John Salmon, a music professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Cal Poly lecturer in applied piano Janet Joichi will give a free piano recital at 11:10 a.m. on Thursday in Davidson Music Center (Bldg 45), Rm. 218. 

Salmon specializes as both a jazz and a classical pianist, which is not a common combination among pianists, according to Joichi. 

His performances have been broadcast on many U.S. radio stations including National Public Radio (NPR), WNYC in New York, WFMT in Chicago, KUSC in Los Angeles and on the national radio stations of more than a dozen other countries.

Joichi recalls the first concert she saw of Salmon’s. 

 “It really left an indelible impression on me,” she said. 

According to Joichi, Salmon is skilled in improvising his work and changing the style of the music he plays. Improvising in jazz is a common practice, but throughout the years, less and less people have taken to improvising classical music. 

The recital will house two grand pianos, side by side, with the lids fully open. The program will consist of mostly Joichi and Salmon playing simultaneously, but there will be times in the program for the individuals to perform. 

“I hope they have as much fun as I have learning all of this because it’s just such fun music,” Joichi said. “I can’t help but imagine that some people would start laughing in places, especially when they hear ‘All Jazzed Up’ because of it’s a context, we don’t expect that.” 

“Having two grand pianos in a room is a unique experience,” Joichi said. 

“This actually brings some levity and fun to everything. And I hope students also see what a duo piano recital can sound and look like, because it’s not common to hear one; it’s sometimes hard to even get two pianos right in the same room. So it’s an unusual setting for two pianos to be there, right?” Jochi said. 

Salmon has had a lifelong partnership and collaboration with Dave Brubeck. Brubeck trusted Salmon to collaborate on much of his work and really allowed him to make it his own. 

“I find that their collaboration was extremely special. Dave Brubeck really trusted John Salmon to communicate his pieces,” Joichi said.

The program has three main sections, and will incorporate classical music set to a jazz tone and jazz beat. 

“It really gets your feet stomping,” Joichi said.