(*73*)-Winning New Age Pianist Was 73 – Deadline

George Winston, the singular pianist who fused inspirations from stride, R&B and New Age types to create his personal clean instrumental music, died June 4 at age 73. He had been battling most cancers for the previous 10 years, in response to an announcement on his web site.

The information comes after the (*73*)-winning musician — he additionally performed harmonica and acoustic guitar — underwent bone marrow transplants in 2003 and 2012. He launched his sixteenth studio album, Night, on May 6, 2022, by way of RCA Records however postponed this 12 months’s tour dates due to his well being. He had been planning to renew touring in 2024.

Winston bought 15 million albums as he cultivated his folk-piano model, profitable the New Age (*73*) in 1996 for Forest, his seventh album. He constructed a fanbase with LPs that includes titles akin to Autumn, December, Summer and Restless Wind. He scored 5 different (*73*) nominations in his profession that started together with his first solo piano album, ultimately referred to as Ballads and Blues 1972.

Winston hit in 1982 together with his fourth album, December, a group of Christmas requirements that he organized and carried out. It would resurface a number of occasions on Billboard’s annual Christmas charts and ultimately went gold.

He would launch his personal label, Dancing Cat Records, in 1983. Specializing in Hawaiian music, it was distributed by Windham Hill for 35 years and likewise launched a few of Winston’s discs.

The following 12 months, Windham Hill reissued his earlier two albums — Winter into Spring (1982) and Autumn (1980) — and each have been licensed platinum in 1987 for gross sales of 1 million models. His different half-million-selling gold albums have been December, Summer, Forest, Plains and Linus & Lucy: The Music of Vince Guaraldi, a tribute to the composer behind the basic vacation toon A Charlie Brown Christmas.

His music additionally included 2002’s Night Divides the Day: The Music of the Doors, which featured instrumental piano takes on songs by The Doors. He additionally recorded tributes for Hurricane Katrina aid, the Louisiana wetlands and a most cancers analysis profit for City of Hope (the place he had his transplant) by way of RCA and Dancing Cat.

Winston is survived by his sister, niece and nephew. His household will maintain a non-public memorial service. Donations in his reminiscence could be made to Feeding America, City of Hope Cancer Center or Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Erik Pedersen contributed to this report.