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Peter Mintun

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Mintun portrait by Mark Alan Vieira, Stooky's Club Moderne, San Francisco, 2016

Peter Mintun (born 1950), is an American pianist and historian of American music of the 1920s.[1][2]

Biography

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He was born into a musical family[3]: 456–57  in Berkeley, California. He grew up playing at parties and local events, and was drawn to American music of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s at an early age.[4]

From 1973 to 1989, he played regularly at the San Francisco restaurant L’Etoile, then at the Fairmont San Francisco.[3]: 456–57  He began playing in New York City, first at the New York Palace, and then spent seven years at Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle Hotel. He moved to New York City in 2001.[3]: 456–57 [5]

Mintun has released three of his own recordings of songs of the 1920s and 1930s: “Deep Purple,” “Grand Piano,” and “Piano at the Paramount,” which were called "exemplars of re-creations of music of that era."[3]: 337  He has also produced piano rolls,[6] and has appeared in movies, on television, and in concert halls. Early in his career, he accompanied disco icon Sylvester on a series of recordings of vintage jazz tunes.

He is an authority on composer Dana Suesse, and has championed her music.[3]: xi [4] He has been a consultant for numerous books on Jazz Age music. On buying an 1897 townhouse in Washington Heights, Manhattan, he became an informal neighborhood historian as well.[7]

References

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  1. ^ Van Gelder, Laurence (June 29, 2005). "Arts, Briefly:Arts, Briefly". New York Times. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
  2. ^ National Public Radio. Fresh Air: "Society" Pianist Peter Mintun performs many forgotten songs from the first half of this century July 1, 1999
  3. ^ a b c d e Rayno, Don (2012-12-19). Paul Whiteman: Pioneer in American Music, 1930–1967. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-8322-2.
  4. ^ a b Michael Feinstein's American Songbook. The Peter Mintun Collection ("Collector(s)" tab). Page accessed March 14, 2015
  5. ^ Friedwald, Will (2013-10-15). "This Modern-Day Musician Keeps the Jazz Age Alive". The New York Sun. Archived from the original on 2013-10-15. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  6. ^ San Francisco Museum Profile of Peter Mintun Page accessed March 14, 2015
  7. ^ Gray, Christopher (2005-01-30). "1897 Town House That Looks Like an 1897 Town House". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
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