Gig Review: Solo Piano Recital by Nise Meruno and Rahul Wadhwani

On August 4th, a piano recital concert featuring two solo pianists, Rahul Wadhwani from Mumbai and Nise Meruno from Dimapur in Nagaland, was played to a sold-out audience at The Cube at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in Mumbai.

A solo piano recital puts the performer almost under a microscope; he has no support from other band members, he is no longer just a team member. He is the entire team. This is a challenge most good pianists would relish because it allows them to dig deep and explore the possibilities of the music he or she has chosen to play.

Wadhwani opened the evening’s entertainment with a mix of originals and jazz standards, taking time to explain why that piece had found its way into the evening’s playlist.

Wadhwani has been on the Mumbai music scene for almost a decade and seems to grow in stature with his hard work and his gathering experience. This latter trait has resulted in his compositions. On display that evening were “That Evening,” from a desolate experience, “When Everything Stopped” from the days of the pandemic and “A Melody For You,” a cheery jazz waltz. He also played a composition, “Dot in A Circle” from an album he recorded with Austrian trumpet player Manfred Weinberger. Wadhwani also played Thelonius Monk’s composition “I Mean You” and a subtle version of “Someday My Prince Will Come.” It was a well-balanced mix of tunes selected by the soloist and Wadhwani did justice to his chosen repertoire.

Enter another pianist, another personality and an entirely different form of expression! Meruno played a happy, flowery and a cheerful set for the second half of the evening. He is a hugely talented musician, pianist, choirmaster, singer and extrovert and it all came together in his performance. In fact, it was not, strictly speaking a solo piano performance. Meruno involved the audience to lend vocal backing to one of the tunes, invited a member of the audience to sing as a soloist and for the finale, invited Wadhwani to double up on the Steinway piano while he sang “What A Wonderful World,” the evergreen tune from Louis Armstrong.

Meruno played originals — one inspired by the style of his favorite pianist, Chopin and an interpretation of an aria from Puccini. In his entire performance one sensed the deep emotion that went into each rendition. When he played “Danny Boy,” one felt that Meruno was actually in tears from the sad theme of the song.

The high point of the evening was perhaps when Meruno conducted the audience as an impromptu choir for the R&B classic “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King. A soloist was sought from the audience. Jazz vocal stalwart Vasundhara Vee just happened to be present that night and she belted out the song as if they had planned and rehearsed it. The spontaneity of the performance and the flair from Meruno was infectious with the full house.

It was a brilliant evening of music. The NMACC has to be commended for this splendid initiative of solo piano events in this very cozy and intimate setting. This was the second such solo piano event we heard at this venue, each different from the other. The pairing of the soloists and the presentation is a fine tribute to those who curated these sessions.

Sunil Sampat is a jazz critic and Contributing Editor of Rolling Stone India. Write to Sunil at jazzwala@gmail.com