Five Favourites
highly regarded jazz pianist and vocalist eriko ishihara


Who is your all-time favourite jazz musician?
Shirley Horn. The way she tells stories is just perfect for me, she’s so warm and deep, and she swings. And she encourages me to believe what I want to believe.

What is your favourite piano piece to listen to?
There are so many I like, it is difficult to choose. But if pushed, it would be Ravel’s Piano Concerto. ‑

What is your favourite piano piece to play?
Again, there are so many pieces, it is difficult to choose and it depends on my mood and the day.

Who is your favourite pop singer or group at the moment?
Stevie Wonder. He is a great singer-songwriter who can both play many instruments and sing amazingly.

What is your favourite film?
Il Sole Anche Di Notte (Sunshine Even by Night) – I’m not religious, but it is a beautiful film that includes some of my favourite actors and actresses.

Classically trained, Eriko Ishihara got her first taste of jazz as a teenager after she delved into her uncle’s record collection. On Friday, October 19, she will be bringing Jazz Up: Eriko Ishihara to the HK City Hall’s Concert Hall. Showtime is scheduled for 8pm. Tickets are $400, $300 and $150 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

A “rising star”, the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary tells us, is “a person who is likely to be successful”. However, many in his native Spain would readily assert that Javier Perianes, the classical musician in focus for what is only the second concert in the Rising Stars Piano Series, is already a very successful and popular pianist.

This accomplished musician – who’s yet to celebrate his 30th birthday – already has had the honour of playing before King Juan Carlos of Spain as well as in concert in New York’s Carnegie Hall, Berlin’s Konzerthaus and Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Conservatory along with premiere performing arts venues in Barcelona and Madrid. Furthermore, he has several major musical prizes to his credit to go with the popular and critical acclaim he has received both in his homeland and, increasingly, abroad.

On Wednesday, October 24, Hong Kong classical music enthusiasts will find out for themselves what the hype is about when Perianes makes his HKSAR debut at the Javier Perianes in Recital concert. The recital includes piano works by Robert Schumann, Beethoven and Chopin along with a Catalan-based Mompou Musica Callada selection. Showtime at the Sheung Wan Civic Centre’s Theatre is at 8pm. Tickets are $360, $240 and $180 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

Listen Up! And Go!
Two independent live-music series’ continue apace in the second part of October at the Fringe Club. First up, on Friday, October 19, Listen Up! 17 (and yes, it is indeed the 17th edition!) will turn the spotlight on three bands: the energetic Velvette Vendetta, with Jacky on vocals and guitar, Dave also on guitar, Ken on bass and Andre on drums; GriN, which comprises vocalist Jenny, guitarists Hei and Vincent, bassist Kenji and drummer Wah; and the explosive Very Ape, with Urase Yoshito supplying the vocals and effects, Teramoto Atsushi on guitar, Koya Hisakazu on bass, vocals and conga, and Ogura Yasushi on the drums. The show is scheduled to last from 10:30pm to 12:30am at the Fringe Club’s Fringe Gallery. Tickets are $90, include one standard drink, and are available at the Fringe Club box office from 9:30pm on the night.

The next Friday, October 26, will see a hip-hop themed edition of “Go” powered by “The Me? ...We Movement” self-tagged with ‘Parental Advisory’ and ‘Explicit Content’ labels. This show, which features music-makers like MC Yan, YP (whose band members have monikers like Double T, ADV and Chef), Lo. J and a special guest in the form of the Italian opera-trained Paisley Hu Bei Wei, will start at 10:30pm sharp at the Fringe Club’s Fringe Gallery. This time around, entry costs $120 and includes one free Beck’s.

Sino-Italian Connection
Chinese soprano He Hui Returns! And so does Lü Jia, the Mainland Chinese maestro recently appointed music director of Italy’s historic Arena di Verona! On October 26 and 27, they will perform in concert together with the HK Philharmonic Orchestra at the HK Cultural Centre’s Concert Hall. The 11-piece programme for both evenings is heavy with Italian music and includes works by Rossini, Puccini and Verdi. These performances, part of the LCSD’s Mediterranean Arts Festival, are scheduled to commence at 8pm. Tickets are $380, $280, $180 and $120 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

Anti-Gloomy Music
“Every era would have tons of shitty events going on. Whenever we come across them, we’d feel gloomy. And when we feel gloomy, there’d always be somebody who can’t tolerate any more and yell out. Therefore, in each era, there’d always be some kind of music, reflecting everything, provoking the yell in our hearts...” It is not often we quote verbatim a whole paragraph from a press release. But, then, it is not every day one is likely to come across something like the above, courtesy of the folks at Mackie Study!

