pianist

NEW YORK —  Byron Janis, a renowned American concert pianist and composer who broke barriers as a Cold War-era culture ambassador and later overcame severe arthritis that nearly robbed him of his playing abilities, has died. He was 95.Janis passed away Thursday evening at a hospital in New York City, according to his wife, Maria Cooper Janis. In a statement, she described her husband as “an exceptional human being who took his talents to their highest pinnacle.” A childhood prodigy who studied under Vladimir Horowitz,…

Ben Lanzarone, the composer, arranger, musical director and pianist who wrote music for such shows as Dynasty, Happy Days, Mr. Belvedere and The Tracey Ullman Show, has died. He was 85. Lanzarone died Friday in his Los Angeles home of lung cancer, his family announced. The Brooklyn native toured with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Art Garfunkel, Mary Travers, Anthony Newley, Petula Clark, Lainie Kazan and Mason Williams and for Broadway served as the musical director on the original 1972-80…

A pianist slammed bizarre demands from a group of Chinese tourists who asked not to be filmed as he performed at a busy London train station, claiming they tried to get his video taken down, and police got involved.Brendan Kavanagh was filming a livestream session of himself playing the piano at London’s St Pancras train station on Saturday (January 20) when his impressive performance was cut short by what appeared to be a group of Chinese tourists, as observed from their Chinese flags and red and yellow colored…

Les McCann, the iconic jazz pianist, who is renowned for the protest song `Compared to What`, passed away on Friday at a hospital in Los Angeles, according to his manager. He was 88 years old and had been hospitalized last week due to pneumonia, though no cause of death was given, as per Variety. McCann combined jazz and R&B in his work, laying the foundation for numerous early hip-hop hits, such as `10 Crack Commandments` by the Notorious B.I.G., `After Hours` by A Tribe Called Quest, `The Next Episode` by Snoop Dogg…

Jazz pianist and singer Les McCann, best known for his raucous live single “Compared to What” from the 1969 Montreux Jazz Festival and later sampled heavily by hip-hop artists, died Friday at a Los Angeles-area hospital, according to his longtime manager and producer Alan Abrahams.McCann, 88, had been living in a Van Nuys nursing facility and was hospitalized with pneumonia, said Abrahams, who declined to identify the hospital. McCann had been a longtime Van Nuys resident, Abrahams said. “He was one of the most…

There’s an icy, unforgiving clarity and compositional rigour to this arresting feature debut from Polish film-maker Damian Kocur, made using non-professionals and partly inspired by a violent incident from real life; it won the special jury prize at Venice in 2022.Real-life Polish pianist Tymoteusz Bies plays Tymek, a high-achieving young man studying piano at Warsaw’s Chopin University of Music. He’s returned for the summer break to his drab home town, perhaps based on Ełk in the north-east, where all the kids he grew up…

Carla Bley, the American jazz composer-pianist celebrated for boldly avant-garde work as well as her uplifting and beautiful takes on the genre’s mainstream, has died aged 87.Her death was announced by longtime partner and musical collaborator Steve Swallow, who said the cause was complications from brain cancer.Bley’s impish, blithe yet pointed approach to her craft meant she recorded right across the jazz spectrum, from straightforwardly lovely piano pieces (the likes of Lawns became standards and hits on streaming…

Peter Nero, a Grammy-winning pianist who interpreted pop songs through classical and jazz forms and served as the Philly Pops’ conductor for more than three decades, has died. Nero was 89. Nero died Thursday at Home Care Assisted Living Facility in Eustis, Fla., according to his daughter, Beverly Nero, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Services will be private. Nero colored his renditions of pop songs — from Cole Porter and George Gershwin to the Beatles and Bob Dylan — with classical, swing,…

George Winston, the Grammy-winning pianist who blended jazz, classical, folk and other stylings on such million-selling albums as “Autumn,” “Winter Into Spring” and “December,” has died at age 73.According to an announcement on his website www.georgewinston.com, confirmed by a spokesman, Winston died Sunday after a 10-year battle with cancer. “Throughout his cancer treatments, George continued to write and record new music, and he stayed true to his greatest passion: performing for live audiences while raising funds for…

Grammy-winning New Age pianist George Winston, died on Sunday at the age of 73, Variety reported. According to a statement on his website, he had been battling cancer for the previous ten years. The announcement came through his Twitter handle and website and said, “We are deeply saddened to share the news that George Winston has passed away after a 10-year battle with cancer. George quietly and painlessly left this world while asleep on Sunday, June 4, 2023. Read the full message:…