Gonzales patiently waits and helps musical stars
Chilly Gonzales missed the Renaissance by a few hundred years.
If he’d lived in the 1600s, he might have fit in. Gonzales’ versatility and several talents would have identified him as a Renaissance man. He is a schooled musician, a storyteller, a comedian, a producer and a collaborator.
Although his headlining show Monday at the Rio is billed as solo piano, those who saw him in his 25-minute opening spot for Feist know he’s liable to offer so much more. That was only a condensed sample.
“I would say it was even more with Feist,” Gonzales remembers the short set and how it meant containing himself. “I never even broke a sweat. It was ridiculous.
“I look at a show as a military operation,” he explains. “I go out there with a battle plan. But I try to feel out what I can do. It’s a never ending preparation.”
His relationship with Feist goes back to when she was starting. Gonzales cowrote, played on and produced her earliest music. He since has done the same with Drake and Daft Punk.
What makes him different from a producer who tends to shape an act according to his vision is that Gonzales is more of a chameleon. He figures out who they are and then blends in to what he calls their universe. They trust him and he becomes their friend.
“The majority of these people are friends,” he believes. “There is never a moment I’m not there when I’m needed.
“I was able to use what I learned with Feist. Like, Drake has his own universe and is comfortable in that. I don’t try to change that universe. It’s no different with Feist.
“I’m not the kind of producer who sits twiddling knobs,” Gonzales continues. “I’m with them in the room, playing piano. I’m no Svengali; I’m with them. I’m contributing something useful. The point is to do something that is useful to them.”
Gonzales finds himself in the unusual position of being a resource, a kind of bridesmaid but not the bride. Despite his ability, he’s not as well known as Drake or Feist. Yet, being on the sideline, he is able to learn ... and wait his turn.
“Absolutely,” Gonzales exclaims. “Most of these people are more successful than me. These are special talents and I’m very jealous of that.”
To add another line to his resumé, Gonzales has been composing for, and playing with, orchestras. The recent experience has been both gratifying and humbling.
“I’ve got a lot to learn,” he says. “You’ll never master piano. You’ll always be a slave.”
As he’s become a master of harmony and the other techniques required of the musician, Gonzales resolutely has remained practical and an observer of pop music. This has ensured that he won’t develop an academic attitude toward music or become “a professor living in an ivory tower.” At the same time, this has sharpened his sense of humour.
“That connects me to my generation,” he figures. “Thank heaven!”