HYBRID IN-PERSON AND ONLINE PROGRAM

Twelve Bars of Brilliance: How the Blues Built Jazz

Quentin Walston, Pianist, Composer, and Educator

Reception 1:00 - 1:30 pm 

Join pianist and jazz educator Quentin Walston for an illuminating journey through jazz history as he explores how the twelve-bar blues became the backbone of America's greatest musical art form. This unique presentation combines solo piano performance with engaging historical narrative, tracing the blues' profound influence from jazz's earliest days to its continued evolution.

Through live performances of works by legendary artists including W.C. Handy, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, and Wayne Shorter, discover how the deceptively simple blues structure provided the foundation for countless jazz innovations. This captivating blend of education and entertainment reveals the musical DNA that connects ragtime pioneers to bebop revolutionaries to modern jazz explorers, celebrating the enduring power of the blues to inspire endless innovation in amazing jazz genre.

$15 fee for guests and subscribers (no fee for members)