JACK GIBBONS PLAYS GERSHWIN'S COMPOSITIONS FOR ASTAIRE TO BENEFIT THE FIFTH ANNUAL VIRGINIA FESTIVAL OF THE BOOK

Charlottesville, VA (Jan. 7, 1999) -- World renowned pianist Jack Gibbons is returning to Charlottesville for a command repeat performance to benefit the Virginia Festival of the Book. Having earned worldwide acclaim for his all-Gershwin concerts, Gibbons will commemorate the centennial anniversary of Fred Astaire's birth by playing Gershwin compositions created for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, such as "Nice Work if You Can Get It" from Damsel in Distress and "Shall We Dance," the title song from the movie. Produced by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and the University of Virginia's Department of Continuing Education, the concert will be held on Friday,
February 5 at 8:15 pm in Old Cabell Hall. All proceeds benefit the Virginia Festival of the Book, which will be held in Charlottesville March 24-28.

Jack Gibbons made his US debut in 1994, being greeted with tremendous standing ovations in New York and Washington, DC. His all-Gershwin concerts have become an annual feature at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall and attract capacity audiences. His performances have been described by the press as "compulsively communicative." In his programs Gibbons inserts brief anecdotes and musical illustrations revealing secrets of Gershwin's piano skills in a way that is both educational and highly entertaining. The Gulf Daily News wrote, "So far has Gibbons perfected his art that this was not an evening of Gershwin but, as near as we could ever come to, an evening with Gershwin."

Tickets are $16 and are available now at Plan 9 Records (both locations), New Dominion Book Shop, Greenberry's (Barracks Road), and the Newcomb Hall Box Office.

Old Cabell Hall is located on the grounds of the University of Virginia. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Parking is available in Lot B-1 and in the Newcomb Hall parking garage. For more information or a complete press kit on Jack Gibbons, please call (804)924-3296 or write to the above address.