More Info on George WinstonSimilar Undetermined MusicSearch Artistopia
Biography
about|the pianist|the American educator and university administrator|George T. WinstonInfobox musical artist| | name = George Winston| image =| caption =| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist| birth_name =| alias =| birth_date = birth year and age|1949| origin = Michigan , United States|U.S. | genre = Instrumental Music|Contemporary Instrumental |instrument = Piano acoustic guitar|Solo acoustic guitar Harmonica|Solo harmonica | occupation = Musician| years_active = 1972–present| label = Takoma Records Windham Hill Records Dancing Cat Records | associated_acts =| website = http://www.georgewinston.com/index.php GeorgeWinston.com| notable_instruments = piano, acoustic guitar, harmonica George Winston (born 1949) is an United States|American pianist who was born in Michigan , and grew up mainly in Miles City, Montana|Miles City , Montana , as well as Mississippi and Florida. He attended Stetson University in Deland, Florida , and lives in Santa Cruz, California|Santa Cruz , California .cite web|url=Allmusic|class=artist|id=p139098|pure_url=yes|title=Biography: George Winston|last=Ankeny|first=Jason|publisher=Allmusic|accessdate=September 6, 2011
Background
George Winston was first recorded by John Fahey (musician)|John Fahey for Fahey's Takoma Records . The album Ballads and Blues (George Winston album)|Ballads and Blues disappeared without much notice, although it was later reissued on Winston's Dancing Cat Records . However, in 1979, William Ackerman talked with Winston about having Winston record for Ackerman's new record label, Windham Hill Records . At first Winston played some guitar pieces he liked and then he played some of his nighttime music on the piano, which became the basis for the record Autumn (album)|Autumn , which Ackerman produced. Autumn soon became the best-selling record in the Windham Hill catalog,Citation needed|date=July 2007 and his albums December (George Winston album)| December and Winter into Spring both went platinum (million-plus sales in the United States). He has recorded 7 more solo piano albums, and he is one of the best known performers playing contemporary instrumental music.
Winston was 16 when Charles Schulz 's A Charlie Brown Christmas premiered in 1965, and he ran out and bought the soundtrack the next day.Liner notes for Linus and Lucy – The Music of Vince Guaraldi He eagerly awaited each new Peanuts television special|special to hear Guaraldi's newest music. In 1996, Winston released Linus and Lucy – The Music of Vince Guaraldi . Much of the album is devoted to the theme music Guaraldi wrote for the Peanuts cartoons: 15 television specials and one feature film from 1965 until Guaraldi’s death in 1976. "I love his melodies and his chord progressions," Winston said of Guaraldi. "He has a really personal way of doing voicings."cite news |last=Maples| first=Tina |title=Music Just Happens To Winston |newspaper= Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |date=20 November 1996 |accessdate=2007-12-28 Winston recorded a follow-up album, Love Will Come – The Music of Vince Guaraldi, Volume 2 , released in February 2010. http://www.georgewinston.com/recent-projects.php Recent Projects at George Winston official website
Winston's 2002 album Night Divides the Day – The Music of the Doors took the music of the 1960s band The Doors and transformed it into solo pianos. The title of Winston's album is a lyric from " Break on Through (To the Other Side) ", the first track of the Doors' The Doors (album)|self-titled first album .
Concerts
Winston dresses unassumingly for his shows, playing in stocking feet, stating that it quiets his "hard beat pounding" left foot.Dave Whitnack Tour Manager 1996 to 2006 For years, the balding, bearded Winston would walk out on stage in a flannel shirt and jeans , and the audience would think he was a technician, coming to tune the 9-foot Steinway & Sons|Steinways that are his piano of choice.cite news |first= Lyons |last= Dee |title= George Winston: Playing It Low-Key At TCCC |url= |work= |publisher= The Dallas Morning News |date= January 24, 1986 |accessdate=2007-12-28 As The Boston Globe reported in 1986, “Much of his playing is introspective, mood-setting and, frequently, tranquilizing. Casting my gaze about the auditorium, I observed members of the audience with their attention fixed upon the pianist and others absorbing the music with eyes closed. Winston is not a self-indulgent performer who protracts his renditions to the point where he dangerously tiptoes between a yawn and a snore. Instead, he keeps his presentations pithy and free of excess and his audience awake.”cite news |first= Ernie |last= Santosuosso |title= Rich, Relaxing Evening With George Winston|url= |work= |publisher= Boston Globe |date= December 9, 1986 |accessdate=2007-12-28
On April 19, 2010 he appeared as the sole guest on show 575 of the multimedia WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour . http://www.woodsongs.com/showlist.asp WoodSongs archive page Scroll down to show 575. Twenty minutes into the program he describes an unusual method of playing the piano he developed that was inspired by watching blues guitar players. He can be seen reaching into the piano with his left hand muting the strings while he is playing with his right hand "Breaths, An African in New York".
Career
When growing up his interest in music was listening to instrumentals in the R& B , Rock music|rock , Pop music|pop , and jazz genres, especially by organists. When he heard The Doors in 1967 he was inspired to start playing the organ. In 1971 he switched to solo piano after hearing recordings from the 1920s and the 1930s of the great stride pianist Fats Waller|Thomas “Fats” Waller , and soon after of Waller’s contemporaries Teddy Wilson , Earl Hines , and Donald Lambert. Many of Winston’s melodic pieces are self-described as "rural folk piano" or "folk piano", which is a style he came up with in 1971 to have an approach to complement the uptempo stride piano. These melodic pieces evoke the essence of a season and reflect natural landscapes. The third style he plays, and is currently working on the most, is New Orleans R& B piano, influenced mainly by Professor Longhair , James Booker , and Henry Butler , as well as Dr. John and Jon Cleary (musician)|Jon Cleary .
Winston also is known for his two tribute albums to jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi , composer for the first sixteen Peanuts animated films, who died suddenly in 1976.
Outside of his own piano compositions, adaptations of other people’s songs, and performances, he plays blues harmonica (mainly Appalachian fiddle tunes) and solo acoustic guitar (mainly Appalachia n fiddle tunes, and Hawaiian slack-key guitar ). While he mainly plays these instruments in concert and not on recordings, both his harmonica and guitar playing can be heard on his benefit album Remembrance - A Memorial Benefit , which was released shortly after September 11, 2001 attacks|9/11 . In 2006, he recorded another benefit album Gulf Coast Blues & Impressions: A Hurricane Relief Benefit , and a second hurricane relief benefit album is planned.
Winston also produces recordings of Hawaiian slack-key guitarists for his own record label, Dancing Cat Records , including artists Keola Beamer , Sonny Chillingworth , Leonard Kwan , Ray Kane , Cyril Pahinui , Led Kaapana , Dennis Kamakahi , Bla Pahinui , Martin Pahinui , George Kahumoku , Moses Kahumoku , George Kuo , Ozzie Kotani , and others. He is also working on recording several old-time musicians, including the venerable harmonica player/folksinger Sam Hinton , harmonica player Rick Epping , and multi-instrumentalist Curt Bouterse .
Discography
1972 Ballads and Blues (George Winston album)|Ballads and Blues
Persondata | NAME =Winston, George | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = American pianist | DATE OF BIRTH = 1949 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Winston, George Category:1949 births Category: Date of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:American pianists Category:Musicians from Montana Category:People from Custer County, Montana Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Stetson University alumni Category:Musicians from Michigan Category:Windham Hill Records artists
