The Great American Songbook refers to iconic pieces of popular music that have endured over decades and continue to be loved and performed up to the present day. The songs can be heard on Broadway, in jazz clubs, in films, on the internet, and even in television commercials. The composers and lyricists — including George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington, Cole Porter and others — are giants of American musical culture.

Local pianist Bill Warren will perform selections from the songbook with commentary on these creative geniuses and the historical and cultural trends that influenced their music.

William ‘Bill’ Warren has been playing solo piano since childhood when he began classical piano study at the Cornish School in Seattle, Washington. He got interested in playing these great American songs as a teenager playing jazz clarinet and saxophone with his buddies in Seattle. As a full-time Sun Valley resident, he studied with Joe Fos and others in the area. In addition to performing piano, Bill taught a course in the physics of music as a professor at Oregon State University, where he taught for more than twenty years. You can catch Bill playing at Maude’s Coffee in Ketchum, in the summer and at the Ketchum Farmer’s market