new apartment in Morning-
side Heights.
"I've got a greatview," says Eldar. "I'm
not looking at 4 s,'all."
Limitless horizons have seemed to al-
ways be ahead of this accomplished 20-
year-old pianist. At 10, his family moved
from Kyrgyzstan in the Soviet Union to
Kansas City so Eldar - clearly a child
prodigy - could pursue his studies. I-at-
er he moved to L.A. and now New York,
all while recording three albums for Sony
Masterworks, two dominated by stan-
dards (including 2006's "Live at the Blue
Note') and now "Re-Imagination," his
boldest effort yet.
"\lVe wanted it to be not just a snap-
shot of a moment but to tell more of a sto-
ry not just a live jazzrccording," says El-
dan whose liner notes reveal that tunes like
"South Bixel" are rooted in his memories
of Los Angeles and his childhood in IGnsas
City. "It's definitely a personal record."
With DJ logic guesting on turntable on
several tunes, it's also the furthest fromHis band, Fire Flies, is in the midst of
performing in the city. The band, includ-
ingWil Farr on guitars, has beenbuild-
ing a fan base by playrng anywhere and
everywhere in NewYork. It's something
Romer's been working toward all his life.o)
o€
UI
bo
3
E'DEzEo
U'c
oo):s
@
(t.
N
L
o{u
Uq
?
I
E At 16, he was signed by Sony, and did
a demo for them. That same Year he
won a Scholastic songwriting compe-
tition named after John Lennon.
Now he's playing in the town
where he can bump into one of his
influences. "I saw David Byrne riding
on his bike one time, and one of my
friends screamed out, 'David! David!'
and he pulled over," says Romer. "Ev-
eryone else said something cool and I
just said, '...You're my idol.' He didn't
know what to say. I think I made him
nervous."
Michael Giltz
(Sept.7 and l4,CrashMansion, 199young, Eldar's a bit wary of being tagged
as having everything handed to him. On
the other hand, he doesn't like to linger on
the years of risk and sacrifrce he and his
family endured to get to this point.
"Most of the time I don't like to really
talk about it," says Eldar, whose last name
is Djangirov. "I want to tell people about
music, about the good things. I'm blessed
to have the best parents I could hope to
have.... There were a lot of different holes
I could have stepped in." M.G.
(Aug. 28 through Sept. 2, The Blue Note,
Dan Romel 24, knows what's good
about moving back into the basement of
his parents'home in Brooklyn after sever-
al years away at college: "Ilust woke up,"
Romer says at about 1 p.m. He's standing
in his baclryard amid beer bottles from a
week ago, lighting a cigarette. Though he
does his own laundry "I can still sneak up-
stairs and steal food," he saYs.
The musician says he loves the vibe
of Brooklyn right now. "To the left of myhouse is a deejay, and to the right is a
drummer," says Romer, whose new CD,
"TWo New Sciences!" is just out.It's in-
spired by some of his musical touchstones,
like David Bowie's "The Rise and FalI
ofZiggy Stardust and the Spiders From
Mars" and the Who's "TommY."A jazz kid grows up
Eldar is settling into a six-night stand at
the Blue Note startingAug. 28 just as he's
settling into a new apartment in Morning-
side Heights.
"I've got a greatview," says Eldar. "I'm
not looking at 4 s,'all."
Limitless horizons have seemed to al-
ways be ahead of this accomplished 20-
year-old pianist. At 10, his family moved
from Kyrgyzstan in the Soviet Union to
Kansas City so Eldar - clearly a child
prodigy - could pursue his studies. I-at-
er he moved to L.A. and now New York,
all while recording three albums for Sony
Masterworks, two dominated by stan-
dards (including 2006's "Live at the Blue
Note') and now "Re-Imagination," his
boldest effort yet.
"\lVe wanted it to be not just a snap-
shot of a moment but to tell more of a sto-
ry not just a live jazzrccording," says El-
dan whose liner notes reveal that tunes like
"South Bixel" are rooted in his memories
of Los Angeles and his childhood in IGnsas
City. "It's definitely a personal record."
With DJ logic guesting on turntable on
several tunes, it's also the furthest fromHis band, Fire Flies, is in the midst of
performing in the city. The band, includ-
ingWil Farr on guitars, has beenbuild-
ing a fan base by playrng anywhere and
everywhere in NewYork. It's something
Romer's been working toward all his life.o)
o€
UI
bo
3
E'DEzEo
U'c
oo):s
@
(t.
N
L
o{u
Uq
?
I
E At 16, he was signed by Sony, and did
a demo for them. That same Year he
won a Scholastic songwriting compe-
tition named after John Lennon.
Now he's playing in the town
where he can bump into one of his
influences. "I saw David Byrne riding
on his bike one time, and one of my
friends screamed out, 'David! David!'
and he pulled over," says Romer. "Ev-
eryone else said something cool and I
just said, '...You're my idol.' He didn't
know what to say. I think I made him
nervous."
Michael Giltz
(Sept.7 and l4,CrashMansion, 199young, Eldar's a bit wary of being tagged
as having everything handed to him. On
the other hand, he doesn't like to linger on
the years of risk and sacrifrce he and his
family endured to get to this point.
"Most of the time I don't like to really
talk about it," says Eldar, whose last name
is Djangirov. "I want to tell people about
music, about the good things. I'm blessed
to have the best parents I could hope to
have.... There were a lot of different holes
I could have stepped in." M.G.
(Aug. 28 through Sept. 2, The Blue Note,