Chiho Sunamoto and the Yamaha EL900
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Chiho Sunamoto
September 2nd 2006
Chiho Sunamoto
Concert Pictures
Chiho Sunamoto
and the Tyros 2
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The utterly delightful Chiho Sunamoto began her music studies at the age of three, that's when most children start Nursery School! She began with piano lessons before progressing to the organ at the age of nine. She has also studied classical organ playing as well as opera singing.
Having settled in the UK in 1986, this has not stopped her performing all over the world both as a Yamaha demonstrator and giving concerts in many parts of the world.
Chiho was dressed in a very fetching dark blue embroidered oriental dress for her concert with us.
Playing her Yamaha EL900M she opened her concert with the Alabama Ouverture before entertaining us with All That Jazz. Glenn Miller's American Patrol followed with shapes floating against the backdrop. A 'drop' of Tequila next to serve as a reminder of Chiho's five week tour of Mexico. She told us that Iguana is often on the menu there, both raw and cooked. No wonder they say that there is no accounting for taste!!
We then had an enchanting rendition of Grandfather's Clock with the flute, church bells, a cuckoo, hand bells, choir and strings all making an appearance.
Jimmy Smith tried numerous drawbar variations before he found the sound that made him so famous. His comment at the time: "I pulled out that third harmonic - and there!" Pinstripe was the number that Chiho played in his inimitable style.
Just The Way You Are, beautifully played using the harmonica sound, was a love song written as a birthday present to Billy Joel's first wife in 1977. Time to demonstrate her talents on the Tyros 2 Chiho carried on with A Foggy Day In London Town, explaining that she obtained her keyboard one Halloween Day, shaking her head bemusedly at our quaint customs on that day.
October is Chiho's favourite month of the autumn; the song When October Goes was both beautifully played and sung by Chiho. World In Union was the official theme song for the Rugby World Cup in 1999 in Cardiff, performed by Bryn Terfel and Shirley Bassey for the opening ceremony; the latter wearing a sparkling sack dress fashioned like the Welsh flag.
From Wales onto Ireland, Chiho played us her own composition, the Irish Dance, set to a green/blueish background by Keith. Piano and panflutes came to the fore for Michael Legrand's composition The Summer Knows.
Having recorded the voice of organist Jon Smith onto the Tyros, it enabled Chiho to sing a duet with him for a rumba, entitled Quando, Quando, Quando. Time then for closing the first half back on the organ with a couple of tunes from Mary Poppins, namely A Spoonful Of Sugar Helps The Medicine Go Down and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Following that spelling test, refreshments were much appreciated!
Another tribute to Jimmy Smith's drawbar sounds in the second half with When A Man Loves A Woman, appropriately set to a red background. In total contrast we had Sunrise Sunset, before Chiho launched into a Barbara Streisand Medley, i.e. People, Love Is Just The Two Of U, Somewhere, Memories & Happy Days. Then Fernicula - Ferniculi from Oliver before playing us the beautiful theme tune by John Barry from the film Out Of Africa.
Back on the Tyros we had Mac The Knife, followed by Chiho singing If I Loved You, before continuing with the ballad You Raise Me Up with piano and violin voices. Isn't It A Pity?, once again sung by Chiho, was one of Gershwin's lesser known pieces from the show "Pardon My English".
Three more pieces on the Tyros Wonderful World, before inviting Jon Smith onto the stage to sing another Gershwin number, recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1962 and performed by Fred Astaire in 1952 in the show "Shall we Dance". The song? They Can't Take That Away From Me followed by It's Only A Papermoon.
Back on the organ we had a selection of tunes from Beauty And The Beast. Time does indeed fly when you are enjoying yourself with the concert having come to an end. The audience would not let Chiho go without the traditional Basildon Encore. I'm Singing In The Rain was most appropriate, as we all found out when we left the hall!
Chiho Sunamoto had last played for us in April 2003. It was great to have her back for an evening full of high quality music in a variety of styles.
Why not come along to a Basildon Keyboard Club Concert, you will be made very welcome, have a great evenings entertainment, a complimentary cup of tea or coffee with biscuits and of course experience the delights of live music played on top of the range electronic organs & keyboards by the best players.