Введение
Джордж Отис Уинстон III (11 февраля 1949 – 4 июня 2023) – американский пианист, исполнявший современную инструментальную музыку. Уинстон получил четыре номинации на премию «Грэмми», в том числе за лучший детский музыкальный альбом, записанный совместно с актрисой Мерил Стрип, и за лучший современный инструментальный альбом за свою интерпретацию произведений рок-группы The Doors. Уинстон играл в трех стилях: мелодический подход, который он разработал и назвал «сельским народным фортепиано»; фортепианный страйд, вдохновленный преимущественно Фэтсом Уоллером и Тедди Уилсоном; и его основной интерес – новоорлеанский ритм-энд-блюз (R&B) на фортепиано, на который повлияли Джеймс Букер, профессор Лонгхейр и Генри Батлер. Хотя большинство его записей были выполнены в стиле фолк-пианино, Уинстон больше всего любил играть R&B на фортепиано. Он вырос в основном в Монтане (Майлс-Сити и Биллингс), а также в Миссисипи и Флориде. В юности его музыкальные интересы включали инструментальные композиции в жанрах R&B, рок, поп и джаз, особенно произведения органистов, и он смотрел каждый новый мультфильм Peanuts, чтобы услышать новейшую музыку Гуаралди. В 1967 году, услышав The Doors, он вдохновился игрой на органе. В 1971 году он перешел на сольное фортепиано после того, как услышал пианистов, играющих в стиле страйд – Фэтса Уоллера, Тедди Уилсона, а позже Эрла Хайнса, Дональда Ламберта и Клео Браун. После окончания средней школы Корал Габлз во Флориде в 1967 году Уинстон поступил в Университет Стетсона в ДеЛэнде, штат Флорида, где изучал социологию. Хотя он не завершил получение степени бакалавра, университет присвоил ему почетную степень доктора искусств после того, как он достиг известности. В 1979 году Уинстон отправил демозапись Уильяму Акерману, который в 1976 году основал свой новый лейбл Windham Hill. Акерман предложил спродюсировать его следующий альбом, который стал «Осенью»; вскоре он стал самым продаваемым альбомом в каталоге лейбла. После успеха трех своих альбомов Уинстон написал музыку для сопровождения рассказа Мерил Стрип в «Бархатном кролике» в 1984 году, получив номинацию на премию «Грэмми» за лучший детский музыкальный альбом. Две его другие работы, «Plains» (1999) и «Montana: A Love Story» (2004), также впоследствии были номинированы на лучший альбом в стиле нью-эйдж. Альбом Уинстона 2002 года «Night Divides the Day – The Music of the Doors» состоит из сольных фортепианных интерпретаций музыки рок-группы The Doors. Название альбома – строка из песни группы «Break on Through (To the Other Side)». Альбом получил номинацию на премию «Грэмми» в номинации «Лучший современный инструментальный альбом». Уинстон страдал от ряда заболеваний, и во время восстановления после рака в 2013 году он играл на пианино в актовом зале медицинского центра, создав 21 пьесу, которые, по его словам, были «как бы циклическими» и «минималистичными». В 2014 году он включил три из этих пьес в EP «Spring Carousel» и 15-трековый альбом под названием «Spring Carousel: A Cancer Research Benefit», выпущенный 31 марта. Доходы от продажи альбома были направлены в больницу City of Hope недалеко от Лос-Анджелеса, где он проходил лечение и впоследствии написал музыкальное произведение. В честь выхода альбома Уинстон дал концерт в Питтсбургском музыкальном зале Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall, собрав средства для Программы творческих искусств, которая предоставляет стипендии для оплаты музыкальной терапии. В июле 2019 года на церемонии вручения премии American Eagle Award Национального музыкального совета, которой был награжден Винс Гуаралди, Уинстон исполнил свои версии произведений музыканта. С рояля Уинстон сказал аудитории:
