| Sunday 18 May, 21:00 | Teatro Olimpico di Vicenza | Buy ticketBuy |
Shai Maestro is one of the most talented pianists of the thirty-something generation. Since his debut with his trio in 2011, Shai has tried to bring out his strong personal identity in a context as demanding and full of history and challenging stories as that of the "piano trio". After various formative experiences (but also a trio with Avishai Cohen, double bass, and Mark Giuliana, drums), it is anything but a coincidence that in 2018 Shai Maestro became an ECM artist, invited by Manfred Eicher to be part of a group of jazz pianists who defined the sound of the label: just think of Keith Jarrett, Paul Bley and Chick Corea.
But Shai Maestro certainly didn't stop. Open to a thousand influences, from klezmer to the world of symphony and soundtracks, after intense international tours he signed for Sony: from here collaborations emerged both with the world of pop and electronics and with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. He returns to Vicenza after six years, again at the Olimpico: in 2019 he was in a trio, this year in solo, in an ideal comparison between different piano languages with Sullivan Fortner.
Shai Maestro, piano
Sullivan Fortner has literally been one of the pianists most requested by his American colleagues for years. He was born in 1986 in New Orleans and is fully part of the jazz rebirth of the most historic city of jazz, which for too long remained in the annals almost only as a museum reference.
His acclaimed technical prowess has even somehow overshadowed his incredible artistic stature. Yet Fortner knows how to move with unprecedented ease between his debt to tradition (it is unlikely that this is not the case for a native of Louisiana) and his attention to and adherence to contemporary languages. Now, beyond the comments in the press and the multiple awards, what is surprising is the unconditional esteem that his fellow pianists, such as Jason Moran and Brad Mehldau, have for him. Today, finally, Fortner has decided to no longer be just the pianist discovered by Roy Hargrove, launched by Winton Marsalis and made popular by the great singers (Cécile McLorin Salvant, Diane Reeves, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Samara Joy). After his last album "Solo Game" (2024), where he plays piano, Hammond B3, Fender Rhodes, vocoder, music box, celesta, drums and various percussions, he undertook a very long solo tour, which will touch on Italy in the only date at the Olimpico in Vicenza.
Sullivan Fortner, piano
