MANILA, Philippines - Pianist Chris Gillespie shares intimate sets of jazz composed of ’40s to ’50’s standards and a couple of originals on March 13, 8 p.m., at Whitespace, 2314 Chino Roces Ave., Makati City.
Chris Gillespie’s phrasing is that of a very old soul — a soul which has a bittersweet way with a ballad and a jaunty insouciance to its swingin’ singing. Rather than overwhelm with florid hyperbole, Gillespie’s singing insinuates with a certain quiet truth that is too solidly true to need overstatement, a truth comfortable enough in its un-impeachability to state its case with quiet assurance.
He performs songs such as Fly Me To The Moon, Here’s To Love, Billie Holiday’s Don’t Explain, Take Five, Gershwin’s They Can’t Take That Away, How Deep Is the Ocean, Love Is Funny, How About You, the pensive ballad In the Still of the Night, and a jaunty bossa nova-cum-swing treatment of Alone Together. His singing reminds most listeners of Tony Bennet.