Joel Forrester and Dred Scott
A five, six, seven, eight…
Come on down and swing along to the best ragtime, stride, and jazz the Big Apple has to offer. With special performances on select Thursdays and sprinkled spontaneously throughout the season.
Find Piano in Bryant Park on the Upper Terrace at the base of the William Cullen Bryant statue behind the New York Public Library.
Joel Forrester and Dred Scott
Boogie-Woogie, Swing, Stride, Jazz, pop
Joel Forrester is a contemporary two-handed piano player, essaying the stride, boogie-woogie, and swing styles. He wrote the theme to NPR's Fresh Air, received the personal encouragement of Thelonious Monk, co-led the legendary Microscopic Septet, and produced music for the early films of Andy Warhol. Joel is currently playing and composing in south-central France; he recently completed his two-thousandth composition. Once a year, he asks his listeners to commission him to write a tune and dedicate it to the - to date, he has received (and honored) 210 such commissions. Be sure and ask Joel where else he’s playing while he’s in town!
Dred Scott is an iconoclastic entertainer, an incomparable renegade pianist who is known for his playful and stylistically diverse repertoire and penchant for covering pop tunes. Since coming to NYC from the Bay Area, Dred has gained a reputation on both coasts as an innovative and eclectic pianist and multi-instrumentalist who plays at local clubs, jazz festivals—both nationally and around the world. As a recording artist, he has recorded 13 albums as leader and performed on over 50 others. In addition, Dred is a renowned producer, composer, and musical director who has worked in TV, stage, and film—both behind and on occasion in front of the camera—where he shined as the on-camera side-kick and Musical Director for 51 Episodes of the highly-acclaimed music & yoga kids TV show Yogapalooza with Bari Koral for Veria Network.
