George Winston

I saw George Winston perform at the Lesher Center of the Arts in Walnut Creek, California. A rural folk pianist, Winston grew up in Michigan, just like me. Winston is an acoustic soloist, so I was looking forward to a nice, quiet evening of musical enjoyment. And that's what I got - pleasant melodies that relaxed me. Not only that, Winston moved over to the jazz scene, and pretty soon the audience was tapping its toes to boogie-woogie and stride piano pieces.

He played songs from all of his albums, including Ballads and Blues, Autumn, December, Summer, Plains, and Montana - A Love Story. My favorites, though were the songs from his album Forest: "Tamarack Pines," "The Cradle," "Returning and Building the Snowman." I thought Winston was exclusively a pianist, so I was quite surprised when he played songs on the harmonica and acoustic guitar.

The show lasted two hours and it was two hours of pure melodic excellence, uncluttered, never frenetic or aggressive, and quite relaxing and enjoyable. It was so easy to just close my eyes and appreciate Winston's talent. It was interesting that Winston wasn't the type of performer who talks to his audience. Instead, he let his music do his talking, and that was okay because his songs speak loud and clear. I'm so happy I saw George Winston live!

I've seen George play 5-6 times over the years. His playing is masterful, and he throws in some harmonica and slack key guitar as well. He's a kind-hearted person who, behind the scenes, supports a wide-range of causes.

Technically....the guy embraces the piano like no other.

He lets the sustain sustain itself. It's easy to close your eyes at his concerts, and let your mind meld into the music.

Thanks for all you do.

This was a fantastic concert. I saw George 10 years ago in concert. This was a very different but still wonderful concert. The previous concert was mainly based on his well known songs from his published albums. This concert reflected a lot more diversity of style and while I missed some of his older music this was a wonderful display of his multifaceted talent

Positively amazing and mesmerizing!! What a fantastic show. I hope he comes back to this area again soon. I had a chance to see him over 25 years ago in Portland at Merrill Auditorium and never made it. Now I can say I’ve seen him. Simply perfect!!