George Otis Winston III (February 11, 1949 – June 4, 2023) was an American pianist performing contemporary instrumental music. Winston received four other Grammy nominations, including one for Best Children's Music Album, performed with actress Meryl Streep, and another for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for his interpretation of works by the rock band the Doors. Winston played in three styles: the melodic approach that he developed and called "rural folk piano"; stride piano, primarily inspired by Fats Waller and Teddy Wilson; and his primary interest, New Orleans rhythm and blues (R&B) piano, influenced by James Booker, Professor Longhair and Henry Butler. While the majority of his recordings were in the folk piano style, Winston mostly enjoyed playing R&B piano. He was raised mainly in Montana (Miles City and Billings), as well as Mississippi and Florida. As a youth, his musical interests included instrumentals of the R&B, rock, pop and jazz genres, especially those by organists. and watched each new Peanuts special to hear Guaraldi's newest music. After hearing the Doors in 1967, he was inspired to play the organ. In 1971, he switched to solo piano after hearing the stride pianists Fats Waller, Teddy Wilson and later Earl Hines, Donald Lambert and Cleo Brown. After graduating from Coral Gables Senior High School in Coral Gables, Florida in 1967, Winston attended Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, where he majored in sociology. While he did not complete his undergraduate degree, following his rise to prominence, the university awarded him an honorary doctor of arts degree. In 1979, Winston sent a demo tape to William Ackerman, who had started his new record label, Windham Hill, in 1976. Ackerman offered to produce his next album, which became Autumn; it was soon the best selling record in the label's catalog. On the heels of his three successful albums, Winston composed the score to accompany Meryl Streep's narration on The Velveteen Rabbit in 1984, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Children's Music Album. Two of his other works, Plains (1999) and Montana: A Love Story (2004), were also later nominated for best new age album. Winston's 2002 album Night Divides the Day – The Music of the Doors consists of solo piano renditions of music by the rock band the Doors. The title of the album is a lyric from the band's song "Break on Through (To the Other Side)". The album received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. Winston suffered from a number of illnesses, and while recuperating from a bout of cancer in 2013, he played the piano in the medical center auditorium, creating 21 pieces, that he says were "kind of circular" and "minimalist". In 2014, he included three of the pieces in a Spring Carousel EP, and a 15 track album, called Spring Carousel: A Cancer Research Benefit released on March 31. Proceeds benefit City of Hope Hospital near Los Angeles, where he was treated and subsequently composed the musical work. To kick off the release, Winston performed a concert at Pittsburgh's Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall that benefited the Creative Arts Program, which provides scholarships to pay for music therapy. In July 2019, at the National Music Council's 2019 American Eagle Award Honor ceremony that recognized Vince Guaraldi, Winston performed his versions of the musician's work. From his grand piano, Winston told the audience:
I love Vince's piano playing, and I love his compositions. I play way more of his songs than by any other composer. I first heard him in 1962, with "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" And then in December 1965, I was a fan of animation, and I saw in the TV Guide that there was going to be a cartoon of the Peanuts characters, A Charlie Brown Christmas. And I thought, wow, I've got to see that. A lot of us remember where we were, the first time we heard "Linus and Lucy" in that special, during the dance segment Vince's piano just drove me crazy. And I went to the record store the next day—just to go to the record store—and there was the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack, up on the wall. And I looked at it, and thought, Oh, Vince Guaraldi, the "Cast Your Fate" guy. The TV episode credits had run by so fast, I hadn't seen it was Vince Guaraldi. So I got the album, and found "Linus and Lucy", and played it about 100 times on my record player. In 1983, Winston started his own label, Dancing Cat Records, He primarily launched the label to record artists playing the Hawaiian slack key guitar, which he admired. He provided the guitar soundtrack to Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes in 1995. Both his harmonica and guitar playing can be heard on his benefit album Remembrance: A Memorial Benefit, which was released shortly after the September 11 