Creativity has been a very strange thing in the time of COVID-19, as prolonged bouts of isolation, increased internet time, and just general high-anxiety living have all conspired to push people’s brains in a whole host of weird, often musical directions. Many of these attempts to bring a little sonic delight into the lives of others have been interesting, and even occasionally good. But few have been as purely clever and joyful as a pair of videos posted this past week by pianist and music director Daniel Matarazzo.
Showing off some pretty clear theater kid chops, Matarazzo deployed parodies of a pair of Disney songs—”Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” and “Part Of Your World”—nailing every note on the piano while also busting out some deftly written lyrics poking fun at our current crisis. (Is it a backhanded compliment to compare him to political comedy pianist and former PBS mainstay Mark Russell? It’s a little bit Mark Russell.) Really, though, it’s just a pure dose of topical fun, as well as a nice reminder that there are upshots to going quietly insane in the comfort of your own home.
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The Supercali one is just fantastic. Well done and brought smiles! Thanks!
It’s a definite and welcome throwback to Mark Russell, although his chops remind me a bit of Stephen DeRosa’s Eddie Cantor in Boardwalk Empire.Also, this rather significant reworking of Billy Joel showed up on my Twitter feed – featuring a sportswriter no less – and it’s pretty good.