Jan Preston
23rd February 2024
King Georges Hall, Bay View, New Zealand.
Review by Rob Harbers, photography by Andrew Caldwell.
In a performance that drew on a deep well of memories and experience, Jan Preston brought the spirit of boogie-woogie piano to the tiny hamlet of Bay View, in this, the first of a three-night run of Small Hall Sessions.
Formerly of these parts, having lived in Napier from the age of seven until adulthood, Jan is now a resident of the Big Island (the one across the Tasman), but we won’t hold that against her! Particularly not when she possesses such lightning-fast and skilful fingers as were demonstrated in this session.
There may be some readers who are thinking that her name sounds familiar, but haven’t encountered her piano performances before. This could be due to her early 80’s stint with Coup d’Etat, the side project of Harry Lyon of Hello Sailor, probably best known for “Dr I Like Your Medicine”. Or it could be that you’ve heard of her big sister, Dame Gaylene Preston, who’s made a movie or two that you may have heard of, such as “Home For Christmas” and “War Stories our mothers never told us”. Or perhaps you’ve never heard of any of this, or her, at all – in this case, all you really need to know can be summed up as follows: An incredibly talented musician with a long history of making music that people love to listen to, creator of a dozen or so solo albums as well as an extensive body of soundtrack work, and an exceptional coup for Jamie and the crew to be hosting!
Together with husband and musical collaborator Mike Pullman, Jan delivered a set largely composed of original music, while at the same time giving providing exposition on the history and structure of the boogie-woogie genre. This was contrasted with its cousin ragtime. One of the primary figures in this arena is the legendary Winifred Atwell, and Jan has previously composed, performed and toured a full musical inspired by her work – a few excerpts were featured here. An equally iconic place in the genre belongs to “Down The Road a Piece” from 1940, which requires the mastery of Freddie Slack’s right-hand licks to be done true justice – perhaps why Jan had never before performed it publicly, a debut performance right there in little Bay View!
These weren’t the only instances of first exposure, with a couple of Jan’s own songs, “Piano Land”, and “A Little Bit More” also receiving their World Premiere. Must be something about that seaside air…
With a history as long as the hall itself has, it also contains an equally venerable piano of its own, which Jan professed to having heard pleading – but was it pleading to be played, or not to be? She took the chance, on a couple of numbers, giving the old girl perhaps one of the liveliest workouts she’s probably had in a long time. They do say that there’s many a fine tune played on an old piano! And such was the case here, the aged ivories responding purringly to her tender caresses.
Such is her reach that one of Jan’s pieces, “Trout Blues” goes out four nights a week as the theme song to BBC London’s evening program, exposing her music to many ears across one of the world’s great cities – not bad for a song inspired by her brother’s pet name for her! And the strength of family provides a lot of her inspiration, with many a tale told of her origins, very clearly an environment of great love and companionship. All this, combined with the music, comes together to create her nostalgia-infused presentation, in a package which touched many hearts.
Twyford and Otane, this is your call to step up to the plate – come and experience one of Australia’s most embraced Kiwi imports (they even have her doing theme tunes for their TV shows!). A performance dripping with nostalgia and reminiscence, reflecting a lifetime of being the piano player and not getting shot, that radiates peace, love and understanding – and what’s so funny about that?
Were you there at the King Georges Hall for this intimate gig? Or have you seen Jan Preston perform live sometime else? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Note: Ambient Light was provided passes to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only. This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission at no cost to you.
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