His 1995 release “Forest” won a Grammy for best New Age recording, while his Doors tribute “Night Divides the Day” received a Grammy nomination in 2004 for best contemporary instrumental album. He released more than a dozen solo piano albums, along with soundtracks for the TV miniseries “This Is America, Charlie Brown” and “The Velveteen Rabbit,” which featured Meryl Streep's narration of the children's classic. Winston was a native of Hart, Michigan, who grew up in Montana, Florida and Mississippi and drew upon influences ranging from Fats Waller to the Doors. His most recent album, “Night,” came out last year. “Throughout his cancer treatments, George continued to write and record new music, and he stayed true to his greatest passion: performing for live audiences while raising funds for Feeding America to help fight the national hunger crisis along with donating proceeds from each of his concerts to local food banks,” a statement on his website reads. Web: and ACORN ( to aid in helping rebuild the Gulf Coast and New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.NEW YORK - George Winston, the Grammy-winning pianist who blended jazz, classical, folk and other stylings on such million-selling albums as “Autumn,” “Winter Into Spring" and “December,” has died at age 73.Īccording to an announcement on his website confirmed by a spokesman, Winston died Sunday after a 10-year battle with cancer. Where: Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. "And they say, 'Yes, but there's that camera and I'm not going to do it now.' " "They look at the camera and say, 'I'm not gong to do it.' And I say, 'But you did it every other time.' "It's like when I want them to pose for a picture," Winston deadpanned. "I can tell a song that I want it on the record and the song will tell me, 'I'm not ready yet. "And there is always melodic folk piano from 'Autumn,' 'December,' 'Summer' and 'Winter Into Spring' albums." "There's always some Guaraldi, Doors and Professor Longhair," he said. Everything else (in the set) is what I am focused on at the moment. I don't want four, and I don't want one, I have two. "The Doors had one they had to do, 'Light My Fire.' And I would hate to be in a group where I have 10 hits that I had to do," Winston said. "There are only two minor hits that I have to play - 'Variations of Kanon by Pachelbel' and 'Thanksgiving.' I play 'Pachelbel' in the summer and 'Thanksgiving' in the winter."Īnd he changes the rest of his program, too. "I'm lucky it's perfectly constructed," Winston said of his set list. Winston said he chooses songs for his albums the same way he does for his live shows, which he calls "Winter" and "Summer." "I wound up trying to get the same bass feeling with my left hand playing in the style of (New Orleans piano pioneers) James Booker and Henry Butler." "And like 'Little Birdie,' the horns answered the main melody and the bass line. "The original was minimal piano playing a high part and horns playing the main melody," Winston said. I first heard it in 1973 and started working on it, but really focused on it in 1995."Īnother difficult work is "Air Music," which is also on the new album. "It had great Vince vocals, and he didn't sing much. "When I first heard it, I was astounded," he said. The horns feature an improvised trumpet segment that answered the vocal part. The original song features Guaraldi on vocal and electric piano, highlighted by horns, bass and drums. Winston said the most challenging Guaraldi song he's recorded is "Little Birdie," which appears on the new album. I mean, theoretically it works, but it sometimes (the songs) don't live and breathe." "My personal voice is so different," he said. While Winston has tried to arrange solo-piano versions of these artists' catalogs, it doesn't mean they all will be recorded. "Vince Guaraldi, the Doors and Professor Longhair from New Orleans." "There are three artists that I have tried to play all their music," Winston said. He's tried to play every Guaraldi song from "The Peanuts" scores, Guaraldi family tapes and the live and studio recordings. "I don't play them all, but I've tried them all." "I've tried all his pieces," Winston said during a telephone interview from his studio in San Francisco. Winston, who arranged solo-piano versions of the songs and medleys, said he "just loves (Guaraldi's) songs." It's the follow-up to 1996's "Linus & Lucy: the Music of Vince Guaraldi Vol. His new album is titled "Love Will Come: The Music of Vince Guaraldi Vol. Pianist George Winston clearly continues to admire the late jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi.
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