Photographer: Jose Freeman
Isadar (Amphabian) has been involved with music all of his life. Born and raised in south Louisiana into a musical family, Fabian Isadar Thibodeaux was inspired by music he was exposed to as a child, and began playing the piano “by ear” at a very early age. He began formal piano studies at the age of five. By the time Isadar was ten, he had already won an impressive number of awards in local competitions. Piano study continued off and on, shifting to a focus on woodwinds in his teens.
Isadar’s involvement with his high school’s musical rekindled his interest in the piano and triggered improvisational skills which segued into songwriting.
A graduate of the University of Louisiana, Isadar began to professionally record his compositions while a student. These early recordings evolved into his 1997 vocal release, “Dream of the Dead,” (watch music video here) and were influenced by British recording artists – Kate Bush (in particular, her masterpiece, “The Dreaming”), Thomas Dolby, Peter Gabriel, and US/NYC based performance artist Laurie Anderson. Inspired from attending a performance by pianist Liz Story, Isadar briefly changed his focus to solo piano and recorded his 1990 debut, “Near the Edge of Light.” In the early 90’s, Isadar concentrated on writing pop music to finance his more artistic work.
Isadar relocated to New York City in 1993 to further pursue his music and recording. His first break came within a year when an advertising firm in New York hired him to create the soundtrack for a Ralph Lauren “Safari” TV ad. He continued to record original music and created mechanical reproductions of his piano recordings for playback in Yamaha Disklavier player-pianos. Isadar’s interest in mechanically re-produced music further developed into creating sound recordings of Regina, Polyphon, Symphonion, Troubadour, and Kalliope antique music boxes.
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 #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.
Isadar resides in south Louisiana. He continues to write and record when inspired. His music is distributed globally and can be streamed and downloaded inside all major outlets.
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(December 2021)