Renowned pianist George Winston will perform a benefit concert in support of Hopa Mountain, a Bozeman-based nonprofit organization, on Friday, May 25th at the Emerson Center for the Arts & Culture beginning at 7pm. This solo piano benefit performance will feature melodic folk piano songs from his recordings, Vince Guaraldi’s Peanuts pieces, as well as songs inspired by the New Orleans R&B piano and Harlem stride piano traditions.
George Winston grew up mainly in Montana and spent his later formative years in Mississippi and Florida. During this time, his favorite music was instrumental rock and instrumental R&B, including Floyd Cramer, the Ventures, Booker T & The MG’s, Jimmy Smith, and many more. In 1971 he switched to the acoustic piano after hearing recordings from the 1920s and the 1930s by the legendary stride pianists Thomas “Fats” Waller and the late Teddy Wilson. In addition
to working on stride piano, he also, at the same time, came up with his own style of melodic instrumental music on solo piano called “folk piano.”
Tickets are $24 per person and can be purchased in advance in-store at Cactus Records, www.cactusrecords.net, and at the door. George Winston will also be holding a food drive for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank before the concert. Non-perishable food will be collected at the door. For more information about this event in benefit of Hopa Mountain, please email info@hopamountain.org or call (406) 586-2455.
Hopa Mountain invests in rural and tribal citizen leaders, adults and youth, who are working to improve education, ecological health, and economic development. Learn more at www.hopamountain.org. •