Originally from Pennsylvania, but making her home in Manchester, transatlantic folk singer Zoe Mulfordtook to the streets of Manchester to fill the town with her original work entitled “Purple Piano“. Before sharing a tender moment with another Manchester resident asking to play Hoagy Carmichael’s classic ‘Heart and Soul’, to which Zoe gladly obliged, encapsulating the community spirit at the heart of the trail. On receiving first prize of a Yamaha Digital Piano, generously donated to the competition fromthe company, Zoe remarked, “I only found out about the mjf piano trail during the last week of the festival. I dropped everything and went to scout out pianos, thinking I might get photos or video I could use to promote the EP. As I wandered from piano to piano, I realised that if I abridged “Purple Piano” a little, it would run just under 2 minutes – so I shot the video to submit to the contest.” And she went on to note that, “Purple Piano was inspired by a public piano that I encountered in Oxford Road station some years ago (part of an earlier piano trail?) It was actually on Platform 4 and I don’t remember what color it was – but sometimes the sound of the words takes precedence over facts.”
James Sargeant from Yamaha said, “We knew that the trail was going to unveil new talent from across the city, and of course we were not disappointed! Zoe’s wonderfully energetic, fun and luminous performance of her own song ‘Purple Piano’ captures the great spirit of the trail. What a great composition and performance from Zoe, congratulations.”
The mjf piano trail, delivered in partnership with the world–renowned Forsyth Music Shop of Deansgate and Yamaha Pianos, was part of mjf2023, which took place at venues across the city from 19-28 May. In total, 13 street pianos wereplaced around the city for passers-by to play in the build-up to this year’s jazz festival. Over 4000 pianists young and old brought the city alive with music, and the search to find Manchester’s best street pianist resulted in over 50 video entries.
The trail was launched at Piccadilly Station by theMayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham and celebrated Manchester’s best young talent, featuring performances from studentsat Chetham’s School of Music and lastyear’s winner, 9-year-old Leo Cheung.
The 13 pianos were located at The Arndale Centre, The Corn Exchange, Forsyth Music Shop, The Great Northern, Harvey Nichols, Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester Central Library, Manchester Piccadilly Station, Manchester Victoria Station, Quayside Media City UK, Royal Exchange Arcade, HOME Theatre and Spinningfields.
