Sarasota Florida Piano Bars ...

New York New York
1934 Hillview Street
Sarasota, FL 34239

First Street Chophouse
1296 First Street, Sarasota.
http://firststreetchophouse.com/default.aspx


2 Marina Plaza
Sarasota, FL 34236
941-365-4232
http://www.marinajacks.com

And in Fort Collins, Colorado ...

The Times Square Dueling Piano Bar & Grill
2631 College Ave
970-282-PIANO

This is a great thread and a great list!

Has anyone been to the pianobar in Lutz FL?

Benedetto's.

Hop

What about cruise ship piano players?

On the Grand Princess, a couple of years ago, I heard a young man from the Phillipines who played fairly well and sang very well (reminded me of Johnny Mathis). Arny G (aloyo) sings crooner-type ballads and accompanies himself on the piano. Lots of fun.

He's currently on an Alaskan run (I think on the Sapphire, a Princess ship). Sadly, that's too cold for me.

I'm looking for other cruise venues where really good lounge piano players are billed. I'm more interested in finding a a really good player than a singer/player.

Hop

Here's one pretty far out of the way. If you go to Grand Cayman Islands in the Caribbean stay at the Westin. They have a very nice big open lobby area (I didn't even need to buy a drink, totally free) and they had a pianist (actually a different guy each night) a few nights in a row there. It was classical and really nice. This was on my honeymoon 10 years ago but I always remember it, and hopefully they still do it.

Any suggestions for Boston area?

In Toronto (and surrounding area)

The Rex Jazz and Blues Club
The Homesmith Bar at the Old Mill Inn
The Reservoir Lounge
The Trane Studio
Azure Lounge in the Hotel Intercontinental
Gate 403
Nawlins
The Pantages Hotel Lounge
Chalkers Pub
Momo's Bistro
Ten Feet Tall
Manhattans (in Guelph, Ontario)
The Corktown (in Hamilton, Ontario - Wed. night jazz)

Look up the Regatta Bar. Not sure if they're still aroung but I played there a couple of years ago and they had a beautiful Steinway D or B (can't remember)

Thanks AJF!

Just came across this one while planning a trip to Minneapolis, MN:

The Shout House
http://www.theshouthouse.com/

Dueling Rock n Roll pianos.

They apparently also have locations in Glendale, AZ and San Diego, CA.

I saw dueling pianos in Treasure Island, FL at Wahoo's

whahoosontheisland.com

They were entertaining and comical. They played and sang primarily from the 50s to present pop tunes, and were enjoyable. They played on digital pianos hidden inside the case of baby grands. On some weekday nights, they had a piano player inside the bar who played and sang the same palette of tunes, also on a digital. He had very loud electronic drum accompaniment, which I don't prefer, but the crowd there really enjoyed what he did. Outside, on one night, I heard still another player (digital again, and not a very good one) play and sing Sinatra tunes. I liked his piano accompaniment; his electronic drums and more were less obtrusive than the ones inside.


I haven't yet been able to find locally the preferred combination of a really good player, using a really good and well-tuned grand, playing (and not, or only rarely) singing, with nice arrangements and improvisation.

If I get to Seattle again, I'll try the Canlis restaurant:

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

A place I have enjoyed:

http://www.redheadpianobar.com/

16 W. Ontario St
(between State and Dearborn)
Chicago, IL 60654
312.640.1000

Don't know about piano music, but my son's guitar teacher just did a gig there a few weeks ago. He said the venue seats about 250. Here are the details:

Regattabar
www.regattabarjazz.com
1 Bennett Street
Cambridge, MA 02138-5707
(617) 661-5000

Has anybody been to the "Shout House" down in San Diego? We dropped in there one evening, and even though the music wasn't particularly my style, I was super impressed at the level of interaction these dueling piano showmen had with the crowd. A bit heavy handed on all the canned signature riffs, and five too many glissandos for me, but the pianos were front and center, and the place was jumping. Kudos to those guys.

