Selected Works by DONALD RUBINSTEIN

Donald Rubinstein_Piano, Guitar, Vocals, Synthesizers_ All music, lyrics, arrangements and orchestrations, by Donald Rubinstein (unless otherwise noted).

Pictured: Before I Think of Mars I Think of You_ Donald Rubinstein, 2022

“A wildly diverse and exceptionally beautiful album. Rubinstein’s musical pallet is vivid and varied as he’s joined by a variety of musical explorers such as guitarist Bill Frisell. From midnight blues to exquisite orchestral pieces that dance between light and shadow…this is dream music where tender songs drift into dark musical landscapes and then back into morning light.” Gajoob Magazine (Scars and Dreams)"

“This is the soundtrack to every solitary late-night drive you’ve ever taken. Rubinstein’s rather like a less talkative Leonard Cohen, or maybe a less-animated Warren Zevon, with moments of John Hiatt and David Gray thrown in. A veteran of movie soundtracks, Rubinstein is accustomed to creating evocative works; when he’s set free to score the movies in his mind, the results are often picture perfect.” Splendidezine (A Man Without Love)

“Singer/songwriter, pianist, jazz experimentalist, soundtrack composer, beat-style poet — Donald Rubinstein has somehow juggled all those hats over the lengthy span of his creative career.” —All Music Guide

“The quality and grace with which Donald Rubinstein fuses classical, traditional, medieval, folk, jazz fusion and rock is flawless…his music is superb.” —Music 4 Film

“Rubinstein sings like an animal, his grizzled voice cracking with half-ironical desperation or descending to a conversational murmur…His tunes are instantly iconic.” Seattle Weekly

“Rubinstein’s jazz leaning makes for a spectacular score...The siren wail, the somber piano, the cello and oboe movement, it’s all just perfect. Different pieces of “The Calling” pop up throughout the rest of the score, and its somber tone matches the mood of the film flawlessly. I really can’t say enough good things about it: it’s considered a classic for a reason.” Alan Miller, Modern Vinyl (Martin)

"A terrific collection of 13 wildly diverse tunes by the multi-talented Donald Rubinstein and friends, performed on instruments ranging from harmonica to computer, from tenor sax to baroque violin. Each song heads off in a different, and usually unexpected, direction but they're all held together somehow by a subtly dark and sometimes eerie vibe...The variety of well made, well played music on this disc is impressive -- it's a rich and satisfying piece of work". Irving Bellemead, Splendid eZine (Maya)

“Imagine Korngold doing a song cycle, but instead of hiring an old white guy, Duke Ellington shows up out of the grave to play it, cracking his fingers, wanting to raise a little hell fresh out of heaven. That’s this. It's cool. It's night. It's looking for an audience in a theatre of alleys. Imagine John Lennon making an album in the late 60s with Yoko that you actually want to Listen to more than once. That's still this. I find it freeing and relaxing. Beautiful pieces which defy labeling. A ghost in a sometimes dead world of music baying at the moon and ass cheeks. Worth relishing."
—Ben Ohmart, Music Dish

“A Man Without Love...brings together Knitting Factory Record Artists Zony Mash, featuring Wayne Horvitz (Bill Frisell’s oftentime producer), with songwriting genius Donald Rubinstein…Incredibly creative stuff…Rubinstein's music amazes me." Derek Sivers, Founder/Ceo, CD Baby

“Donald is crazy. Like Charlie Parker was crazy. Like Kerouac and Bob Dylan are crazy. Perfect crazy. Full of surprises. I can’t say anything better about anybody. ‘Crazy’ on this idiot planet is as good as it gets.  Donald is even better. A monster artist. (Not bad for a Yankee.)”  Terry Allen

"Donald Rubinstein's haunting score, with its somber female operatic chorus and stark piano strings, has a timelessness that only Morricone at his best is able to capture." DVD Empire

“What really knocked me out is the music for “Martin," a showcase for Donald Rubinstein’s jazz chops. I’m amazed how varied it is: the instrumentation of course, but the approaches as well.” —Gary Giddins

“Rubinstein’s music for all three (George A. Romero films) are idiosyncratic, one-of-a-kind scores that stand apart in the genre, not only as effective film music, but great compositions in their own right.” __Scooter McCrae, Fangoria Magazine

“I’m so lucky to have had the opportunity to work with Donald Rubinstein in all kinds of situations over the years. I’ve learned a lot from him. He is a total artist who uses everything – a guitar, a whistle, a symphony orchestra, spoken word, song, drawing, painting, dance, acting, etc., etc…whatever. There are not limits. After twenty years he’s still on that path, and still an inspiration” —Bill Frisell

“You’ve never heard “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” sung with more feeling than Donald’s own Bonnie, God, that’s sad. However, my money is on the instrumentals of the CD like “Blues for Betti.” Improvisation or not, it’s interesting, spontaneous jazz that experiments within free jazz confines (if that makes any sense). “Hollywood” take the blues feel and transforms it into words. Donald’s world of vocalizing is the deep, lazy, rich sort. I can’t tell if he’s black or white. but the voice is colorblind. I hope he finds a home and genre for his realistic music. Oh yes, it’s realistic. Life is never sculpted from ABAAB patterns, you know. “ Ben Ohmart, Atn-Zone Magazine

"Paper Pieces for Keyboard" is a contemplative collection of piano solos...This is one of the CDs– along with the Bach violin solos by Christiane Edinger, and the Bach cello solos by at least three different people– that I can happily lose myself in, wandering through the black-and-white “landscape” of the keyboards.  Tom Geddie, Buddy Magazine

"Too Late to Die", Donald Rubinstein's nineteenth CD, features fifteen original songs including one co-written with Terry Allen. The contributing musicians include Lloyd Maines, David Mansfield and Hani Naser. A follow-up to last year's acclaimed "When She Kisses the Ship on His Arm", this is the second in an intended series of four CDs exploring the art of the song via a very personal hybrid of Rock, Americana and Folk genres. Rubinstein's unique perspective, equally informed by the wide-ranging implications of multimedia conceptual art and by the immediacy and sincerity of classic roots-driven songwriting, makes for a refreshing and insightful listening experience. "Too Late to Die" may be his most personal statement to date." CD Universe

“I was very skeptical at first about a film about Bob Dylan having no Dylan music in it - not even cover versions; but I needn't have worried. Donald Rubinstein has put together a gorgeous collection of songs and instrumentals that manage to capture perfectly the wide-open spaces of Northern Minnesota, and the theme of the film - the inability, which we all have to face in our lives, to go "home", the home of our childhoods. There are songs of longing and loss; quirky songs and original lyrics that do honor to Dylan while never attempting (or needing,) to copy anything "Dylanesque". This soundtrack has been in my CD player for nearly three months now, and I never seem to tire of hearing it. This is a gorgeous soundtrack- a great CD.”   Amazon, Dr. Paula Radice

I'd Rather Be a Wanderer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJlU9Vz35Fs

Be The One

Time Again

Blowin’ in the Wind

Long Adventure https://www.facebook.com/100008590185048/videos/342693928841520

Paper Pieces For Keyboard https://www.facebook.com/100008590185048/videos/2397258033800125