The words are in aid of the Another Worst of the Time Live Gigs on the weekend of October 27-28. On the evening of Saturday, October 27, Lenny Kwok (of politically radical folk-music band Blackbird) and Edmund Leung (previously of Huh!?) will provide the music to chase the gloom away. The next night’s concert features the sounds of the quirky and flamboyant Juicy Ning quintet and the “temporary music group” that is Minninoise. Showtime for both gigs is 7:30pm at the Cattle Depot Artist Village’s Onandon Theatre. Tickets are $150 from Mackie Study, 2808 0301, and Mackie Study 2, 3582 4840.

Zoot Money Rolls In
The singer, pianist, organist, bandleader, songwriter and actor born with Money as his surname but who named himself after jazz saxophonist Zoot Sims will appear at Grappa’s Cellar on October 26 and 27. One of the biggest characters on Britain’s rhythm and blues scene since the 1960s, veteran musician Zoot Money has been involved over the years with the Big Roll Band – whose line-up over the years has included Andy Summers (later of The Police), longtime Van Morrison guitarist Ronnie Johnson and Paul McCallum (late of The Wombles) – and the British Blues Quintet. Showtime both nights is 9pm. Admission costs $288 and includes one free drink. For reservations, call 2521 2322.

Seasonal Table-Music
Tafelmusik, a German word that literally translates as ‘table-music’, is a term for the 16th and 17th century European equivalent of muzak: that is, background music for feasts, banquets and similarly celebratory outdoor events. It also partially lends its name to Toronto’s 27-year-old Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, a classical musical ensemble with 17 core members. On Sunday, 21 October, these period instrument specialists will share the stage with China’s Wen Zhao (pipa), India’s Aruna Narayan (sarangi) and Iniuit throat singers Aqsarniit while performing an international fusion re-interpretation of Antonio Vivaldi’s beloved The Four Seasons. The Four Seasons: Cycle of the Sun concert is set to commence at 8pm at the HK City Hall’s Concert Hall. Tickets are $360 to $100 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

Live at The Venetian Macao
Ebullient hip-hop quartet the Black Eyed Peas dispense the musical equivalent of soul food and, on Saturday, October 27, band members will.i.am, Fergie, apl.de.ap and Taboo will be seeking to satiate the appetites of the audience at the Venetian Arena on the Macau leg of their Black Blue & You World Tour. The projected two-hour concert gets going at 8:30pm. Tickets are priced at MOP$1200 to MOP$400.

Similarly priced tickets are on sale too for Beyoncé’s November concert at the Venetian Arena. In the Beyoncé Experience, the former frontwoman of Destiny’s Child turned popular solo singer will turn up the heat on the Cotai strip on the evening of Saturday, November 3. Showtime is 8:30pm.

Another Macau concert is
Air Supply’s All Out of Love for 30 Years. Tickets for this Friday, October 19 show at the Sands Theatre are going for MOP$550 and MOP$450 and you can get yours today.

All of these tickets are bookable online at www.
VenetianMacaoTickets.com, by phone (+853 2882 8818) or in person at The Venetian Arena and Sands Macao lobby box office.

Five Live
They sing mainly in Finnish and, occasionally, English but that hasn’t prevented Finnish a cappella group Club for Five from being named among the featured performers for the Miss Chinese Cosmos Pageant 2007 finals in Hong Kong – and telecast live to an estimated 100 million around the world! – on November 13. Before that TV appearance, Eeppi Ursin (soprano), Susanna Hietala (mezzo), Jouni Kannisto (tenor), Tuomas Ahola (baritone) and Tuukka Haapaniemi (bass) will showcase their innovative self-arranged and/or self-composed musical repertoire at the Club For Five: Live in Hong Kong concert on Thursday, November 1 in the HK Cultural Centre’s Concert Hall. Showtime is at 8pm. Tickets are $650 to $100 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

Sylvian’s World
Musical chameleon David Sylvian is on the record as stating, “Nowadays it doesn’t really matter where we are physically located.” He has also said in interviews that he no longer has any particular interest in performing live. But starting in September of this year, the enigmatic former front man of new wave pop band Japan embarked on a new world tour that will see him stopping in Hong Kong to perform at the HITECH Hall B in Kowloon Bay on the evening of Saturday, October 27. The David Sylvian – the World is Everything Tour 2007 concert is set to kick off at 8pm. Tickets are $780 and $680 from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288.