BOOGIE DOWN AT THE UKIAH LIBRARY
Everyone is invited to experience the fun of Boogie Woogie Piano at the Ukiah Library at noon on Thursday.
Boogie Woogie Piano will include live piano performances, talks with renowned performers, and some of the fascinating history of the music that spawned Elvis Presley and Rock and Roll.
This hour of fun will feature pianists Sue Palmer, Ricky Nye and Wendy Dewitt playing favorites, sharing stories, and inspiring your passion for toe tapping boogie woogie.
Notorious for her beehive-wearing stint with blues diva Candye Kane in the '90s, Sue Palmer has been making her mark for decades with her Motel Swing Orchestra and international touring. She has performed with Marcia Ball, Lou Ann Barton, Kim Wilson, Hadda Brooks and Sonny Leyland. San Diego's Queen of Boogie Woogie has been honored by having a day named after her, won the International Blues Challenge in Memphis for Best Self Produced CD and Best Blues Album and in December 2010, won the Jim Croce Award for Excellence and Dedication to Music.
For over 20 years, Ricky Nye has maintained notoriety on an international level, performing his infectious blend of American roots music in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Vienna, England, and Switzerland. Hailing from Cincinnati, Nye — a pianist and vocalist — was inducted into the International Boogie Woogie Hall of Fame in 2013, and voted Cincinnati's Blues Artist Of The Year in 2019.
Nye, one of the nation's leading players and preservationists of boogie-woogie, stuns audiences with “unmatched authenticity, virtuosic speed and playful arrangements.” — Vail Jazz
Intense, personal and always with a contagious smile, Wendy Dewitt's art is inspired by Chicago Blues and Texas boogie and seasoned by international touring, work with Delmark recording artist Steve Freund and R&B legend Hank Ballard.
Currently writing her ninth album, Dewitt also organizes shows including the upcoming Night of the Living Piano on March 18 at Soper Reese Theatre in Lakeport. To insure that more people enjoy the thrill of boogie woogie and blues piano, she also teaches workshops and hosts a radio show on KLLG dedicated to roots piano.
Organizers invite the community to “stop by Ukiah Library on March 16 for some noontime toe tapping fun. There'll be lots to grab your curiosity, and a good time for all.”