Raphael Gualazzi

Because of artists like Rapheal Gualazzi we are able to go through a portal to other worlds and times of music experience. Gualazzi’s career incorporates a broad range of sounds. Gualazzi gives life back to and pays homage to classic piano rag, 20s pop standards, Nino Rota inspired melodies and early jazz swing.

Gualazzi is perhaps the most accomplished and technically gifted pianist I have seen and in addition to the clockwork precision he exhibits throughout his performances he adds a level of expression that cannot be simulated. He is truly a miracle to see at work. He not only performs piano pieces that would threaten the most dextrous concert pianists, he sings on top of these incredibly challenging pieces. The interworking between his vocal and instrumental performance seems to feed off of the others energy culminating in an unrelinquishing display of musicality.

Gualazzi is also an incredibly versatile performer and writer. He can play solo pieces that absolutely mesmerize the audience with his great speed and precision and can refrain the verbosity of his performance to work with accompanying musicians like an upright bass player and drummer. He updates vaudeville style piano themes as heard on “Reality and Fantasy” with darkly intense scatting which could draw comparison to expressionistic performers like Tom Waits. Gualazzi shows no hesitation in embracing more confine pop structures. “A Three Second Breath” shows his proficiency as a pop artist and a skillful singer. At his shows you might even hear him perform a Duke Ellington cover one minute and then a Fleetwood Mac cover the next. Almost anything seems fair game at a Gualazzi concert.