Walt Wagner (born 1943)Walt Wagner, longtime Canlis pianist, is retiring … and Sub Pop will be there to document it
'' Seattle Times'', October 7, 2016. is an American pianist, composer, and arranger based in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. He is most recently known as the longtime pianist for Seattle restaurant Canlis. 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 and opened in concert for

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

. 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 () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

. Throughout the 1970s, Wagner played in Sun Valley, Idaho, especially during ski season, and toured internationally as the pianist for

Peggy Fleming Peggy Gale Fleming (born July 27, 1948) is an American former figure skater and the only American in the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France to bring home a Gold Medal. She is the 1968 Olympic Champion in Ladies' singles and a three-time W ...

'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. Wagner became one of two house pianists at Seattle fine dining restaurant Canlis 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. The newspaper ...

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

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in 1998. He announced his retirement from Canlis in 2016, and record label Sub Pop recorded his final performance there on October 9. The resultant live album featured his renditions of songs by

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, My Bloody Valentine, and

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. 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 Orche ...

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Walt American pianists American composers Musicians from Seattle American male pianists American male composers