JOHN
BAUMGARDNER
pianist & arranger
WHAT I DO
Hey, welcome to my website! My name is John and I play a little bit of pretty much every genre of every decade of the past century – jazz, blues, rock, pop, country, new age, Latin, and occasionally some classical. I’ve recorded two singles and five albums with a sixth on the way!
WHERE I DO IT
I’ve performed at restaurants, bars, cocktail lounges, churches, hotels, weddings, receptions, recording studios, bar mitzvahs, department stores, outdoors on the sidewalk, talent shows (as a contestant), beauty pageants (not as a contestant), a private series of prom / etiquette class combo for homeschooled high school seniors … you name it, I’ve probably played it.
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WHAT I DO BEST
My favorite thing to do on the piano is to create really different arrangements of existing songs. If a song was written and recorded to be fast, I like to turn it into a ballad. If it was written to be slow, I like to speed it up. I also enjoy switching up genres. But as long as I’ve been playing, I’m just now starting to figure out that a lot of people like it best when I stay true to the original – especially if the original recording had lots of piano in it. So I’m trying to do more of that, but I’m still doing plenty of my weird stuff too!
HOW I GOT MY START
Originally from the miniature metropolis of Glendale, Kentucky (population at the time: approx. 350), I played my first solo public performance, “The Pink Panther,” in second grade (while wearing a pink terry cloth cat suit). In third grade, I accompanied my first singers at Sonora Elementary School’s Spring Music Program, playing Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5.” At 11, I played my first church service. At 15, I played my first wedding. At 17, I taught my first piano lesson. And at 20, I arranged my first cover song. Today, you can find me playing at The Brown Hotel Lobby Bar and Tony York’s on Main Supper Club, and who knows where else on any given night. You can also check out my recordings on YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, Tidal, Pandora, and most streaming and download music sites.
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