Album Notes

T A M E R T E W F I K
www.tamertewfik.com

Tamer earned his Bachelor of Music in Piano and a Masters of Arts in Teaching from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He pursued additional classical studies in Budapest, Hungary, studying harmony, solfège and conducting. As a vocalist, he has sung with the Choral Arts Society and Philadelphia Orchestra under the batons of conductors Riccardo Muti, Kurt Mazur, and Charles Dutoit.

After teaching music in the Lower Merion School District for five years, Tamer established Swamp Queen Music in 1997. His first CD, released in the fall of 1998, Tamer ~ Unwanted Curtains, features his jazz trio, solo piano performances and original compositions. Beginning To See the Light, released in spring 2002, also features original compositions, as well as Tamer's spins on classic jazz standards. Building on the foundation laid with Unwanted Curtains, arrangements on Beginning to See the Light include piano solo, trio and sextet performances.

Never forgetting his love of children, this skilled educator and musician married his talents to create THE JAZZ ASSEMBLY, a one-of-a-kind participatory experience for elementary through high school students. THE JAZZ ASSEMBLY has been recognized by educators and administrators as the first of its kind to cross more than six core-curriculum subjects, meeting the respective state required standards while at the same time motivating students to learn the valuable history and tenets of jazz improvisation. These Assemblies are presented in conjunction with Young Audiences of New Jersey; Young Audiences of Eastern PA; and Peter Nero and the Philadelphia Pops' "Jazz in the Schools" Series.

Tamer has played with Les Paul; Grover Washington, Jr.; Stanley Clarke; Eddie Gomez; and Trudy Pitts. As a cabaret artist and pianist he has performed at the ASCAP Songwriters Showcase; Brandy's Saloon; Cleopatra's Needle; Don't Tell Mama; The Duplex; the Iridium Jazz Club; Key West Piano Bar; NBC's Rainbow Room; Odette's; Raw Space Theatre; Sam's Cabaret; Tavern Camac; The Townhouse; and the Triad Theater. His theater credits include roles in The Secret Garden; The Sound of Music; Amahl and the Night Visitors; Sunday in the Park with George; Into the Woods; and A Builder of Dreams, for which he performed both on stage and off, as actor/singer and arranger.

He served as musical director for Montauk Theatre Productions' Always, Patsy Cline and The Show of the Century, in which he also performed, and his original compositions have been heard in the Wynner's Circle Theatre Company productions of Genesis; Seascape with Sharks and Dancer; The Quiet Room, or What Happens When a Schizoid Ballerina Is Locked in a Room with a Duck and An Evening with Tamer & Kirsten; a musical mix of theater and cabaret, based upon his work as heard in The Quiet Room... ; in which Tamer was the featured artist.

An artist of international appeal, 2002 found him performing at the VIP Club and Casino in Moscow, Russia. In June 2001 Tamer was honored with the formation of the Official Tamer Tewfik International Fan Club, with chapters currently in the US and Canada.

Currently, Tamer travels throughout New York and New Jersey, as educator or entertainer, with his trio or as a solo artist, sharing his great love of Jazz at every performance.