It too continues to receive radio airplay world-wide. It quickly became an iTunes Top 100 New Age album & was nominated for Best Solo Piano CD of 2007 by Whisperings Solo Piano Radio & received a “Reviewer’s Pick” from Kathy Parsons of Mainly Piano. A whole new set of music channeled through my fingertips and evolved into my third CD release, “ Somewhere Within” – solo piano in August ’07. In May, 2006 I bought my dream piano, my very own Kawai RX-7 concert grand, fulfilling my dream of recording and producing my music from home. It continues to receive heavy airplay at with “Just for You”, “Chasing the Wind” & “To Be Held” all hitting #1 on the listener charts! The success of this CD brought new & wonderful opportunities, including numerous concert performances for Solo Piano Radio as well as putting me in “high demand” status as a Seattle wedding pianist. My second release “ Destined“~ solo piano was released in April ‘04. My good friend and fellow pianist Joe Yamada put his home and glorious Kawai RX-7 concert grand at my disposal and I dove in head first. The more I played & composed, I longed more & more for a new CD to hand to my family, friends, & handful of fans. My 17 years in the restaurant business had brought me a handsome salary with a great company. In 2002 I bought a baby grand, a Mahogany Kawai KG-2D. I managed to abstain from reading or writing music with my sole intent being to improvise and create. My ability to visualize and memorize carried me through these times, musically. Compositions came together, but sometimes over periods of months. Retreats to the piano were much harder to come by.
Taylor blossoming into a young lady, my career developing rapidly… life just seemed to get a bit more complicated each day. I give great thanks to all who gave to it! The support for this CD was and still is surprising, if not stunning. “ At Peace” ~ solo piano was released in February 2001. A few months later I focused in on an album project, rented a grand, crammed it into my basement and spent three weeks diligently practicing & recording. From that day forward, my synthesizers began to acquire dust as I played my new Yamaha U1 upright acoustic piano. No, I didn’t perform magically for her (acoustic piano was a bit foreign to me at that time), but I was enamored by the power, simplicity, and enchanting sound of the instrument as a solo. I sat down at her Baldwin baby grand & something special happened. Realizing that a musical career would be forever limited on the island, I moved to Seattle in ’97.Īt age 28, a trip back to Chicago to visit Dad lead me to meet my second cousin Joann Bongiorno, a classical piano virtuoso whom I had only heard stories about. My first release was “Ancient Sky” in ’94, an eclectic electronic blend of New Age piano, Native American influences (always a fav!) and even cutting edge rock instrumentals (starring Tom)… I was still wandering a bit musically, obviously! Engineering & producing other artists was relatively short lived, but a priceless experience.
#WHISPERINGS SOLO PIANO CONCERT HOW TO#
My buddy & talented guitarist/songwriter Tom Henry taught me how to listen and mix and the islanders now had a place to record. Mellow Sounds Studio opened on San Juan Island in ’93, a popular haven for the island’s many singer-songwriters and folk music artists. I endeavored to start my own recording studio & bought all the toys. My composing was born, as was my beautiful daughter Taylor. Culture shock took hold, while nature and quiet times prevailed. Graduating high school in ’87 brought an element of retreat from the Chicago “big city” life… venturing out west with my mother & siblings to San Juan Island, Washington. Spending Friday nights at band practice and Saturdays gigging parties & dances, memories were definitely made! I grew my hair, sported parachute pants, bought a synthesizer with my neighborhood lawn mowing cash, & jammed to 80′s tunes on LPs. High school brought new experiences, forming the band LIXX with a couple buddies with rock star ambitions. An eighth grade football knee injury eventually proved detrimental to my childhood dream.
I still hear my father’s words ringing clearly in my head “someday you’ll thank me” referring to the childhood piano training I so gladly abandoned.
#WHISPERINGS SOLO PIANO CONCERT PROFESSIONAL#
I quit my classical piano training at age eleven, seeking a more glamorous life as a professional athlete. Tickets are available at PianoWorks, online or by calling the 24/7 Brown Paper Tickets Hotline at 800.838.3006. Tickets will be $20 for adults and $10 for students. Saturday, April 16, at 7:00 pm, PianoWorks will be hosting Whisperings Radio Artists David Nevue, Jeff Smith and Joe Bongiorno in concert. PianoWorks Presents: Whisperings in Concert – Joe Bongiorno
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