Elton John to perform at Yamaha/NAMM '13 event

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Elton John will join Yamaha in celebrating its 125th anniversary by participating in an historical concert for its dealers on Jan. 25 at Disneyland’s Hyperion Theater in Anaheim, Calif. 

Thanks to Yamaha’s DisklavierTV™, powered by RemoteLive™ technology, Elton’s performance on the Yamaha Disklavier reproducing piano onstage with a 70-piece orchestra will be streamed live over the Internet and simultaneously to remote Disklaviers in many countries around the world.

His actual piano keystrokes are then faithfully recreated, note for note, in real time on each of the remote instruments, while the entire orchestra is seen and heard on adjacent monitors, in perfect sync with the remote piano performances. The locations of the remote performance venues will be announced shortly.

“Elton John is one of the most successful and influential music makers of our time, and Yamaha is thrilled to bring him to a global audience in this history making manner,” said Chris Gero, vice president of Yamaha Entertainment Group of America, which is producing the event.

“This exciting event will also demonstrate how Yamaha DisklavierTV is forever changing the way in which a live piano concert can be enjoyed in real time around the world.”
 
Speaking of the newly-announced concert, John (a longtime Yamaha artist), said: “I’m constantly astonished by the inventive skills and versatility of the Yamaha team. Not only have they built all my touring pianos for the past 20 years, as well as the wonderful Million Dollar Piano that resides at Caesars Palace, but they’ve also now perfected the RemoteLive technology, which means that effectively, I can perform the concert live in Anaheim on Jan. 25, live across the Internet and also live in venues worldwide–all at the same time! I am both proud and grateful to be a Yamaha artist and to enjoy the fruits of Yamaha’s amazing expertise.”
 
In recent years, Elton collaborated with Yamaha on The Red Piano Tour that originated in 2004 at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. In 2011, he returned to Caesars Palace with a new show, The Million Dollar Piano, named after a one-of-a-kind instrument made exclusively for him by Yamaha.

Legendary bass player Nathan East will serve as music director for the anniversary concert event, while acclaimed composer James Newton Howard will conduct the 70-piece orchestra.

During 2013 Elton will be looking both back, with celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of the release of the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album, and forward, with the release of a brand new studio album. He will continue to tour across the world with his band, and in April will return to Caesars Palace for another season of the fabulous Million Dollar Piano show. A DVD of that show is also being produced for 2013 release.