Walt Wagner (born 1943)Walt Wagner, longtime Canlis pianist, is retiring … and Sub Pop will be there to document it
''

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

'', October 7, 2016. is an American pianist, composer, and arranger. He is based in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. He is most recently known as the longtime pianist for Seattle restaurant

Canlis Canlis is a fine dining restaurant serving New American and Pacific Northwest cuisine in Seattle, Washington. Situated in the Queen Anne neighborhood, the restaurant has views of Gas Works Park and the Cascade Mountains. It was built by Pe ...

. Wagner began on piano at age six, and took formal lessons in classical music while playing rock and roll on the side. Before he was born, his father had been a dance band leader. He played in a Seattle group called The Rebels, which later became The Exotics. The group was picked up by local radio station KJR, which resulted in bookings in dance halls throughout Washington state. Around 1960, The Exotics recorded a single for

Jerden Records Jerden Records was an independent record label which operated from May 1960 through April 1971. It was based in Seattle and majority owned by Jerry Dennon and Bonnie Guitar, both of whom had been involved with Dolton Records and the careers of T ...

and opened in concert for

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

. In the 1960s, Wagner continued performing in Seattle-area restaurants, took college courses, and worked odd jobs, including at an A&W Restaurant, as a forklift operator for the Seattle shipyard, and at

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

. Throughout the 1970s, Wagner played in

Sun Valley, Idaho Sun Valley is a resort city in the western United States, in Blaine County, Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum in the Wood River valley. The population was 1,783 at the 2020 census. The elevation of Sun Valley (at the Lodge) is above se ...

, especially during ski season, and toured internationally as the pianist for

Peggy Fleming Peggy Gale Fleming (born July 27, 1948) is a retired American figure skater. She is the 1968 Winter Olympic Champion in the ladies' singles, being the only American gold medalist at these Games, and a three-time World Champion (1966–1968) in ...

's skating shows. In the off season he continued playing restaurants and also took work on cruise ships, which he continued to do into the 1980s. He met his future wife while performing on a cruise ship in 1987. They were married the same year. In 1994,

commissioned Wagner to compose a piece for the debut of its 777 jetliner. Wagner expanded the work into a full

piano concerto A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...

, which he named "The Miracle". Wagner became one of two house pianists at Seattle fine dining restaurant

in 1996, where he played arrangements of popular songs.Walt Wagner: Canlis' Key Player
. ''

Seattle Weekly The ''Seattle Weekly'' is an alternative biweekly distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as ''The Weekly.'' Its first issue was published on March 31, 1976, and it becam ...

'', August 10, 2011. During this time he self-released several albums, including one of his own compositions recorded with the

Seattle Symphony The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Seattle Opera. History Beginnings The orchest ...

in 1998. He announced his retirement from Canlis in 2016, and record label

Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...

recorded his final performance there on October 9. The resultant live album featured his renditions of songs by

DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972 in San Jose, California, San Jose, California), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ and record producer. His debut studio album, ''Endtroducing.....,'' was released in 1996. He uses l ...

Band of Horses Band of Horses is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle, Seattle, Washington. Led by singer-songwriter Ben Bridwell, who has been the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes, the band's current line ...

Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes are an American indie folk band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2006. The band currently consists of Robin Pecknold (vocals, guitar), Skyler Skjelset (guitar, mandolin, backing vocals), Casey Wescott (keyboards, mandolin, backin ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

The Left Banke The Left Banke was an American baroque pop band, formed in New York City in 1965. They are best remembered for their two U.S. hit singles, "Walk Away Renée" and "Pretty Ballerina". The band often used what the Music journalism, music press refer ...

Goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

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, My Bloody Valentine, and Phoenix. Sub Pop released the album, entitled ''Reworks'', in November 2017.Album review
Allmusic

Discography

*''Walt Wagner in Sun Valley'' (1972) *''Caprice'' (1976) *''Walt Wagner'' (1979) *''The Evening Muse'' (1982) *''Spirit: Cherished Carols of Christmas'' (1986) *''The Miracle; Rhythms'' (1998, with

Gerard Schwarz Gerard Schwarz (born August 19, 1947), also known as Gerry Schwarz or Jerry Schwarz, is an American symphony conductor and trumpeter. As of 2019, Schwarz serves as the Artistic and Music Director of Palm Beach Symphony and the Director of Orc ...

conducting) *''Pearls, Volume 1'' (2004) *''In the Pink: Music of Pink Floyd'' (2007) *''Reworks'' (2017)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Walt American pianists American composers Musicians from Seattle American male pianists American male composers 1943 births Living people