I'd like to put together a master list of venues where you can go to hear live piano music (and/or play).

I'll start off with some Piano Bars:

Keys - in Key West, Florida
Rotating live pianist, often down from NY.
Waitstaff sings (they are also often down from NY, usually off-broadway performers).

Don't Tell Mamma - NY
I haven't been to this one, but the folks at Keys spoke highly of it.

Manhattan Inn
A new old-timey piano bar on Manhattan Avenue (in Brooklyn) opened by Brooke Baxter and Rolyn Hu

Hi Frank,

I have been thinking of starting something like this, so I'm glad you did it! It's really important for people (especially musicians) to patronize places that feature live music. Whenever you're visiting a restaurant, hotel, club, bar, whatever, that offers live piano music it is CRUCIAL to compliment management on their music policy. After three and a half decades in the biz I can assure you that this makes a huge difference.

So here are my first entries:

Waldorf Astoria, New York City, Peacock Alley
My pal Emilee Floor plays Tues-Sat from 9-12. She is GREAT. Stop by and tell her I said hello.

Schlosshotel Lerbach, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
A 5-star European castle with a Michelin 3-star restaurant featuring solo piano music (Robin Meloy Goldsby) Friday and Saturday evenings from 6:30 - 8:30. Robin plays in the main hall of the castle, so you can visit for the price of a coffee or a glass of wine.
Sunday lunch with solo piano (Robin Meloy Goldsby) music from 12:30-14:30

Reservations: 49-(0)2206-866513


Additional posts on the way!

Great idea. Once place to go for reference.

Michael's on East - Sarasota, Florida
Great Hall of Fame restaurant with a piano bar in the center.
The regular performer is Joe Micals, originally from NYC area.

If in Sydney on a Thursday night, head to the AB Hotel Glebe. One band per night. Starts approximately 9:20pm.
Jazz fusion might be the best way to capture the diverse range.

If you are in New York City, one of the best places to hear Jazz and great piano play is at Smalls, 183 West 10th Street, they have a website to see talent appearing, www.smallsjazzclub.com

I ran across this list of bars and restaurants with traditional jazz in the SF Bay Area. Not all of it is just piano.

In my neighborhood, the local piano dive is The Alley, 3325 Grand Avenue
(between Elwood Ave & Lake Park Ave)
Oakland, CA 94610
(510) 444-8505
Rod Dibble is the pianist. I have never gone there, as bars are not my thing.

My brother plays Dixieland here
http://www.kozlaks.com/

for Sunday brunch, Minneapolis Saint Paul area. I'm not sure what the current instrumentation is, but it's live music, professionally done.

What a Great Idea! I wish there was such a place near me, but I haven't found one.

Here is one I heard about in Seattle, Washington.

Walt Wagner at the Canlis restaurant. Google his name, and lots of hits come up. Try listening to Cry me a River here:

http://www.waltwagner.com/Merchant2/merc...ry_Code=Current

Hop

Lexington, Kentucky has its very own dueling piano bar:

The Penguin Dueling Piano Bar

http://www.penguinpianobar.com/

And according to the website, they have a branch in Columbia, Missouri, too.

Vintage Piano Lounge
110 West Main Street
Turlock, CA 95380

(209) 668-4680

Cleveland
http://www.nighttowncleveland.com/

Bloomington, Indiana, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
http://www.music.indiana.edu/events/
...fyi that many university schoolsofmusic offer wonderful weekly/monthly performances

Denver: El Chapultepec, jazz/blues, close to Coors Field
http://denver.citysearch.com/profile/1823085/denver_co/el_chapultepec.html

San Diego: Croce's, in the Gaslamp District
www.croces.com

Ensenada, Mexico: Bodegan del Artes
http://www.mexicomatters.info/bajagourmet/01_bodegondelarteensenada.php
...if your travel plans include a trip to Ensenada, holler

Grand idea of a post. These cities are where I have lived. Lived for 28 years in Denver before moving to Ensenada in 2006. El Chapultepec is a dive bar, but, serves world class jazz.

