Producer-performer Gonzales sets solo concert record in Paris
Last Updated: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 | 11:16 AM ET
CBC News
Related
Internal Links
External Links
(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites - links will open in new window)
Canadian musician and producer Gonzales is shown in Paris on Sunday during his attempt to set a world record for longest solo concert. (Pierre Verdy/AFP/Getty Images) Canadian musician, singer-songwriter, producer and rapper Gonzales has set a new solo concert record after completing a marathon, 27-plus hour piano performance in Paris.
Dozens of fans cheered Gonzales on at the Ciné 13 Théâtre in the Paris neighbourhood of Montmartre, while countless others were able to take in his performance via streaming from his website.
Armed with more than 300 songs, he began his record-setting gig at midnight Sunday, sitting at an upright piano with a massive digital clock tracking his progress nearby.
Gonzales had assembled a wide-ranging playlist that veered from his own compositions to film scores, TV themes, Gershwin, Beethoven and Neil Young. It also included pop hits by Britney Spears and the Bee Gees that he re-arranged especially for the occasion. Each song could be played only once.
For the near-continuous Guinness World Records attempt, he was permitted a 30-second pause between each song and one 15-minute break after each three-hour set.
The performer also jazzed up his performance periodically by getting a shave onstage; singing, talking and answering questions from a videographer; changing into and out of striped pyjamas on Sunday and eating a bowl of cereal while playing.
Overall, the performance spanned 27 hours, three minutes and 44 seconds, according to French media reports.
The previous record was set by India's Prasanna Gudi, who performed raga for 26 hours and 12 minutes in December.
Gonzales told Agence France-Presse that to prepare for his world record attempt, he consulted with experts who helped him adapt his "sleep patterns and food requirements." He said he also consulted an acupuncturist for his hands.
"I've read the Guinness book and I find this combination of the poetic and the useless irresistible. I remember a guy who put 143 cigarettes in his mouth: it was purposeless, but he was the only one to do it!" he told AFP prior to the show.
The Paris-based Gonzales, whose real name is Jason Beck, was born in Montreal.
Aside from his solo career, which includes releasing his sixth album, Soft Power, in 2008, he is also known for collaborating with singer Feist for her 2003 album Let it Die and 2007's The Reminder.
He is also a longtime collaborator of Canadian rapper Peaches and has worked with recording artists such as Jamie Lidell and Jane Birkin.
Share Tools
FILM REVIEW: Men in Black 3 by Eli Glasner May. 25, 2012 11:30 AM Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back in the action sequel Men in Black 3, a third instalment of a series now 15 years old. Though new addition Josh Brolin manages some amazing mimicry as a younger version of Jones, the story doesn't measure up to the weird and wonderful charms of the original, says film reviewer Eli Glasner.
Top News Headlines
- Quebec students to challenge Bill 78 in court
- A collective of student associations, unions and environmental groups is holding a news conference Friday morning to announce their plans to mount a legal challenge against Bill 78. more »
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- Raw stories about bullying emerged when a video booth was set up inside a Quebec high school. more »
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest

- The difficulty, danger and expense of removing the bodies of climbers who died in Mount Everest's "death zone" mean most of the dead remain on the mountain as a stark reminder to other climbers of the risks. more »
- Foreign investment review threshold rising to $1 billion
- The federal government is raising to $1 billion the amount of foreign money that can go into a Canadian company before the investment is reviewed. more »
Latest Arts & Entertainment News Headlines
- Shakespeare's Winter's Tale gets African reboot
- A Nigerian theatre company is performing an African reboot of The Winter's Tale, one of the lesser known tragicomedies written by the Bard, in London as part of the London Cultural Olympiad. more »
- Elton John cancels Las Vegas concerts over illness
- Elton John is suffering from a serious respiratory infection and has cancelled three Las Vegas performances on doctors' orders. more »
- Double-lung recipient dances on Ellen show
- Organ donation advocate Hèlène Campbell of Ottawa made her second appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, but her first since undergoing a double-lung transplant. more »
- Vancouver Bieber fans in disbelief over tour snub
- Justin Bieber announced yesterday morning the dates of his world tour in support his latest album Believe, but fans in Vancouver were disappointed to see that their city didn't make the list. more »
Q Blog
Toni Morrison on her two selves May. 25, 2012 11:32 AM Jian speaks with the celebrated African American author and academic about her two conflicting selves, and her new novel, Home.
CBC Books
Talking about war May. 25, 2012 11:34 AM The public conversation around war has always been complex and thorny. How does Canada's military approach differ from that of other countries? Are we a society of peacekeepers or warriors? These are some of the questions that Noah Richler explores in his new book What We Talk About When We Talk About War.
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest
- New mom among dead in Aylmer triple stabbing
- Workers' EI history to affect claim under new rules
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
- Conservatives move again to have robocalls suits tossed
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- Gatineau police to question man in multiple homicides
- Quebec faces mounting pressure amid student crisis
- SpaceX capsule captured by Canadarm2


