Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 12, 1994 TAG: 9403140229
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Imagine a piano recital - a very good piano recital - held in a grassy, dreamlike meadow.
You're barefoot, or maybe in your socks. (Socks are what Winston chose to wear. No shoes.) The sweet smell of wildflowers drifts in the breeze, birds chirp faintly off in the distance, the relaxing sun warms your neck.
Perhaps that is the effect Winston strives for in his simplicity. He wants the mind to wander, carried away on a musical note to where the imagination leads. It might be a summer meadow on one song or a dramatic rainstorm on another. Even a cartoon chase between a cat and a mouse.
Whatever, Winston stays out of the way.
His stage couldn't have been more simple. A black grand piano stood at its center with the top open. No amplifiers. White spotlights cast the piano in a regal glow. A closed black curtain hung as the only backdrop.
There was a black padded piano bench scooted up to the ivory keyboard and a black guitar case lying flat on the floor. Nothing else.
The house lights dimmed, and Winston walked out in his white stocking feet with no announcement or introduction. He wore blue jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt.
In the easy tone of a public radio announcer, he briefly introduced his opening medley and began at the piano. Seated, his profile to the audience of 1,155, he played without much outward emotion or showmanship, leaving the acrobatics to his fingers.
In his first set, Winston played a variety of cuts from his "Summer" album, including "Living in the Country," "Loreta and Desiree's Bouquet" and "The Garden," plus two songs composed by Vince Guaraldi, "Charlie Brown's All-Stars" and "You're in Love, Charlie Brown."
The standout, however, was a dramatic composition entitled "Rain," which captured the musical essence of a spring thunderstorm. It was thoroughly engaging, although maybe Winston carried it on a little too long.
He ended his opening set with a traditional Hawaiian slack-key guitar song, "Loved One," that didn't have the same float-away quality his piano work accomplished.
After a 20-minute intermission, Winston continued with the same simple format, offering up the bittersweet melancholy of "Living Without You," written by Randy Newman, contrasted by the gleeful "Corrina, Corrina."
The most unusual selection of the show was probably the unlikely 1950s pop hit, "Love Potion No. 9," that, without words, lost its humor in translation and became a nearly indistinguishable piano boogie.
The second set also included a harmonica improvisation, a second slack-key guitar number, another cut off "Summer," called "Fragrant Fields," and "Canon in D" by Johann Pachelbel.
In the end, the simplicity and mellow karma showcased, above all, the music. The desired effect was a mood, more than an event. Pleasant, but not a juggernaut. Winston didn't leave you toe-tapping. He left a lingering resonance ringing in your memory.
Like a summer afternoon in a meadow.
by CNB