When Dotan Negrin sat down to jam some jazzy chords on a public piano in Paris, he couldn’t have expected one of Denmark’s leading composers, Frans Bak, to be hovering behind him, waiting for the perfect chance to jump in for a viral duet.
Playing on a grey day by a Parisian cafe, the tourist’s chords were like an Amy Winehouse backing track, moody and seductive. But when Frans asked if he could join in, Dotan turned around smiling with anticipation, likely not knowing he was about to duet with an absolute jazz legend.
Born in 1958, Frans has been playing piano since he was a child, specializing in jazz and film compositions. So when he started picking out sparkling vintage melodies and layering them over Dotan’s smoky dissonance, the golden moment went viral with over 4.5M views.
Halfway through the clip, Frans skips over to take Dotan’s place as chord-master, while the tourist shuffles up to take on the melodies. And his top lines are just as striking as Frans’, following an identical atmosphere of retro glitz.
With the cafe bustling in the background, this video is saturated with an organic European ambience, the duo’s tune like a dim and dank jazz club hot-boxed with cigarette smoke. As the video ends and the two shake hands, it’s wholesome to realize these two performers commune fluently in the universal language of music despite not sharing the same tongue.
This isn’t the first time Frans and Dotan have duetted on a public piano, though by far their most famous occasion. The pair also met up in LA’s Venice Beach to improvise a poky tune that would fit right into an Animal Crossing soundtrack, and make any Music Man reader’s day.
Dotan Negrin, who has 56K Instagram followers and 148K YouTube subscribers, quit his 9-5 job to travel around the world with his piano, putting on public performances wherever he lands. His project began in his US home country before taking his tunes across Europe and beyond: 500 cities, 24 countries, 100,000 miles and 100’ of stories to date, according to his YouTube channel, PianoAround. He even spoke at a Ted Talk, in a speech aptly titled “Searching for the key of life.”
Frans Bak, meanwhile, is best known for scoring “The Killing” soundtrack, the crime drama “Lilyhammer,” “Thirteen Steps Down” and the first series of BBC’s “Doctor Foster.”
If you would like to hear more from this talented individual, you can subscribe to their YouTube Channel for more incredible music. Stay connected through their Facebook, Instagram, and visit their website for more information and updates.