NPR

How Pianist Kris Bowers Found His Inner Virtuoso For Oscar-Nominated 'Green Book'

The 29-year-old pianist and composer who performs all the on-screen music in the Oscar-nominated movie, Green Book, explains how it was done.
"I probably almost broke down a few times questioning whether or not I was gonna be able to get it done," Pianist Kris Bowers says of learning Don Shirley's music for <em>Green Book</em>.

There are three pianists involved in making the music of the Oscar-nominated film Green Book. The first is Don Shirley, who was popular in the 1950s and 60s, both in person and on vinyl. The second is actor Mahershala Ali, who portrays Shirley in the film but does not play piano. And so, the third pianist is Kris Bowers, who does all the playing for Ali in the film.

Bowers recreated the music

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