This is the story of one woman's accidental career as a cocktail lounge piano player. Connecting the people she has met with the places she has played and the pianos she has known, Robin Meloy Goldsby discovers the human side, for better or worse, of her audiences - mobsters and moguls, the down-and-out, the downright scary, and ordinary people dealing with life in extraordinary ways.
'Goldsby has seen it all from her piano and she dishes it up with a true storyteller's gusto. As refreshing as a frozen daiquiri . . .' Jeff Yanc, Book Sense Picks and Notables
Pianist, composer, and author Robin Meloy Goldsby mesmerizes listeners with her three solo piano CDs: Somewhere in Time, Songs from th Castle and Twilight. The recordings
frame Goldsby's career as a pianist in some of the world's finest hotels and restaurants.
Goldsby's first book, Piano Girl: A Memoir, made its hardcover debut in spring, 2005. The book presents a collection of autobiographical short stories' some funny, some poignant'that explore the life of a working musician. Publishers Weekly, in a starred review, hailed Piano Girl as 'big-hearted, funny, truly eye-opening memoir.'
Book Sense, the leading organization representing independent bookstores in the United States, chose Piano Girl, now available in paperback, as one of the 'Picks of the Summer, 2006.'
Goldsby has appeared on NPR's All Things Considered, the Leonard Lopate Show in New York City, and the Mark Farrell Show on CD 101.9. Recently she taped two installments of Marian McPartland's NPR Piano Jazz, which aired in October 2006 and December 2007. Marian McPartland says, 'Piano Girl is certainly one of the funniest books I've ever read.'
Robin performs live, in a variety of settings. Her performances in the past year have included a reading and concert in the rotunda at Steinway Hall in Manhattan, a performance at the Salt Lake City International Jazz Festival, a reading at the Bechstein Concert Hall in Cologne Germany, and an Advent Concert in Candlelight at Schlosshotel Lerbach, a beautiful castle and 5-star hotel in the hills of Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, where she appears regularly.
A cocktail-lounge pianist for 30 years, Goldsby worked her way through Chatham College, an elite women's school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by playing piano in local hotel lounges and roadhouse bars. After moving to New York City in 1980, she began playing in many of Manhattan's leading hotels where she cultivated her skills and captivated audiences with her unique musical style. In addition to her five-star experiences in New York City and her no-star gigs in small regional lounges, Goldsby's musical adventures have taken her to exclusive island resorts, Third World countries, and the castles in Europe where she currently performs.
Goldsby's second book, a novel called RHYTHM was published in October 2008: Meet teenage drummer Jane Bowman. She's fifteen, funny, and wounded by the loss of her famous percussionist mother. Robin Meloy Goldsby's touching and humorous coming-of-age musical odyssey invites us to tap our toes in time to Jane's powerful music'cheering her on as she mends her shattered heart, finds her groove, and discovers the tragic beauty of human resilience.
'Goldsby, who marries the pathos of her plot line with the whimsy and near-magical-realism of her characters, deserves comparison with John Irving, a modern master.'
Marion Winik, NPR commentator and author of First Comes Love
'Rhythm conveys the magic of sound plus the transformative power of music, and the words'like a well-played melody'ring true.'
Peter Erskine, drummer and author of Time Awareness for All Musicians
Robin is married to jazz bassist John Goldsby. They have two children, and live near Cologne Germany.
