I literally left the electric stuff behind. but I wasn ’t really interested in stride until I heard Fats. I remember saying, This is how I wanted to play all my life. when I heard Fats do ‘Got a Brand New Suit ’ off one of the old RCA Vintage albums. In an interview with Down Beat writer Bill Milkowski, Winston described his discovery of stride: “I was playing electric piano at the time. Waller ’s stride, or acoustic, piano playing was a style of jazz developed in the 1920s as an offshoot of ragtime. ” Winston was also influenced by Vince Guaraldi ’s music for the Peanuts animated television specials in 1965, Artie Butler ’s piano on Joe Cocker ’s hit song “Feelin ’ Alright, ” and Nicky Hoplins ’s melodic piano work on guitarist Jeff Beck ’s album Beck-Ola.Īs a teenager Winston played rock and roll organ and electric piano with a Miami band until 1971, when he discovered the music of Fats Waller. After a hiatus of several years Winston came back to the piano, inspired by Jimmy Wisner ’s playing on “ Asia Minor, ” a song recorded with the group Kokomo, and Floyd Cramer ’s tunes “On the Rebound ” and “The Last Date. At the age of eight he took piano lessons but quit playing when he decided that he preferred partaking in baseball with the other boys in his neighborhood. George enjoyed many kinds of music, including 1960s-brand Top 40 and rock and roll. With each move his family made, the young boy was exposed to different musical styles. On the concert stage, however, Winston likes to get the audience tapping their toes to the boogie-woogie and stride piano pieces of such celebrated jazz pianists as Fats Waller and Doctor Longhair.Īlthough born in Michigan in 1949, Winston grew up elsewhere: Florida, Mississippi, Montana. His best-selling albums Autumn, December, Winter Into Spring, and Summer feature pleasant, uncluttered melodies that invite the listener to relax. George Winston is known as one of the great popularizers of minimalist, acoustic solo piano music.
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