I'm in Southern Oregon - there used to be a lot of live jazz here, and there are a couple of new jazz societies that are bringing it back to life. Pretty cool stuff. If you happen to come through Medford, give me a shout out and I'll point you in their direction.

Can anybody tell me of any live piano venues happening in Eugene or Portland Oregon?

If you ever happen to be in Vienna, Austria, there is a cute little museum called Haus der Musik, which has a nice piano in the lobby. People like to improvise on it for long periods of time, or just play stuff. Not exactly a live music venue, but I thought it was cool

I saw that place the other day when I was driving in downtown! I am totally going there for my 21st birthday.

Will be in Vienna in June, 2011 for our European Piano & Music Tour...
http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1474102.html

Here is a pretty fun weekly jazz night in Washington DC:

http://www.westminsterdc.org/jazz/ - Jazz every Friday evening, usually with a good pianist

and Blues every Monday night: http://www.westminsterdc.org/blues/ - also usually has a pianist.

$5 cover, and great southern food in the basement.

From now on airline passengers from all over the world can relax before takeoff of from
International Terminal 3 at Changi Airport Singapore a Schimmel grand piano K 230.

Braunschweig, 18th of November, 2010. –

Besides pure functionality and aesthetics, the 1988
awarded Changi Airport Singapore follows the philosophy to connect people in ways that will
enhance their lives.

Terminal 3, which opened in 2008, underlines this claim once more and brings it to a new level.
From now on airline passengers can relax and encounter a Schimmel concert grand K 230 in
the center of Terminal 3.

The grand piano can be used by piano players freely or airline
passengers can simply recover from their travel strain with the wholesome sounds of the
Schimmel grand piano in the background.

Brandy's in NYC.

Carino's Italian Caffe
9524 Blind Pass Rd
St. Petersburg, FL
(727) 360-8502

Great smooth jazz piano live every Friday & Saturday night.
Some of the best Northern Italian food anywhere around.

The pianist plays wonderful original arrangements, and has a nice soothing singing voice to boot.

And believe me, the food alone is worth the visit (as is the decor and the service).

Thanks! St. Pete Beach, here I come!

Hop

Hop, you won't regret it.

I had the veal parmigiana, Kathy had the veal piccota (sp?).
Amazing, melted in you mouth. Fresh salad and bread were to die for.

The pianist went to Julliard but is very humble, and very talented. He claimed he isn't a "piano player", would that I could play like he does.
If you do actually go there (reservations are a good idea, ask for a table near the piano), please mention Piano World to the waiter, and the piano player, he has our business card :-)

And by all means, let us know what you think of your evening.

Will do. I normally vacation at a beach near there at a timeshare during Memorial day week, but I'll see if I can get there sooner.

Hop

I have stayed in the Hyatt in Muscat several times and this is very special hotel, the location right on the beach and decor in the main areas are quite startling. This Hyatt is more on the level of a Ritz Carlton than a normal Hyatt and they have the two most amazing grand pianos I have ever seen - one in the main foyer and one in cocktail lounge. The one in the cocktail lounge is all glass (or at lease a simulated plastic glass) through which all the inside is visble and the can also project light. The one in the foyer is indescrbable and I wish I had taken a picture. It has gold leaf inlays and is shaped like a wave where the main body of the grand sweeps to the ground rather than have a third leg on the back. They are played every day by professionals - and here is the bad news. They were TERRIBLE players. What a waste!
Mike

Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor sports a Hamburg model "C".

Karls Cabin has dueling pianos on their schedule quite often. Located on the west side of Plymouth, MI.

I do a lot of traveling, so this list is a great idea!

I thought it may be a good idea to put all of these on a map, so here we go, Live Piano Venues!

Now I think that I have this setup so that anybody can edit the map and add more places. You should just be able to click on "Edit." The first person to try it out please let me know if it lets you do this. You'll probably need a google account to sign in, but nearly everyone in the world probably has one of those! Also, because this will be a public map, please act accordingly (I know I don't have to tell any of you that, but thought I'd mention it )

I think I added all of the ones listed on this thread, but if they've changed you may want to go back and edit them. You can also go in and add descriptions for each place to let people know what's going on there (a lot of them have reviews/comments already that mention some of these things).