Thanks bajadock, nice job on the list.

I hope we can keep this going.

I'm sure there are lots of good places to catch live piano music, we'd like to find them all :-)

Best,

Frank B.
Piano World

OOPS, "Bodegon" is now 3er Piso(third floor) located just south of Cruiseport, 1 block west of Costero, next to Hotel Corona. They moved end of November 2009. Will report on the new venue soon. Should be good with the ocean view.

And add..
La Jolla(north side of San Diego): Clay's has lots of music and an ocean view.
http://www.clayslajolla.com/clays-lajolla.html for the music schedule

Early evenings
Mayflower Renaissance Hotel Lobby
1127 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC

rustyfingers, do tell, was it cocktail style? any singing?

Cocktail style. The pianist is there most evenings that I've been here. Piano only. He was playing Somewhere Over the Rainbow as I sprinted through the lobby for my dinner date tonight.

Will try to have a drink and hang out tomorrow evening.

Here are some pianos I've run into recently!

Pittsburgh: Oxford Center, downtown. Gorgeous Steinway B that is played in the lobby every day at lunch

Duesseldorf Airport: Nice Yamaha grand played every day during cocktail hour

Atlanta Airport: Yamaha grand in the food court. No one was playing it when I passed through, but there was a tuner there working on it, which is a good sign.

Excelsior Hotel, Cologne, Germany, music daily during cocktail hour

Thanks Robin,

I actually stopped and played the Yamaha in the Atlanta airport when we came through there on the way back from the NAMM show.
It's pretty well maintained.

They have a sign that essentially says they would prefer to limit the
playing to people who actually know how to play. They let me play it anyway.

It's now a Kawai RX-2. I played on it last September while waiting for my flight back to USA.

You are talking about the one next to the round coffee bar, right?

I played the Atlanta grand a few years back, before they put up a sign ! It was also before the tuner came. Conveniently located near the bar, it helped pass the time until they could get the plane cranked.

Nordstrom's Department Store, Gardens Mall, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
(ground floor, next to the escalator)

I kid you not

In the far East Bay of the San Francisco area I play piano at Scottie's restaurant every Friday and Saturday from 6:30-8:30. It's transitioning from its old name of Shutters Brasserie, so go to www.shuttersbrasserie.com for more info.

Grand Rapids, Michigan:

Rock Fire Grille has solo piano and dueling on occasion
www.rockfiregrille.com
Mangiamos! Features solo jazz piano
www.thegilmorecollection.com/mangiamoletseat.html

Public libraries are an excellent place to hear piano concerts. I've done a few there myself.

Many, many libraries have a music room or 'community' room where quite often, there is a piano.

There's a really nice Steinway at the Pacific Beach library here in sunny San Diego.

Right up my alley, eweiss—books AND music.

I love that so many of the venues listed here are so unusual.

Glad to hear that! I thought they were getting rid of all of their pianists.

NORDSTROM PIANISTS

Wolfsburg, Germany: The Ritz Carlton at the VW Autostadt. Sunday Brunch. Beautiful Schimmel Grand.

Note: This is a 5 star hotel catering to people picking up their new cars directly from the VW plant. It's a spectacular hotel. I saw two grands in the hotel, but as far as I could tell, only one is being used, and only ONCE a week. The hotel seems to be doing well---it was full on a Monday night in February. Seems a shame to have those gorgeous pianos there with no one playing them.

I remember going to Nordstrom when I visited LA 7 years ago - I knew it was a high-scale department store, but large piano beside the elevator kind of department store? I wish we had those in Canada.

Most 5 star hotels and up scale restaurants in Asia have a piano or piano bar. In Cebu, Philippines I have been to many hotels with a piano in the lobby and for the price of a drink or a cup of coffee you can spend the evening. Here in Thailand most decent hotels have live entertainment and most of it is piano with or without a singer.

The Deer Head Inn in Delaware Water Gap, PA has great jazz piano and combos nearly every Friday and Saturday. You have to check their schedule to see who's playing what, but some fine folks have played there. Usually only a $5 cover.