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Thirty years ago, I was just starting to play the piano. My parents did not know much yet about how to raise piano players but they happened to stumble on an ad in the newspaper for an upcoming concert by a Christian pianist at a large church in town. They decided we would go.
I had never been to a concert before, but as an eight year old, I remember being blown away. Of course, Dino was the pianist, and I remember him being a brilliant performer. Yes he was flashy and I don't know that I had ever seen a man with long hair before. But I remember the music from that night to this day. "Chariots of Fire" was perhaps his biggest hit at the time.
In high school, I remember going to another Dino concert, and we bought his records (yes records) and arrangement books. Soon, I began playing his arrangements. I played them all the way through college. His arrangement of "My Tribute" was especially popular not just in my family but with many of the young pianists I knew.
I have not played his arrangements since then, and because he quit traveling very much, have never been to another of his concerts--until tonight. When I saw he was at a church here in Atlanta, I knew I had to go to enjoy the music, relive the past, and see what I could learn. I found myself doing all of those things.
It has become fashionable in at least some circles over recent years to belittle Dino for various reasons. Some have problems with his image and music style. Some (who usually don't know better) make the ridiculous claim that he is not a good pianist.
Don't look to me to pile on the criticism. First of all, Dino is a very, very good pianist. You know when a pianist is good by how he/she plays without help (such as big tracks). And Dino is especially good when he is playing without his big tracks. I still listen to his music where he is playing soft, simple arrangements. Some of my favorite CDs ever are his Peace series which feature very simple hymns played with nature sounds.
Secondly, Dino was truly a pioneer. When he became popular, there was very little going on in the world of Christian piano music. I don't know that there was much of anything being written that was very good. During those years, tens of thousands of young Christian pianists played Dino arrangements not only because they were good but also because there was not much else to play besides Dino.
I have differences of opinion with Dino in some ways related to performance and style. There are some things that he does musically that I am frankly not on board with. But I firmly believe that if it were not from Dino, I would never have gotten excited about the piano and I would not be a professional musician today. I also believe there are probably thousands of church pianists serving in churches that have been influenced in a positive way by Dino's music.
It is easy to take potshots. But very few of those who bash Dino will ever have anywhere close to the same positive impact.
