Jan Preston - My Life As A Piano

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:50
Size: 102.7 MB
Styles: Boogie woogie, Piano blues & vocals
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[3:18] 1. Honky Tonk Woman
[3:59] 2. 1968 Jaguar
[3:49] 3. Boogie The Blues Away
[2:39] 4. Boogie Fur Elise
[3:32] 5. The Housework Blues
[3:13] 6. 20 Fingers On 88 Keys
[4:05] 7. Ain't Nobody's Business
[3:42] 8. Bumble Boogie
[3:31] 9. The Ivories Are Calling
[2:53] 10. Don't Run Don't Hide
[3:11] 11. Keeper Of The Eighty Eights
[3:04] 12. Honky Tonk Train Blues
[3:48] 13. My Baby's Leaving Home

I was born in Greymouth on the remote West Coast of the South Island of NZ. Our family had little resources or opportunity, but I grew up in an era where people would gather around the piano and sing together. From when I was very young I played piano while everybody sang along or played tea chest basses, eggbeaters, combs, violins, even an old saxophone.

I had an Auntie who played honky tonk style, and heard Winifred Atwell along with early rock n roll on our old Columbus Radio in the kitchen. Playing piano from the moment I could reach the keys, and being spurred on by my older sister and brother who both played, I studied classical very seriously, becoming a star student, passing all my grades with distinction and gaining a very prestigious place (one of 4 students from the whole of NZ) to study a 5 year classical piano degree at Auckland University. Although I loved classical music, by the end of the degree I wasn’t happy to be a concert pianist or, more likely, a piano teacher. So I cut off my hair, and moved to Wellington where I experimented with different styles of music, working in an independent theatre group and then rock bands. In 1980 my band, “Coup D’Etat” had a No. 1 hit with the song “Doctor I Like Your Medicine”, after which I moved across the Tasman to Sydney, playing in bands and piano bars as well as writing music for films. It was some years later before I found my own voice, as a boogie piano player and songwriter.

My Life As A Piano

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