Music, Jose Roman says, has always been his escape. It is his inspiration, and his reason to live. He believes he has an inner instinct to play and to write. Without it, he feels an unease and unhappiness in his life. From the time he was a child, he always knew music was his destiny, and the only path he ever sought was to become a professional musician. Anyone who hears him play agrees with him; he should not be doing anything else, as anyone with such a gift should utilize it to its fullest extent.
Roman’s reputation as a pianist, keyboard player, and songwriter is formidable. The musician has conquered his industry, and has even extended his work to films, including the critically-acclaimed 30 Days with My Brother. He is a pivotal member of the award-winning rock group Daphne’s Roots, and is highly respected by all those he has worked with, past or present.
“It's very rewarding and inspiring to work with Jose, as he is a very professional musician. He has a lot experience at the studio, which gives you confidence and extra motivation,” said Daniel Silva, the guitar player of Daphne’s Roots. "Besides being an exceptional keyboard player and songwriter, he is an excellent bandleader. He will make sure that everything is at the highest quality level possible and he encourages us to push us to the best of our abilities.”
Last year, Roman once again showed the world how talented he is when he performed with Sahandra Sundstrom on her hit song "Thinkin’ Out Loud". The song was produced by the Grammy award-winner and acclaimed producer Andreao Heard. The track required Roman to go back to his classical piano roots.
“I’m always open to collaborate with great artist such as Sahandra. Once I was asked to write and record an epic piano outro, I knew that task was made for me. The way the vision for this song was presented to me made me to fall in love with the challenge because it was both original, demanding and a great opportunity to showcase my classical background on a pop setting,” Roman described.
When Sundstrom was looking for a keyboardist for her song, she had to find the best to make the song a success. That is when she reached out to Roman, knowing his reputation. She contacted him and explained exactly what she was looking for, and Roman was immediately hooked by the concept. He received a demo of the song and began working on his part right away. The outro was to be in classical piano style, a la Liberace, in Sundstrom’s words. Once he wrote the part, Roman showed it to Sundstrom and Heard. They loved it instantly.
“I love the idea to of going back to my roots and exploring all the harmonies and piano runs and licks that I learned back when I was a classical student in my conservatory. Chopin’s Etudes inspired me as well as Rachmaninoff preludes which until this day I still play to keep my technique on top and my dexterity on check. I really liked the song and I totally connected with the vision that they were looking for, so for me it was another day at the office with a happy face,” said Roman.
In the studio, Roman recorded on a grand acoustic piano to make sure he achieved the best quality possible. He knew how important the outro was to "Thinkin' Out Loud", as not many pop hits have any classical piano in them, let alone an outro. He recorded everything perfectly on his first recording session.
“The whole idea of this project was to do something original and special. That is why I was requested to incorporate an epic classical piano outro to the end of a pop song, which it’s not that common. Fans reacted very positively to the piano part and I do believe it gave it more character and a cool edge to the song,” said Roman.
Once the video was released on YouTube, it received thousands of views in only two weeks. Many comments on the video comment on the piano part of the song. Because his contribution was so successful, Sundstrom has left the door open to work with Roman again on future projects.
“It was very gratifying to know that the video did so well and that I helped to achieve that. Writing and recording good music it’s what gets me up from bed every day to work with great passion and when the result of that makes people excited it just makes you happy. I do feel that once you connect with the vision of the people you are working with, good results and most importantly good reception is achieved,” said Roman.
Throughout his career, Roman will undoubtedly have the opportunity to work with many artists with many different musical styles, as the pianist is so versatile and adaptable. His talent is unparalleled, and his abilities are endless. Roman was meant to be a musician.
“It is virtually impossible to imagine myself doing something different with my life, and I’m extremely happy for the choice I made,” he concluded.