The comparativist

Pianist TB Chords made a surprise appearance today at Wayfarer’s Arcade’s Yamaha. Scheduled for 12:00, a few minutes of waiting were well worth it, as TB quickly attracted a small crowd that filled Wayfarer’s Tea Room café, including the famed local cat, Aslan. Mr Chords entertained passers-by and patrons with snippets of several pieces, all played from memory. My favourite was the «Fairy Fountain» theme from The Legend of Zelda, but this was but a brief homage amidst an ocean of diverse musical genres. This is my first time listening to Claire Kelly’s baby grand Yamaha, an instrument well suited to the centre of the iron bowels of the art nouveau-claded arcade that sits at the heart of our Southport. It has the famed brightness of all Yamahas, and the slightly echoey chambers of Wayfarer’s somehow reverberate with it to produce a pleasing depth that empowers its lower notes. Mr Chords is an able player, quick where he needs to be, and subtle when the occasion thus req...