ETHAN LEINWAND

              

Ethan Leinwand is a St. Louis-based barrelhouse blues pianist and preservationist. A student of the music’s rich history and varied regional styles, Ethan presents personal interpretations of many of the great (and forgotten) old-time masters. He specializes in St. Louis pre-war piano blues, Texas barrelhouse, Deep South barrelhouse, early Chicago boogie-woogie, and good-time hokum stride. His influences include: Little Brother Montgomery, Black Bob, Jimmy Yancey, Henry Brown, Peetie Wheatstraw, Aaron ‘Pinetop’ Sparks, Albert Ammons, Robert Shaw,Cooney Vaughn, Professor Longhair, and Carl Sonny Leyland.

Originally from Middletown, CT, Ethan has spent time living in New Orleans and Brooklyn. He moved to St. Louis in the summer of 2014, and, connecting with the city’s thriving blues community and its deep piano blues heritage, has quickly become a mainstay. In addition to his solo work, Ethan plays in multiple projects  including Miss Jubilee, The Bottlesnakes, and The St. Louis Steady Grinders.

Ethan has taught at The Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Workshop (WA),  and notable performances include The LaRoquebrou International Boogie-Woogie Festival (France), The University of Chicago Folk Fest (IL), The Brooklyn Folk Festival (NY), The Arches Boogie-Woogie Stage (Cincinnati, OH), Pianissimo Piano Festival (Nuremberg, Germany), The Big Muddy Blues Festival (St. Louis, MO), Chase Garrett’s Boogie Stomp (Iowa City, IA), and Ricky Nye’s Blues & Boogie Summit (Cincinnati, OH).