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Hey Dave,
I totally agree with you about the Fazioli..I thought it was a 228 not 225..
and I totally loved the Blüthner upright..the action was really great.

RICH ..I will be seeing you soon!!!

Hi Joey. Yes my mistake, a 228. Had the Bosendorfer on my mind (and not the gold leafed one ...yuck !! ) as I'd just come from the Marriott.

My friend saw you & Branford on Thursday at the Schimmel room, said you guys really tore it up . Wish I could have seen it. Hope you're still enjoying your new piano.

Hey Dave,
I am in the air flying to Dallas and then home to Durham,NC..
We had a great time and all the piano folks there were very nice..Not an ideal setting for playing pianos but still
pretty cool.
I am very excited about getting the K219 and Branford will be getting my k189..
Wish you could have come by(next time)
We were pretty rusty but it was fun just the same..my wife and I had a baby boy 2 months ago,so the piano has taken a bit of a backseat...time to get back to work!!!

take care,Joey

Just saw your post about playing on Friday too...aw man now I'm really kicking myself I didn't know you were there yesterday as well..

I wouldn't have wasted time futzing around looking at toy electronic keyboards and just set the Schimell room as destination #1. Yeah the atmosphere is certainly not conducive to playing, but glad you had the gig and a few people got to hear you...maybe for the first time. Hopefully that will give them the impetus to hear all your great stuff.

And a huge congrats on the TWO new arrivals ! Your upgrade to the 7' 2" and more importantly the new boy. Wow !

Have a safe trip home from Texas Joey.

Hey Dave,
We will be playing in Malibu on May 6th...if you want to come and I can get you tickets.Joey

Steve, I missed this post earlier. I saw Larry Fine yesterday, and assumed you'd be nearby. He told me what was up. I missed seeing you, and hope everything is fine (no pun intended).

I spent yesterday in the company of Rich Galassini. Got to see some acquaintances who I greatly regard in the business, and meet some new ones, Bill Shull and Randy Potter among them. It was an enriching day!

Speaking of Rich, here he was yesterday, enduring the harsh SoCal weather:

We're sitting this one out too. We have other projects going on at the moment, plus it just
didn't seem like money well spent this year.

But happy to see posts from those who are there.

Would love to hear from someone who has visited Baldwin booth.
Heard especially their grands are outstanding....
Norbert

I think that we're all curious about the 'new' Baldwins.

I only played the Baldwins very quickly - not enough to form an opinion on the tone.

I was very surprised to see many of the Baldwin features having been eliminated - no more vertical hitch pins, for instance.

Don Mannino

I didn't spend a lot of time at the Baldwin booth, but what I sampled was not particularly impressive.

I wonder how the many entry level + , Asian pianos are doing in the market in North America? A lot of hype here on PW, over the past few years for certain makes, such as Hailun, Ritmueller, Brodmann and others. And newcomers such as Kayserburg and the new Baldwins. I tried several Chinese Heintzmans (a previous Canadian make) grands a few years ago and was impressed but not sold. Anyone at Namm noticing/hearing any upgrades in specific models or brands?

Thanks Joey. Sent you a PM.

I looked at them as well. As far as I could tell none of the traditional Baldwin features were present. They looked like generic Parson's-built pianos with a Baldwin label.

ddf

The "Galassini Gazette"??

Well, ok - here it goes.

I did not have as much time as I truly wanted because I arrived late (storm related delays). I missed a Wednesday night performance of the newest four manual Rodgers organ that I heard was thrilling.

Thursday was a day of squeezing two days worth of work into one, so I did not take nearly as many pictures as I have in the past, but I digress.

A surprise to me was the Bluthner digital piano. Its interface is not as polished as Roland or Yamaha, but I was surprised by the instrument. I enjoyed playing it - and the fact that Bluthner puts it out is a breath of fresh air to me.

There were fewer piano companies displaying than I can remember. The "piano room" was smaller but it also gave more of an opportunity to discuss the instruments, crawl around them, and chat easily with colleagues and vendors.

Here are a few pictures:



Jazz pianist Makoto Ozone (at the keyboard) discusses a Schimmel grand with Joey Calderazzo (Standing wearing a peach tie) and Vladimir Zaglavsky, a dealer friend in NJ. You can see the back of Branford's head in the picture.





This is a really bad picture of the 50000th Bosendorfer, a model 225. This piano was gorgeous and it played beautifully, simply beautifully.




Hanging with Branford Marsalis after the Thursday night private concert at Schimmel. There was all of 25 people in attendance. (Friday was open to all NAMM members). At the private performance Joey played and talked in a way that made you feel like we were all sitting in his living room. He and Branford chatted openly about each tune - and sometimes during them. It was a glimpse into the process that any collaborative musicians go through to make their art. (I might have heckled him just a little bit - we will wait for Joey's take on it)

Oh, Branford will be sorry we exchanged cell. numbers.




Playing a keyboard built for Lady Gaga - it was weird.




I enjoyed lunch in the sun with a group of familiar faces:
Front: Owen Lovell (our own terminaldegree) and his lovely wife Rachel.
Back: Basilios Strmec of Petrof, Sauter, and Hailun, Del Fandrich, and Larry Fine.




Many regulars here know Hugh Sung. He did a scheduled lecture on Airturn and what it can do for musicians at the Hal Leonard booth. Of course I was there! Hugh is a great musician who also happens to be a genius. The guy doesn't sleep.




...and the weather did not include snow, wind, or below zero temperatures. That is always a big plus for NAMM!

My 2 cents,

Hey Rich,
That is not a peach tie!!!!!
it was gold/yellowish with a hint of brown.
lol
great meeting you dude!!
J
ps..i have been looking for a peach tie

Not for those experienced with a great deal of different pianos.

It's actually easy to size up a piano in fairly short time.

Especially when approaching on "comparative basis"

Norbert

Great pictures, Rich!

It is nice to put a face with a name, though I had seen pics of some the individuals you named.

Rick

I meant to say that tie is a peach!