Paul Carrack is the first major UK artist to take the newly released Yamaha AvantGrand 'Hybrid' piano on the road. The selection of the piano for a hectic and exhaustive live touring schedule compliments extensive rave reviews by the classical music media and concert artists.

Paul will be touring with the N2 AvantGrand piano between November and March for an extensive tour of UK theatres to support the launch of his latest album 'I Know That Name' released this month.

Paul Carrack is one of the UK's most critically acclaimed popular musicians and vocalists. He has enjoyed huge success as a solo artist as well as boasting a highly impressive recent history taking in bands including Mike and the Mechanics, Roxy Music, Ace and Squeeze. He also is one of the few members of that elite category of artists that's often defined as a 'musicians' musician and Yamaha are delighted that the new AvantGrand will be showcased on the tour.

Many people associate Paul with such huge hits as 'How Long', 'Tempted', 'The Living Years' and 'Silent Running' but the new record sees Paul returning to his familiar soulful roots against the background of a brilliant, difficult to genuinely achieve r&b sound.

Paul continues to expand his musical horizons with the selection of a Yamaha AvantGrand N2 piano and he told us, "At last a touring piano that feels like a real instrument. Leaving aside the wonderful, deep full rich sound, the AvantGrand has an incredible touch response that actually feels like an acoustic instrument. This instrument is excellent in all respects and absolutely not a compromise option as would be the case with a standard digital piano, it is truly superb."

Shadowball, the brilliant new Jazz Opera by Julian Joseph and Mike Phillips tells the moving and compelling story of the struggles, triumphs and challenges facing black athletes in the USA during the sixty years they were excluded from Major League baseball whilst also recounting the influence and development of black jazz music at the time. The Opera was launched at London's Inner temple earlier this month and Composer and pianist Julian Joseph requested a Yamaha AvantGrand N3 Hybrid Piano for the event, as he had done earlier the same week for a major concert at the British Library to celebrate the Anglo African Composer Samuel Coleridge Taylor.

Shadowball charts the development of Jazz Music during a time of segregation when, against heavy odds black athletes and jazz musicians were using sport and music to reach their dreams and inspire others: it is this spirit and determination which laid one of the foundation stones of what was to become the Civil Rights Movement.

Shadowball will be supported by an extensive educational programme, volunteer initiatives, community sport and music events which all culminate in a major premiere performance of the jazz opera in July 2010 and include young people from the participating schools. Following the July performance the project will be extended to more schools and include artistic residencies, in-school performances and baseball activities.

The creative team, which includes composer Julian Joseph, writer Mike Phillips, award winning opera director Jonathan Moore, Cleveland Watkiss and support from Branford Marsalis, will work alongside Baseball/Softball UK from January next year to introduce hundreds of young people in over 20 schools to the sport and music.

Building on recent acclaim from Classic FM, Pianist Magazine, Piano magazine and a range of international classical artists, the much talked about Yamaha AvantGrand 'Hybrid' piano took to the stage during August at both the European Piano Teachers Association (EPTA) conference and world famous Chetham’s International Summer School and Festival for Pianists, held at Chetham's specialist music school in the heart of Manchester.

Founded in 1978 EPTA is the European co-ordinating body for piano teachers and the profession, with associations in almost every European country.
Highly respected and influential, current EPTA vice presidents include Philip Fowke and Dame Fanny Waterman.

The annual UK conference rotates throughout regions in the country each year where members gather for a week of seminars, workshops and evening recitals.
This year the AvantGrand was the subject of much high praise from delegates whilst the event provided a hugely important platform to demonstrate and explain the concept behind the world’s first hybrid piano to a highly influential international audience.

Opening the conference, EPTA Chair and head of keyboard at Chetham's Murray McLachlan gave a short recital on the N3 AvantGrand to delegates following which the audience were invited to play the instrument.
McLachlan was extremely impressed with the richness of the AvantGrand's tonal range, the beautiful sounds it could create in every register and at every dynamic level, and the fact that such a high quality instrument is so economical not only in terms of price, but also in terms of saving space.
'Many of our most talented students have real issues with how to house a conventional grand piano.
The AvantGrand provides a wonderful solution to this headache, and in addition is much more affordable than a comparable acoustic instrument'.
Reaction was overwhelmingly and unanimously positive - most comments referring to the quality of the sound, action and response with many EPTA members expressing their surprise at these characteristics coming from a non acousticinstrument.

This was followed by an evening concert with the extraordinary virtuoso pianist and improviser Harry Harris, where the AvantGrand shared the stage with an acoustic instrument, drawing much praise from the audience.
Robert Webster from Yamaha comments, "This is a major breakthrough for us, the sound of the AvantGrand in the historic Baronial Hall at Chetham's was truly phenomenal, we have been deluged with enquiries from eminent educators from throughout Europe, and are very proud to have been invited to showcase this hybrid instrument to much acclaim at this very important and influential event.
All feedback has been incredibly positive with the AvantGrand having now been embraced by many of Europe's top piano teachers."

A further significant compliment was paid to the AvantGrand in the Chetham's International Summer School and Festival for Pianists (www.pianosummerschool.com) when Peter Donohoe selected the instrument for part of his teaching sessions.
Participants on the summer school at Chetham’s, now the largest event of its kind in Europe for piano, were equally enthusiastic and positive about the beautiful and vivid sounds which the instrument can create.

Yamaha jazz pianist Chick Corea will be performing on the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon as a guest of the house band, The Roots, with the Yamaha N3 Avant Grand piano on Oct. 6, so be sure to tune in! Chick is currently on a tour of America, Europe and Asia with Stanley Clarke and Lenny White as the Corea, Clarke & White trio.

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BUENA PARK, California in America —Yamaha Corporation of America announces the Winter NAMM 2009 launch of the AvantGrand Piano to the world. With its highly advanced sound reproduction and sampling technology, the AvantGrand is the first piano ever crafted to truly capture the sound, touch, action and physical resonance of a concert-quality grand piano without the tuning, cost or footprint of a comparable stringed instrument. "Instruments that can digitally approximate the sound of an acoustic piano are hardly a new concept," says Paul Calvin, Vice President/General Manager, Yamaha Keyboard Division of Yamaha Corporation of America. "But with the AvantGrand, exceptional sound is just the beginning. It uses unsurpassed music technology to offer the complete acoustic playing and listening experience of a concert grand piano in a 4-foot cabinet."

The AvantGrand represents the first product in the 'Total Piano Strategy,'an initiative developed by Yamaha to show customers the depth of its piano offering and to market and distribute a more comprehensive portion of these products to a wider range of prospective buyers. "AvantGrand, a new identity for the piano, was born of the fusion of 21st century technology and more than 100 years of piano-crafting experience," continued Calvin. "The target buyer of the AvantGrand is the serious player who dreams of owning a grand piano. Yamaha developed this remarkable technology to meet their needs of superior sound, touch and functionality."

One of the greatest challenges in creating a true acoustic piano experience electronically is to accurately re-create the vibrations integral to the playing experience. According to Calvin, the AvantGrand is the first piano to actualize the physical connection with their instrument that pianists could only experience – until now – with an acoustic grand.