No Black Tie – Singin’ in the rain

Classical Piano Recital with Nicholas Ong
Date : Thursday 5th November 2009
Time : 9pm
Ticket : RM30
Nicholas Ong renders compositions by Frederic Chopin, one of the great masters of the Romantic movement. Like Chopin, Ong spent many years in Paris after being awarded a French Government Scholarship to study with Marian Rybicki at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris. He graduated with the highest distinction before venturing into teaching at his alma mater. Later moving to the United States, Ong obtained a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the prestigious Juilliard School in New York. Praised for having a “firm rubber-ball touch and bounce”, Ong won first prize at the Ywonne Lefebure International Piano Competition and was a finalist at the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition. A regular performer at concert halls and music festivals, Ong is a talent worthy of standing ovations.

Mike del Ferro (piano), Christy Smith (bass) & Lewis Pragasam (drums)
Date : Friday 6th & 7th November 2009
Time : 10.30pm
Ticket : RM40
They love playing musical mixology at No Black Tie. This week’s concoction brings a pressing of piano from Amsterdam, a pluck of bass from California and a dash of drums from KL. Leading the trio is pianist, composer and arranger Mike del Ferro. Mike’s reputation has led to worldwide performances, recordings, and tours with musicians such as Toots Thielemans, Jack DeJohnette, Oscar Castro Neves, Deborah Brown, Erik Truffaz and many others. Mike is also the director of Jazz Programs of American Voices which takes him to perform in exotic locations such as Latvia, Turkmenistan, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Ady Suwardy
Date : Monday 9th November 2009
Time : 9.30pm
Ticket : RM30
Designing interiors in the day and crooning jazzed-up R&B tunes by night, Ady Suwardy is a relative newcomer to the KL live music scene. Ady stumbled into singing after standing in for a no-show at an event. Discovering his ability to melt hearts with his vocals, Ady went on to be champion of Juara Popular THR.fm in 2003. In 2008 he released his debut album, Masih Ada Waktu in which he wrote six of the ten tracks. Ady is no stranger to us, having sung back-up for Francesca Peter at NBT. We welcome him back, this time to take centre stage. Go Ady!

Irene Soliano & Solianos Trio
Date : Tuesday 10th November 2009
Time : 9.30pm
Ticket : RM30
With their fully booked calendars, we’re honoured that the Solianos have us pencilled in for another gig this month. Malaysia’s jazz dynasty is sure to be a sell-out so book early.

Rachel Guerzo
Date : Wednesday 11th November 2009
Time : 9.30pm
Ticket : RM30
What’s the next best thing to having a Soliano on stage? Why a Guerzo who’s part Soliano, of course. Be seduced by the glamourous Rachel Guerzo as she belts out standards with her rich vocals and fanciful finger work on the grand.

Category: Live Music Diary