John Eaton (pianist)
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May 29, 1934
John Eaton | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Livingston Eaton May 29, 1934 Washington, District of Columbia, US |
| Genres | jazz, American standards |
| Occupations | pianist, musicologist, humorist |
| Instrument | piano |
| Website | http://www.eatonpiano.com/ |
John Livingston Eaton (born May 29, 1934, Washington, D.C.) is an American pianist, musicologist, humorist, educator and interpreter of jazz and American popular music.[1] He is "considered one of the foremost interpreters of American music."[1]
Eaton was born in Washington, D.C.[2] He first learned about jazz from his father, a journalist who played the piano every evening after work.[3]
He attended Yale University.[2] There, he was a member of the social and literary fraternity St. Anthony Hall.[4] He graduated from Yale University in 1956. He later studied with renowned classical teacher Alexander Lipsky.[1]
Career
Eaton started playing music in the late 1950s.[3] He played in the house trio of Blues Alley, playing with the touring stars who needed a backing band for three years.[3] He also played piano in hotel lounges.[3]
In 1988, he was named to the Steinway Concert Artist roster.[1] Also in 1988, Eaton has performed as headliner in the East Room of the White House for President Reagan, and both as soloist and with artists as Zoot Sims, Benny Carter, Duke Ellington, Clark Terry, and Wild Bill Davison.[3][2] He has been a featured player at the Kool Jazz Festival and the Smithsonian Institution Performing Arts Jazz series, broadcast nationally on National Public Radio and Radio Smithsonian.[5][6]
Characterized by Nat Hentoff as "the complete pianist... the master of just about the whole spectrum of jazz music", John Eaton is profiled in Leonard Feather and Ira Gitler's Encyclopedia of Jazz, and has been reviewed by prominent music critics.[7]
