Steve Dobrogosz

About Steve Dobrogosz

Steve Dobrogosz grew up in Raleigh, NC and since '78 has been living in Stockholm, Sweden with his wife and three young boys, where he is an active part of the Scandinavian music scene. A composer/lyricist/pianist with a background in the most diverse styles, he has written over 300 compostions, many of which have been recorded on his 9 albums on various European labels. He has performed with Arild Andersen, Paul Motian, and Kenny Wheeler (on ECM), Thad Jones, Jon Christensen, Palle Danielsson, Alex Reil, Bill Frisell, and many others, including Scandinavia's top jazz vocalists. He has performed in 11 countries and on numerous TV and radio broadcasts. His choral and orchestral music has been performed on both sides of the Atlantic.

Steve's songs will soon find their place among the classics. - Svenska Dagbladet

Had he lived in another era I'm convinced that Dobrogosz would be as famous a songwriter as Gershwin, Porter, or Kern. And his touch at the piano is that of a master. - The Gothenburg Post

In 1982 Dobrogosz recorded the popular vocal/piano CD 'Fairy Tales' with the late Norwegian singer Radka Toneff. Of his four albums of original music with Swedish singer Berit Andersson, 'The Final Touch' was listed in the 1991 "10 Best" critics poll in Jazz Times (USA), and 'Jade' was listed in the 1990 "10 Best" critics poll in Coda (Canada). Jazz Podium (Germany) called 'The Final Touch' "A completely convincing union of jazz and pop. Masterful interpretations with unparalleled intimacy". Of their last recording, 'Skin Balloon', the Swedish press wrote: "These songs should become standard repertoire for any of the world's great artists" and "I haven't encountered such a fusion of voice and piano since the Jeanne Lee - Ran Blake duo in the '60s". And of his 'Pianopieces' CD: "A link in the chain of Bill Evans, Paul Bley and Keith Jarrett".

The vocal charts posted here are taken from the 'Steve Dobrogosz Songbook'. 'Resting Place' is from a booklet of notated piano music - 'Ten Ballads'. The other instrumentals are from the "Dobrogosz fake book" - 'Charts'.

STEVE DOBROGOSZ SONGBOOK
For singers. 31 songs from CDs The Final Touch, Jade, and Skin Balloon. Chord charts/piano comp. 80 pages.

TEN BALLADS
For pianists. 'EMedium' level of difficulty. Notated piano scores covering (and combining) Ejazz, pop, gospel, folk music and 'classical'. 16 pages.

CHARTS
For instrumentalists/jazz groups. 75 alternatives to Real Book songs! The best of Dobrogosz's instrumental production from 1977 to 1995. 64 pages.

For more information and updates recordings and books, visit Steve's Home Page.

Steve's email address is dobro@algonet.se.

Steve Dobrogosz
Stockholmsvagen 73
122 63 Enskede, Sweden
tel/fax +46 (08) 394931

Steve's Tunes

Across the Sea A good diving board for a hard-blowing, upbeat session. The 'Gm7/C to F' bars should be kept harmonically pretty straight, to bring in a little 'pop' feeling.

Innocents The left-hand ostinato-like figure is a purely pianistic thing (don't take it too literally all the way through). Bassists should do a C pedal figure instead. The first section has a drone-like character that builds and releases into what can be a forcefull last 8 bars. A "flowing rock" song. This is one of my best-loved pieces (the audiences tell me...).

Maria of the Roses Happy, gospel flavored changes, definitely user-friendly. Straight 8s until very last bars of coda, which fade to a slow swing.

Resting Place A folkish melody, played simply. The build-up near the end can be quite big, and the 'calmly' parts quite calm.

Road Song Another energy-releasing vehicle. The comp rhythm in the head is loosened up considerably for solos. Loud and heavy.

Swing The first 6 bars are both the intro and outro, repeated as desired, featuring the drummer. The tune itself is just a blues, but alternates relentlessly between F minor and B minor. While this makes keeping one's place a challenge, it also gives the illusion of constantly modulating forward, which is fun to play on.

The Final Touch page 1 and page two More of a pop ballad (The Beatles' 'Long and Winding Road' comes to mind...) and one of my 'greatest hits' in the vocal department. Here's the lyrics.

Wishing Song page 1, page two and page three Another all-time audience favorite. A very simple piece with, again, a touch of gospel in the chords. I suggest starting by reading the chord changes instead of the piano parts.

Back to Original Jazz Charts Home Page.

Original Jazz Charts / sam@bsharp.org