Piano bar

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A piano bar (also known as a piano lounge) consists of a piano or electronic keyboard played by a professional musician as a central part of an establishment that also serves alcoholic drinks. Piano bars can be located in a cocktail lounge, bar, hotel lobby, office building lobby, restaurant, or on a cruise ship. Usually the pianist receives a small salary plus tips in a jar or basket on or near the piano, especially from patrons requesting a song. Such requests are traditionally written on a beverage napkin. [1] Some piano bars feature a baby grand or grand piano surrounded by stools for patrons (or, an upright piano or digital piano encased by a cabinet resembling a grand piano). Others have a bar surrounding the piano or keyboard.

Contents

Dueling pianos at Tickler's Bar in New Orleans Dueling piano - Tickler's Bar, 635 Bourbon St, New Orleans (2018-08-26 22.19.53 by e Kat).jpg
Dueling pianos at Tickler's Bar in New Orleans

Description

Martuni's, one of the last piano bars in San Francisco, California. Martuni's - San Francisco - 2021-09-17 - Sarah Stierch.jpg
Martuni's, one of the last piano bars in San Francisco, California.

Theatre historian John Kenrick describes the piano bar as follows:

A piano bar is a hybrid creature: part performance space, part living room, part cruise-a-thon, and part saloon. The bar is there to sell drinks, the pianist is there to perform, and the crowd is there to sing, listen, drink and socialize. All of this means that it's impossible to predict what a given evening's chemistry will be, even if most of the people on hand are regular customers.... While every factor counts, the most important issue is the person at the piano. The pianist determines the type of music, the style of performance, and the general tone of the evening.... The experienced piano bar player knows how to take genial control of most any situation and generally keep the party going. [2]

The American minimalist composer Terry Riley, who worked as a cocktail pianist when younger, later offered this "religious" view of the profession:

Having worked for years as a lounge lizard, I was smitten with the insight that the cocktail pianist is signaled out to conduct his ritual of group urban chanting on the themes of love and existence—a kind of medicine man at the ever-present altaric piano, surrounded by his boozy tribe sipping sacraments in the circle of our common misery. [3]

Types

There are several types of piano bars:

Two pianists playing at O'Brien's Piano Bar in New Orleans Pat O'Brien's New Orleans pianos.jpg
Two pianists playing at O'Brien's Piano Bar in New Orleans

Awards

The Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs presents annually several awards, MAC Awards, for piano bar performers: Piano Bar Instrumentalist, Restaurant/Hotel Lounge Instrumentalist, Piano Bar/Restaurant Singing Entertainer – male and female. [10]

Notable piano bar performers

Jimmy Durante started as a piano bar player, as did Billy Joel. Joel's classic hit "Piano Man" is based on his experiences as a piano bar player. Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli also played in piano bars to pay for singing lessons.

See also

Notes

  1. Swenson, John. "Pat O'Brien's: The Song Remains the Same", offbeat.com, August 20, 2012
  2. Kenrick, John. "Around Karen Miller's Piano", Musicals101: The Cyber Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre, TV and Film
  3. Liner notes to Terry Riley and Zeitgeist, Intuitive Leaps (Work Music London, 1994).
  4. Alavattam, Kris. "Play us a song at the piano bar" Archived 2008-12-04 at the Wayback Machine , Swocol.com, Cox Ohio Publishing (Dayton, Ohio), May 05, 2008
  5. Maltese, Racheline. "New York City Favorite: Rose's Turn", gather.com, December 28, 2006
  6. "Information on Dueling Piano Venues and Vendors". Dueling-Piano.com. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  7. Howl at the Moon website
  8. Big Bang Dueling Piano Bar
  9. List of duelling piano bars Archived 2010-01-20 at the Wayback Machine , Piano Bars Worldwide Guide, accessed 9 February 2010
  10. Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs

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