Harry Shearer is using quarantine as an opportunity to celebrate New Orleans piano. Together with special guests, the actor, comedian and musician has released Piano New Orleans, a compilation of performances filmed at the homes of some of the city’s greatest pianists.
David Torkanowsky and Tom McDermott have already contributed their talents to what will be an ongoing YouTube playlist, available only on Shearer’s official channel. Jon Cleary — who will perform during April 25’s Band Together Benefit — is slated to appear in an upcoming segment.
“One of the great joys of life in New Orleans is the ability to walk a few blocks and hear some of the world’s finest music for the price of a drink, and maybe a smallish entry fee,” says Shearer. “Many are the evenings I’ve walked off a brilliant dinner to hear one, or more, of the city’s plethora of piano artists. If the rest of the world is into guitars, or drum machines, New Orleans’ piano tradition is rich, broad, deep, and still very much alive. We can’t take that walk these days, so I put together the next best thing—an ongoing suite of living-room sets by some of the town’s piano masters.”
Check it out below and subscribe to the YouTube channel of Harry Shearer be the first to know when a video has been added to the growing playlist.