attacks. Winston's Dancing Cat Records produced recordings of slack key guitarists, including artists Keola Beamer, Sonny Chillingworth, Leonard Kwan, Dennis Kamakahi, Ray Kane, Cyril Pahinui, Bla Pahinui, Martin Pahinui, Ledward Kaapana, Georg Kuo, Ozzie Kotani, George Kahumoku Jr., Moses Kahumoku, Cindy Combs and others. He also worked on recording the American traditional musicians Sam Hinton, Rick Epping and Curt Bouterse. The third style he played was New Orleans R&B piano, influenced mainly by James Booker, Professor Longhair, Henry Butler, as well as Dr. John and Jon Cleary. He had been called the "Father of New Age" because his album Autumn was released by Windham Hill Records often described as a new age label; Winston himself denied that his music was new age. Winston dressed unassumingly for his shows, playing in stocking feet, stating that it quieted his "hard beat pounding" left foot. 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 nine foot New York Steinways that are his piano of choice. According to the Austin American Statesman in 2015: "As for his piano playing, Winston remains a master of both tone and invention. Starting with a bluesy tune inspired by Professor Longhair—Winston's most recent albums have included two Gulf Coast inspired collections—he proceeded through seasonal favorites "Rain" (from 1982's Winter Into Spring) and "Woods" (from 1980s Autumn). On the latter, he created remarkable 'hollowed' sounds to some notes by reaching inside the piano and muting strings with one hand while striking keys with the other." On April 19, 2010, he appeared as the sole guest on show 575 of the multimedia WoodSongs Old Time Radio Hour. Twenty minutes into the program, he described an unusual method of playing the piano with muted strings, a development inspired by watching blues guitar players. He can be seen reaching into the piano with his left hand and muting the strings, while with his right hand he is playing "An African in the Americas".
«Я люблю игру Винса на пианино, и я люблю его композиции. Я играю больше его песен, чем произведений любого другого композитора. Я впервые услышал его в 1962 году с песней «Cast Your Fate to the Wind», а затем в декабре 1965 года, будучи поклонником анимации, я увидел в TV Guide, что будет мультфильм о персонажах Peanuts – «Рождество Чарли Брауна». И я подумал: «Вау, я должен это увидеть». Многие из нас помнят, где мы были, когда впервые услышали «Linus and Lucy» в этом выпуске, во время танцевального сегмента. Пианино Винса просто сводило меня с ума. И на следующий день я пошел в магазин пластинок – просто чтобы пойти в магазин пластинок – и увидел рождественский саундтрек «Чарли Брауна» на стене. Я посмотрел на него и подумал: «О, Винс Гуаралди, автор «Cast Your Fate». Кредиты эпизода пролетели так быстро, что я не заметил, что это Винс Гуаралди». Я купил альбом, нашел «Linus and Lucy» и проиграл его около 100 раз на своем проигрывателе. В 1983 году Уинстон основал свой собственный лейбл Dancing Cat Records, в основном для записи исполнителей, играющих на гавайской гитаре с ослабленными струнами, которую он ценил. Он предоставил гитарный саундтрек к фильму «Садако и тысяча бумажных журавлей» в 1995 году. Его игра на губной гармошке и гитаре звучит в его благотворительном альбоме «Remembrance: A Memorial Benefit», выпущенном вскоре после терактов 11 сентября. Dancing Cat Records выпустил записи гитаристов, играющих на гавайской гитаре с ослабленными струнами, включая Кеолу Бимера, Сонни Чилингворта, Леонарда Квана, Денниса Камакахи, Рэя Кейна, Сирила Пахинуи, Бла Пахинуи, Мартина Пахинуи, Ледварда Каапана, Джорджа Куо, Оззи Котани, Джорджа Кахумоку-младшего, Мозеса Кахумоку, Синди Комбс и других. Он также работал над записью американских народных музыкантов Сэма Хинтона, Рика Эппинга и Керта Бутерсе. Третьим стилем, в котором он играл, был новоорлеанский R&B на фортепиано, на который повлияли в основном Джеймс Букер, профессор Лонгхейр, Генри Батлер, а также Доктор Джон и Джон Клири. Его называли «Отцом нью-эйдж», потому что его альбом «Autumn» был выпущен на лейбле Windham Hill Records, который часто описывают как лейбл нью-эйдж; сам Уинстон отрицал, что его музыка относится к нью-эйдж. Уинстон скромно одевался для своих выступлений, играя в носках, утверждая, что это