C3zr

Chicago pianist, songwriter, and producer Cesar Pino writes music with a location in mind, be it a beach, a rooftop while looking up at the sky at night, or even somewhere in the mainframe of Tron, thanks to a consistent use of electronic drums and synth bass. Donning the moniker C3zr, Pino’s project combines his background as a classically trained and jazz pianist with the electronic funk or soul of his favorite artists like Kaytranada, Daft Punk, Robert or Glasper.

Anyone could find themselves in the world Pino creates in his electronically produced upcoming soulful debut album, Round Voyage (600 Block Records, early 2024). But the songwriting and setting is still distinctly inspired by Chicago, set along the city’s lakefront by day and the city’s river at night.

Pino often brings a keyboard and his laptop with him when he goes to a quiet grove or skate park, bringing the sounds of the city with him, using the sounds of cars whizzing by and the L train rustling to inspire the setting and feelings of his songs. “I wanted to create a house music feel to give that upbeat vibe of the city at night,” he said of his track “Kingsbury” that is named after the city’s street that is set right along the river.

Round Voyage also links Pino to jazz pianists Thelonious Monk, with “Round Midnight,” and Herbie Hancock, with Maiden Voyage. He brings his undergraduate and graduate music degrees at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) into the fold by bringing his command of jazz into his more recent passion of digital production.

Enlisting Rax Tracks' Noam Wallenberg (The Oh My’s, Woody Goss of Vulfpeck, REVERB) for producing, mixing, and mastering, the record also brought in several guests, ranging from Chicago singers Ifeanyi Elswith and Travis Percy, Jamal Damien on trumpet, and singer and guitarist Paolo Apuli. 

Releasing off of formerly Chicago-based house, jazz, and soul label 600 Block Records this fall, the album takes Pino’s technical prowess and his desire to create fresh ear-worms to capture the warm feelings of love in its various forms, for companions, friends, and family. And sometimes the not-so-warm feelings. When working on the song “Not Over U” with Travis Percy, Pino said, “It’s a narrative about the ghosts that haunt a new relationship cuz because they never repented for how they hurt you. All in all, it’s about how messy and unresolved love is.”

Pino grew up with music, studying piano since age 6, and he earned a scholarship through the Chicago Piano Music Festival at NEIU and he toured throughout China with the NEIU jazz ensemble at the International Beijing Jazz Festival in 2014. Aside from his musical career, Cesar has quite the teaching career as well. He has taught in the public school system and has his own piano studio, where he teaches privately.

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