Please let me know if this works!

Very cool TBrown, thanks for doing this.

It does look like I could edit the map, didn't try yet but I see the edit button.

Glad that at least the Edit button shows up! It's the first public google map I've made, so not real sure how this will work out.

You could potentially use it as a "Where are the Piano World Forums Members located" map as well, however it may get pretty crowded! It may be fun to see if any members were located nearby though.

-Tim

I added "Forli Ristorante & Bar" in Alamo, CA (East Bay area) to the map. It's where my piano teacher performs every Friday and Saturday night, with his wife (who sings). The address is 3160 Danville Blvd., Alamo, CA 94507. Website: Forli Restaurante

Well, my wife Carole and I went there last Saturday night. I had mixed emotions about the experience.



We both had the linguine with crab and shrimp, in a light white sauce. It was good (especially the crab), although somewhat pricey. We also liked the portobello mushroom appetizer.




The fellow that played the piano when we were there was an older gentleman called Gino. He was very pleasant and gracious to all. He sang in a very soft voice, for part of most of the tunes he played. He was highly skilled, but there were times during the evening when he chatted with a guy sitting on the stool next to him on the bar while he played. It was like he was on automatic pilot at those times.



I did that. I was surprised the see that the piano was digital, shaped like a small grand. I didn't get up to see the brand of the instrument, but it sounded much better than most digitals, and Gino played it only as a piano (no other funny sounds). Sometimes he used a drum backing while he played, which to me detracted somewhat from the piano.



On the plus side, I thought Gino was very talented on the "piano", and played a variety of standards with what I considered to be fairly typical cocktail style, well executed. The service was excellent, and the food was quite good also.

On the less positive side, one of the (very) old timers sitting at the bar around the piano insisted on singing some very old unfamiliar standards (1920s and maybe earlier), and he just didn't have the ability to do it. At a table near us, a large group of about 12 people were seated even though they were wearing T shirts and cutoffs, with the women exposing bare midriffs. I know this is a beach town, but please, not at a fine restaurant. I also thought that $80 for two, without any drinks (only water) or desert was somewhat steep for what we got. (But we don't go out a great deal, so I may very well be off base here. Plus, Gino needs to be paid. We could have chosen less pricey items on the menu.)


Bottom line: In recent years, I haven't found a better bar piano / restaurant piano establishment to visit, although I am constantly looking for them. If the restaurant in New Port Richey (Trio's) was still in operation with their piano player, I would choose that one. But for now, this is the best I have found not counting cruise ships.

Thanks for telling us about it.

Hop

Thanks for the feedback Hop.

I should have mentioned it was pricey, we thought so too.

If we just want a good meal, we usually go to Cody's or Outback.

But we liked the atmosphere and our waiter, thought the food was very good and the piano player did a good job.

I still need to get down to Sarasota to catch my piano teacher in action.
If you like jazz piano running from smooth to traditional, Mike is one talented guy.
I've just started taking lessons with him, and I'm already excited. Can't wait for my next lesson (when I get back from our European piano tour).

Not that it makes any difference to his abilities, but I do find it interesting that he plays so well, yet he's completely blind. He had four or five CDs out, very enjoyable listening.

Any way, here are the places and times he plays, if anyone gets a chance to check him and the restaurants out, please let me know. I can't vouch for the food, but I can tell you it's fun hearing Mike play.

From Mike Markaverich...

"Thursdays and Fridays I'm at Caragiulos Restaurant, 69 South Palm Avenue, Sarasota, from 5 to 8 PM (except Thursday June 23) and Saturdays and Sundays I'm at Euphemia Haye Restaurant, 5540 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key, (upstairs in the Haye Loft) starting at 7:30 PM until they tell me to wrap things up. On Saturdays that's usually between 11 and 11:30 PM, and it's usually a little earlier on Sunday nights. It depends on business".