Keynotes:
Comments from critics and fellow performers ...

"Best jazz pianist: John Eaton, then, now and probably forever." -- Washingtonian magazine

"Surprise is the most constant quality in Mr. Eaton's playing. It is allied with a sensitive and wonderfully logical musical imagination." -- John Wilson, The New York Times

"Brilliant. Gorgeous. Fresh. Inventive. Rating: Four-and-a-half stars." -- Downbeat magazine

"Pianist John Eaton practices a special kind of alchemy. He takes the familiar and makes it fresh, renders the old new and exciting. It's no easy trick, but Eaton is a master at it..." -- Mike Joyce, The Washington Post

"He'll pick a song and twist and turn it, and hold it up to the light, and then polish it a little as if it were crystal." -- Marian McPartland

"Jazz pianist John Eaton held Chautauqua Amphitheater audiences spellbound for two days with lecture-recitals exploring popular song as an enduring 'classic.' Eaton is a scholar whose programs are in great demand on locales like the Smithsonian Institution and college campuses." -- Herman Trotter, The Buffalo News

"Pianist John Eaton posses the essential quality for making great music. He loves it. You can hear it in his playing -- the way he turns a phrase and molds it; the way he caresses the tiniest figure or builds upon it, backing it with different chords to see how they feel, where they lead..." -- Michael Welzenbach, The Washington Times

"The complete pianist...the real article...the taste, imagination, wit, and wisdom amount to ageless nighttime piano." -- Nat Hentoff

"Listening to a John Eaton performance is as cozy as sitting around the parlor piano while a close (and extremely talented) friend serenades with memorable, melodious music and interjects wise, witty remarks about composers, their foibles, and their contributions to American culture." -- Emily Cary, The Montgomery (Md.) Journal

"Eaton's magic is a combination of talk and music. After his words, he can sit down at the keyboard and make it all happen, just like he said. There is probably nobody else around today who can match his brilliant combination of skills. The sold-out audience would not let him go." -- John Sweeney, Greenwich Connecticut Time

"What separates Eaton from other pianists is his unpredictability and the breadth of his musical knowledge." -- William Robertson, The Miami Herald

"John Eaton is delightful. His musicianship, humor and charm made him an absolutely smashing opening act for our Daniel's Pavilion. I am thrilled we had the opportunity to present him." -- John J. Turchon, Naples (Fla.) Philharmonic Art Center

"Outstanding talent, wonderful rapport with students, one of the finest performers we've ever had on campus!" -- Vance Baird, North Iowa Community College

"He performed with elaborate improvisations...the audience loved it and filled the auditorium." -- Tharald Borgir, Oregon State University

"John Eaton is a fine Bordeaux in a supermarket of musical Gatorade." -- Mark Russell