Jan Preston’s “Life & Music of Winifred Atwell” has been described as “a remarkable evening that touched us all and will not soon be forgotten”.

Winifred Atwell is fondly remembered as the “Queen of the Keyboard” in the 1950s as a legend of the honky tonk and ragtime styles of piano playing. Despite making her name as the honky tonk queen, Winnie, as she was affectionately known, started out as a serious concert pianist, earning the distinction of receiving the highest grading for musicianship at the Royal Academy of Music. To support her studies she played in London clubs and theatres, but later topped the bill at the London Palladium.

In this memorable tribute show to Winnie’s years at the top of the hit parades, Jan Preston has put together a multi media show of music, films and narration, using archived footage from the Australian National Library. Jan gives us a wonderful insight into Winifred Atwell’s life: her tireless work for charities, her enormous success which culminated in her playing to more than 20 million people worldwide, her many top ten hits, as well as personal snippets about Winnie, such as that she loved eating mangoes, doing crosswords, and that her hands were insured for quarter of a million dollars with Lloyds of London, the contract stipulating “Miss Atwell must never do the dishes!”

Winner of 4 Best Female Blues and Blues Artist of the Year Awards, Jan plays festivals and concerts throughout Australia, NZ, and Europe, tours her own shows and writes music for films. Her original piano composition was used as the Theme to ABC’s Australian Story for 6 years. Known as Australia’s Queen of the Boogie Piano, she has a reputation as a magnetic live performer, and her renditions of original piano boogie compositions and songs, as well as tunes such as the ‘Black and White Rag’ and ‘Bumble Boogie’ are astonishing.

Tickets to Jan Preston’s Winifred Atwell show are available from Book Heaven in Bold St Laurieton, North Haven Bowling Club or by mail order. All details are in the program booklet available at the Courier office, Book Heaven or Laurieton Library.

Enquiries to Alvena Ferguson on 6559 6874.