успокаивает его «сильно бьющую» левую ногу. На протяжении многих лет лысеющий и бородатый Уинстон выходил на сцену в фланелевой рубашке и джинсах, и зрители думали, что это техник, пришедший настроить девятифутовые рояли Steinway, которые он предпочитает. По словам Austin American Statesman в 2015 году: «Что касается его игры на пианино, Уинстон остается мастером тона и изобретательности. Начав с блюзовой мелодии, вдохновленной профессором Лонгхейром – последние альбомы Уинстона включают две коллекции, вдохновленные побережьем Мексиканского залива – он перешел к сезонным фаворитам «Rain» (с альбома 1982 года «Winter Into Spring») и «Woods» (с альбома 1980 года «Autumn»). В последней композиции он создавал замечательные «выдолбленные» звуки, дотягиваясь до струн внутри пианино и приглушая их одной рукой, одновременно нажимая на клавиши другой». 19 апреля 2010 года он появился в качестве единственного гостя в 575-м выпуске мультимедийного радиошоу WoodSongs Old Time Radio Hour. Через двадцать минут после начала программы он описал необычный способ игры на пианино с приглушенными струнами, который был вдохновлен наблюдением за блюзовыми гитаристами. Его можно увидеть, как он дотягивается до струн пианино левой рукой и приглушает их, а правой рукой играет «Африканец в Америке».
George Otis Winston III (February 11, 1949 – June 4, 2023) was an American pianist performing contemporary instrumental music. Winston received four other Grammy nominations, including one for Best Children's Music Album, performed with actress Meryl Streep, and another for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for his interpretation of works by the rock band the Doors. Winston played in three styles: the melodic approach that he developed and called "rural folk piano"; stride piano, primarily inspired by Fats Waller and Teddy Wilson; and his primary interest, New Orleans rhythm and blues (R&B) piano, influenced by James Booker, Professor Longhair and Henry Butler. While the majority of his recordings were in the folk piano style, Winston mostly enjoyed playing R&B piano. He was raised mainly in Montana (Miles City and Billings), as well as Mississippi and Florida. As a youth, his musical interests included instrumentals of the R&B, rock, pop and jazz genres, especially those by organists. and watched each new Peanuts special to hear Guaraldi's newest music. After hearing the Doors in 1967, he was inspired to play the organ. In 1971, he switched to solo piano after hearing the stride pianists Fats Waller, Teddy Wilson and later Earl Hines, Donald Lambert and Cleo Brown. After graduating from Coral Gables Senior High School in Coral Gables, Florida in 1967, Winston attended Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, where he majored in sociology. While he did not complete his undergraduate degree, following his rise to prominence, the university awarded him an honorary doctor of arts degree. In 1979, Winston sent a demo tape to William Ackerman, who had started his new record label, Windham Hill, in 1976. Ackerman offered to produce his next album, which became Autumn; it was soon the best selling record in the label's catalog. On the heels of his three successful albums, Winston composed the score to accompany Meryl Streep's narration on The Velveteen Rabbit in 1984, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Children's Music Album. Two of his other works, Plains (1999) and Montana: A Love Story (2004), were also later nominated for best new age album. Winston's 2002 album Night Divides the Day – The Music of the Doors consists of solo piano renditions of music by the rock band the Doors. The title of the album is a lyric from the band's song "Break on Through (To the Other Side)". The album received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. Winston suffered from a number of illnesses, and while recuperating from a bout of cancer in 2013, he played the piano in the medical center auditorium, creating 21 pieces, that he says were "kind of circular" and "minimalist". In 2014, he included three of the pieces in a Spring Carousel EP, and a 15 track album, called Spring Carousel: A Cancer Research Benefit released on March 31. Proceeds benefit City of Hope Hospital near Los Angeles, where he was treated and subsequently composed the musical work. To kick off the release, Winston performed a concert at Pittsburgh's Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall that benefited the Creative Arts Program, which provides scholarships to pay for music therapy. In July 2019, at the National Music Council's 2019 American Eagle Award Honor ceremony that recognized Vince Guaraldi, Winston performed his versions of the musician's work. From his grand piano, Winston told the audience:
