Saturday, September 13, 2014

Henry Shapiro - The Piano Man


SPECIAL NOTICE!

Hank Shapiro will be performing at the UpStream Grill in Jefferson Twp., NJ on the 1st Wednesday of every month starting on January 6, 2016. at 6:30 pm. Please come out and enjoy his piano playing.

 
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbcOQNbnUX4

or

http://youtu.be/7Uc6BYuASxI

Henry Shapiro (my father-in-law) began his musical career around 1935 or 1936. He learned his craft by taking lesson in New York City with the same piano teacher who taught George Gershwin. At age 16 he had his own 12 piece big band, the Henry Shapiro Band. He played in various venues in Morris County and Northern New Jersey, including various dance halls around Lake Hopatcong. He is a life long member of the Dover Musician's Union. He moved to Florida in the 1970's where he continued playing at private parties and restaurants in the Fort Meyers area.  His love of music and entertaining as kept him young. Now, at the age of 94, he is back in Morris County, NJ where it all began for him, playing gigs wherever he can. The You Tube video above was from a June 12, 2015 performance at an open mic event sponsored by the Folk Project in Morristown, New Jersey ( http://folkproject.org/ ).

So click on the You Tube link and enjoy. Let me know what you think or contact me if you would like to get in touch with Henry.  

Thank you.


Here is Henry's orchestra circa 1937.  That's him on the piano.  



7 comments:

  1. Hii, Brian, I remember Henry from the St. Moritz in Sparta, before he moved to Florida -- right, same person? My husband and I went there specifically to hear him. Now a friend has told me about hearing him and loving his playing at the Folk Project Open Mic recently. I don't have any paying gigs to offer, but I'd love to know if he is playing anywhere else where I might go hear him. --- Carol Wetmore, Andover

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Henry will be featured at the UpStream Grill in Morris County, NJ
      November 11, 2015 at 6:30 PM.
      Henry is a veteran of WW2 and the 11th is Veteran's Day
      Come enjoy his music from the Great American Song Book

      Delete
  2. Hello. Sorry for the delayed response. Hank is living back in NJ and is in the process of reestablishing himself here. He is looking for gigs. We will soon be arranging for him to pay on a Thursday night up at the Up Stream Grill on Rt. 181 in Jefferson. He recently played at the Garden State Yacht Club in Hopatcong. I posted a brief video of him there on this blog post. He would love to see you guys I am sure. Email me and I will give you some dates where you can see him. brilyn37@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Carol Shapiro LansingNovember 5, 2015 at 1:00 PM

    Hello all. Henry is my father's cousin. I will let my brothers know. We will be there!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Saw him at Upstream. Fabulous evening. Can you keep us posted for on upcoming gigs by posting them here?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hank Shapiro will be performing again at the UpStream Grille on Wednesday, January 6th starting at 6:30 pm. As of now, he will be performing there on the First Wednesday night of the month for the foreseeable future. Thank you for your interest in seeing him play.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hank Shapiro will be performing again at the UpStream Grille on Wednesday, January 6th starting at 6:30 pm. As of now, he will be performing there on the First Wednesday night of the month for the foreseeable future. Thank you for your interest in seeing him play.

    ReplyDelete

Please feel free to comment or make suggestions

Counter