Booker Back Bar Piano Sessions: Kris Tokarski @8pm

http://www.kristokarski.com/about/

orn and raised just outside of New York City, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Kris was lucky enough to be exposed to classical music, jazz, and traditional Hungarian music from his family as a young child.

Kris attended and completed his bachelor's degree at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. While attending Berklee, he would make regular pilgrimages back to New York to study with bebop master, Barry Harris.

In 2011, Tokarski moved to New Orleans to complete a master's degree at the University of New Orleans. Shortly after moving to the "Cradle of Jazz" he embraced the early piano traditions of the city as well as those of the early New York and Chicago masters. A keen interest in the music of Jelly Roll Morton, James P. Johnson, Earl Hines and Teddy Wilson; combined with his bebop roots allowed Tokarski to develop an all encompassing voice…