John bayless pianist biography
John bayless.
John bayless pianist biography
Concert pianist John Bayless, mentored by Bernstein, now performs one-handed after stroke
Renowned pianist, composer and prolific recording artist John Bayless experienced a rude awakening on the first night he and his partner, Bruce Franchini, spent at their new home in the desert.
The couple had just moved from the Bay Area to a two-story residence in Indio in 2007 and were still waiting for the furniture – and John’s Steinway Concert Grand Piano – to arrive.
“I was sleeping and I had a terrible, horrific nightmare and I woke up – and something was wrong with my right arm," he said.
“I jumped out of bed because it was a little hot in the bedroom, and I turned down the thermostat, got back in bed. Twenty minutes later is when I was breathing funny … that’s when Bruce woke me up. I couldn’t sit up – he had to prop me up.”
John, 53 at the time, had suffered a stroke that affected the right side of his body.
He lost the ability to speak for about 24 hours. An ambulance rushed hi