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The “queen of boogie piano” performs on Thursday this week at the Leigh Sawmill Café.
Jan Preston, as part of The Jan Preston Trio, present “88 Pianos I Have Known”, featuring projected images, personal anecdotes and biographical stories.
Jan promises a swathe of new songs including a new “killer version” of a tune called Nutrocker, based on Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite and played in fast boogie style.
“I’ve been practising this a lot and my left hand is threatening to seize … well, hopefully not until the end of the tour,” Jan says.
Jan now lives in Sydney, but was born in Greymouth to a family which she says had few resources or opportunities, but would gather around the piano and sing together.
“From when I was very young, I played piano while everybody sang along or played tea chest basses, eggbeaters, combs, violins and an old saxophone.”
An aunt who played honky-tonk style and Winifred Atwell were early influences.
Jan went on to study classical music and secured a prestigious place on a five-year classical piano degree course at Auckland University.
But by the end of the course, Jan decided she did not really want to be a concert pianist or a piano teacher.
“So, I cut off my hair and moved to Wellington where I experimented with different styles of music, first working in an independent theatre group and then rock bands,” she says.
In 1980, her band Coup D’Etat had a number one smash hit with the song, Doctor I Like Your Medicine, after which Jan moved to Australia playing in other bands and at piano bars, as well as writing music for films and television.
Years later, she found her own voice, as a boogie piano player and songwriter.
“I am still enormously passionate about music and have so much more to play, sing and write,” she says.
Jan plays at the Leigh Sawmill Café on Thursday, August 8, at 7.30pm. Tickets from eventfinda.co.nz.
