Spend an evening with New Orleans jazz and blues piano genius Henry Butler as he takes you on a personal tour of the American piano tradition. Begin with the spirituals he sang as a boy in his mother's church and which he now delivers to audiences around the globe as part of his concert repertoire.

Catch the jaunty, buoyant spirit of ragtime at its elegant best, then come forward in time to the 1920s when piano stride style was the rage. Hear barrelhouse and boogie woogie, down and dirty, and feel the passion in the clubs and dance halls as the piano emerges as a dominant force in New Orleans music. Round out the evening with classics from Professor Longhair and James Booker and with Butler's own rich gumbo of original compositions now widely regarded as the best of the Big Easy.

The piano is arguably the single most important instrument in the long, grand tradition of American music, jazz and blues. Once you've heard Henry Butler's lightning fingers on the keys, you'll know why.