Wonderful Winston

Keri, Sophie, and I came down last night for my birthday present--the George Winston concert at Mesa Center for the Arts. It was a wonderful evening, introducing me to more of his music as well as the Hawaiian slack key guitar style and his harmonica music. He played two pieces from December which still is my favorite, but a number of other pieces put two other albums, Autumn and Forest, on my mustget list.
Winston's personal presentation was interesting; he has a reserved, matter-of-fact style that strongly contrasts with the highly evocative and emotionally charged nature of his music. He looks the part of Montana mountain man and reminded me strongly of a craftsman in his workshop using all sorts of noisy, bulky, and functional tools to create beautifully fluid, elegant furniture. The final product does not even hint at the process of production. Winston used all sorts of techniques--from the basics of his play which is brusque and almost jerky to his frequent ventures behind the keyboard, touching (and we couldn't tell what else) the strings to create numerous effects--my favorite being a whirring sound at the end of a piece inspired by pine forests that sounded very much like wind in the tops of trees. We had perfect seats to experience this, near the front and on the left of the auditorium, basically looking over his shoulder as he pounded away.

He also played the guitar in the slack key style, which is romantic and lilting and made me want more. His harmonica piece was played with a gusto that yielded harsh and least-favorite-of-all-I-heard results (though Josh and Keri really liked it).
We ended with my favorite ice cream, Haagen-Dazs Mayan chocolate, and coffee. It was a wonderful evening.

Thank you J,E,&B.