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Jan Preston's High 5
Jan Preston's High 5 Jan Preston, the knockout boogie woogie pianist with the rich resonant voice, captures audiences with her mastery of boogie woogie…
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High 5
Jan Preston, the knockout boogie woogie pianist with the rich resonant voice, captures audiences with her mastery of boogie woogie and honky-tonk piano style.
Winner of 4 Best Female Blues and Blues Artist of the Year Awards, Jan plays festivals and concerts throughout Australia, NZ, and Europe, tours her own shows and writes music for films and television, such as the Theme to Australian Story.
Known as Australia’s Queen of the Boogie Piano, Jan has a reputation as a magnetic live performer.
Visit Jan on Facebook
www.facebook.com/pages/Jan-Preston/203189246368395
1. NINA SIMONE – Wellington NZ, 1993
I saw Nina Simone 18 years ago in Wellington NZ, and I can remember it as if it was last night. Ms Simone had a reputation for being a very moody live performer and her shows were always up and down depending on how she was feeling on the night, so I was extremely lucky to hear Nina Simone in concert at her very best. The independence between her singing and piano playing absolutely stunned me.
2. PROFESSOR LONGHAIR – NYC, 1979
This was only a few months before Professor Longhair passed away and this concert was the final nail in the coffin of my classical piano career. I bought his current album (Live On the Queen Mary) and learnt just about every tune. I still play ‘Gone So Long’.
3. KATIE WEBSTER – Sydney, 1983
Aptly, Katie was called the ‘Two Fisted Momma’ and when I heard her hard hitting boogie piano style I felt a load off my chest. Here, at last, was a female player who approached the piano in the same percussive way that I always had.
4. LILI KRAUS - Hungarian classical pianist, Napier 1961.
She was the first female concert pianist I had ever seen, a great performer as well as teacher, and we were all overwhelmed to have Lili perform in our small town in NZ. It was like the queen was visiting.
5. PATTI SMITH - Enmore Theatre Sydney 2001.
I was dragged along to this show by a friend. I would never have gone and didn’t know any of Patti’s music. However I was enormously inspired by her extraordinary openness and honesty as a performer and it made me realise how much further I could take the audience/musician connection.
