Chilly Gonzales - Solo Piano III

The Guardian 80

Gentle Threat

After making his name as an average alt-rocker and a rather awful comic rapper, the Canadian eccentric who calls himself Chilly Gonzales now dresses in a smoking jacket (apparently modelling himself on Kenny Everett’s ludicrous latex-chinned French bon viveur, Marcel Wave) and serves as a one-man cheerleader for the piano. He publishes sheet music, encouraging lapsed pianists to practise again. He performs piano covers of songs by everyone from Weezer to Lana Del Rey, from Drake to Phil Collins. He makes fascinating podcasts, nerdishly explaining music theory on the piano through the medium of bubblegum pop. And he makes rather good Debussy-ish albums like this, his third of original piano solos.