George Winston
press release: George Winston will be performing at the Mineral Point Opera House on Thursday, April 26, at 8PM. Doors for this show will open at 7PM. There are tickets available for Front Row Floor, Floor General Admission, Box Seats and Balcony general admission.
George Winston grew up mainly in Montana, and also spent his later formative years in Mississippi and Florida. During this time, his favorite music was instrumental rock and instrumental R&B, including Floyd Cramer, the Ventures, Booker T & The MG's, Jimmy Smith, and many more. Inspired by R&B, jazz, Blues and rock (especially the Doors), George began playing organ in 1967. In 1971 he switched to the acoustic piano after hearing recordings from the 1920s and the 1930s by the legendary stride pianists Thomas "Fats" Waller and the late Teddy Wilson. In addition to working on stride piano, he also at this time came up with this own style of melodic instrumental music on solo piano, called folk piano. In 1972, he recorded his first solo piano album, BALLADS AND BLUES 1972, for the late guitarist John Fahey's Takoma label.
Winston recently released a cancer research benefit album, Spring Carousel, on RCA Records on March 31, 2017, that debuted at #1 on Billboard's Jazz Chart. Spring Carousel features a collection of 15 solo piano compositions written by Winston while in recovery from a bone marrow transplant for Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) at City of Hope, in Duarte, California, near Los Angeles. His doctor, Stephen J. Forman, Chairman of the Hematology Department at City of Hope, is one of the world's four foremost authorities on hematology and bone marrow transplants. Proceeds from sales of Spring Carousel will directly benefit cancer research at City of Hope. George Winston is available for interviews upon request.
George Winston reminds music fans on his 14th solo piano album, Spring Carousel, that only one voice is required to be wholeheartedly inspiring. For Winston, that voice has always been solo acoustic piano. Upon hearing Winston's singular work on Spring Carousel, a depth of piano brilliance effortlessly sinks into one's soul, never leaving the listener eager for anything other than the next swirling song on the recording.