I love Vince's piano playing, and I love his compositions. I play way more of his songs than by any other composer. I first heard him in 1962, with "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" And then in December 1965, I was a fan of animation, and I saw in the TV Guide that there was going to be a cartoon of the Peanuts characters, A Charlie Brown Christmas. And I thought, wow, I've got to see that. A lot of us remember where we were, the first time we heard "Linus and Lucy" in that special, during the dance segment Vince's piano just drove me crazy. And I went to the record store the next day—just to go to the record store—and there was the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack, up on the wall. And I looked at it, and thought, Oh, Vince Guaraldi, the "Cast Your Fate" guy. The TV episode credits had run by so fast, I hadn't seen it was Vince Guaraldi. So I got the album, and found "Linus and Lucy", and played it about 100 times on my record player. In 1983, Winston started his own label, Dancing Cat Records, He primarily launched the label to record artists playing the Hawaiian slack key guitar, which he admired. He provided the guitar soundtrack to Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes in 1995. Both his harmonica and guitar playing can be heard on his benefit album Remembrance: A Memorial Benefit, which was released shortly after the September 11 attacks. Winston's Dancing Cat Records produced recordings of slack key guitarists, including artists Keola Beamer, Sonny Chillingworth, Leonard Kwan, Dennis Kamakahi, Ray Kane, Cyril Pahinui, Bla Pahinui, Martin Pahinui, Ledward Kaapana, Georg Kuo, Ozzie Kotani, George Kahumoku Jr., Moses Kahumoku, Cindy Combs and others. He also worked on recording the American traditional musicians Sam Hinton, Rick Epping and Curt Bouterse. The third style he played was New Orleans R&B piano, influenced mainly by James Booker, Professor Longhair, Henry Butler, as well as Dr. John and Jon Cleary. He had been called the "Father of New Age" because his album Autumn was released by Windham Hill Records often described as a new age label; Winston himself denied that his music was new age. Winston dressed unassumingly for his shows, playing in stocking feet, stating that it quieted his "hard beat pounding" left foot. 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 nine foot New York Steinways that are his piano of choice. According to the Austin American Statesman in 2015: "As for his piano playing, Winston remains a master of both tone and invention. Starting with a bluesy tune inspired by Professor Longhair—Winston's most recent albums have included two Gulf Coast inspired collections—he proceeded through seasonal favorites "Rain" (from 1982's Winter Into Spring) and "Woods" (from 1980s Autumn). On the latter, he created remarkable 'hollowed' sounds to some notes by reaching inside the piano and muting strings with one hand while striking keys with the other." On April 19, 2010, he appeared as the sole guest on show 575 of the multimedia WoodSongs Old Time Radio Hour. Twenty minutes into the program, he described an unusual method of playing the piano with muted strings, a development inspired by watching blues guitar players. He can be seen reaching into the piano with his left hand and muting the strings, while with his right hand he is playing "An African in the Americas".
Личная жизнь
В поздние годы жизни Уинстон проживал в районе залива Сан-Франциско. Он активно занимался благотворительностью, часто выступая с концертами в поддержку различных благотворительных целей.
Смерть
Уинстон страдал от нескольких форм рака, включая рак щитовидной железы, рак кожи и миелодиспластический синдром, последний из которых был преодолен после трансплантации костного мозга в 2013 году.