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May 19th, 2009
Well, he did it. Canadian-born pianist, producer and songwriter Gonzales has broken the Guinness World Record for the longest solo concert. This past Saturday, (May 16), Gonzales completed his 27-hour piano gig at the Ciné 13 Théâtre in Paris, France.
During the 27 hours, three minutes and 44-second performance, the artist formerly known as Montrealer Jason Beck played 240 songs, including his own compositions as well as works by Gershwin, Beethoven and Neil Young. He also reinterpreted Britney Spears’ “Hit Me Baby One More Time” and “Eye of the Tiger” from Rocky III.
More than your average concert, Gonzales kept the crowd entertained by changing in and out of some striped pyjamas in the Sunday morning hours, eating a bowl of cereal while playing piano and getting shaved onstage.
In order to prevent health risks, the musician sought expert advice regarding sleep, food and cramping, and was allowed 30-second pauses between each song and one 15-minute break after each three-hour set. However, towards the end he wore a blindfold when he began to suffer from hallucinations.
Gonzales released his latest album, Soft Power, last year, and is a well known for his work as a collaborator with Feist on her albums Let it Die and The Reminder, not to mention recordings by Peaches and Jamie Lidell.
The previous Guinness record was held by Prasanna Gudi, who performed for 26 hours as 12 minutes in India last December.
You can stream the record-breaking concert in its entirety at gonzpiration.com.
Posted on Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 at 4:06 pm by Cam and is filed under The New Music.
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