NEWEST RECORDINGS
‘THE COMFORTER’ (CD, solo piano) — an album of sacred music. Beloved spirituals, hymns, and three Walt originals, contemplative and improvisational. A moment of peace during a crazy, unpeaceful time.
Walt Wagner
Variety (Harrah’s Reno, with Sammy Davis Jr.):
“An outstanding talent, Wagner earned enthusiastic encores with brilliant improvising.”
Portland Oregonian:
“There are not many pianists with whom he can be compared. There are touches of wizardry that remind of jazz and rock, yet he has the technical fluidity of a classical craftsman. There is a charisma about him that generated a standing ovation with the audience yelling for more.”
Spokane Spokesman-Review:
“Not only is Wagner an extraordinary player, but the easygoing wit and confident delivery of his spoken introductions make him the antithesis of the rotten-brat style of many performers. It’s a pleasure to hear him play and watch him work.”
Bellevue Daily Journal-American (with Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra):
“Wagner was back by popular demand and drew a sellout crowd.”
Music
- Tag Trajectory—The Walt Wagner Trio, with Dan Dean and Ben Smith 1:51
- Facade Trajectory—The Walt Wagner Trio, with Dan Dean and Ben Smith 1:50
- Deep River The Comforter—Walt Wagner, solo piano 2:34
- Low Fat Trajectory—The Walt Wagner Trio, with Dan Dean and Ben Smith 1:50
- Blessed Assurance The Comforter—Walt Wagner, solo piano 6:35
- The Funeral Reworks—Walt Wagner, solo piano 1:30
- Building Steam With a Grain of Salt Trajectory—The Walt Wagner Trio, with Dan Dean and Ben Smith 1:50
- Spiral Trajectory—The Walt Wagner Trio, with Dan Dean and Ben Smith 1:50
- Brain Damage In The Pink—Walt Wagner, solo piano 1:04
- My Foolish Heart Pearls—Walt Wagner, solo piano 0:30
- Comfortably Numb In The Pink—Walt Wagner, solo piano 1:04
- Desiree Reworks—Walt Wagner, solo piano 1:30
- St. Thomas Pearls—Walt Wagner, solo piano 0:30
Video
Career
PERFORMANCE
Walt Wagner has performed with Jay Leno, Bill Cosby, Bob Hope, George Burns, Lily Tomlin, Roberta Flack, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bob Newhart, and as pianist-conductor with Peggy Lee. He toured internationally with Peggy Fleming in “A Concert On Ice”, and has performed extensively at Sun Valley, Idaho. He was featured for two years at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival at University of Idaho. He has performed regularly at Seattle’s famed Canlis, where he played a concert which was live-streamed internationally and recorded for the Sub Pop album, “Reworks”. The Walt Wagner Trio has performed often at the renowned Seattle jazz club, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley.
TELEVISION
Wagner’s guest appearances include The Tonight Show, Merv Griffin, and an Andy Williams & Peggy Fleming special at Madison Square Garden.
COMPOSING
Commissions include: Fanfare, for Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra (conductor, Adam Stern); Rhythms – for Piano, Winds & Percussion, for Washington Wind Symphony (pianist, Walt Wagner; conductor, Gene Aitken) and a recording with Seattle Symphony Orchestra (see Recordings, below); The Miracle – Concerto for Piano & Orchestra, for a recording with Seattle Symphony Orchestra (pianist, Walt Wagner; conductor, Gerard Schwarz).
RECORDINGS
THE COMFORTER (Semaphone #79318; solo-piano): an album of sacred music. Beloved spirituals, hymns, and three Walt originals, contemplative and improvisational.
TRAJECTORY (Semaphone #79317; EP): The Walt Wagner Trio, a cutting-edge version of the classic piano/bass/drums trio. Four Wagner originals and a hypnotic cover of a DJ Shadow tune. Featuring electric bassist Dan Dean and drummer Ben Smith.
REWORKS – LIVE AT CANLIS (Sub Pop #SP1193; solo-piano): The finale concert after 20 years; piano distillations of the music of Band Of Horses, Fleet Foxes, Buzzcocks, Phoenix, Prince, My Bloody Valentine, DJ Shadow, The Left Banke and Goat.
IN THE PINK — Music of Pink Floyd (Semaphone #79315 solo-piano): Interpretations of the lyrical, bluesy, mysterious music of DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, THE WALL, and THE DIVISION BELL.
CHARIOTS OF FIRE (Semaphone #79315; CD single; solo-piano): a powerful interpretation of Vangelis’ beloved theme.
SPIRIT (Semaphone #79314; solo-piano): a Christmas collection of European and American traditional carols.
PEARLS, VOLUME 1 (Semaphone #79313; solo-piano): a collection of jazz and pop tunes, displaying Walt’s expansive blend of improvisation and lyricism.
THE MIRACLE – FOR PIANO & ORCHESTRA/ RHYTHMS – FOR PIANO, WINDS & PERCUSSION (Semaphone #79312; piano & orchestra), with Wagner as composer/soloist and Gerard Schwarz conducting The Seattle Symphony Orchestra.
EVEN THERE (Semaphone #70022), a collection of hymns, produced and arranged by Wagner for piano, string quartet, African drums and guitar, featuring the gifted vocalist Sue Nixon.
Latest News
About a year ago, the opportunity came up to play at world-renowned Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley in Seattle. With bassist Dan Dean and drummer Ben Smith, we became The Walt Wagner Trio, and after playing to packed, fired up audiences at that first gig, we decided we’d like to make a go of it.
Each of us feels that playing together in this group has been a high point in our long careers, and it’s motivating us to invest lots of rehearsal time. Further encouraging us, we wound up playing a total of five shows at Jazz Alley so far!
As we continue to rehearse and develop our music, we‘re hunting for the right booking agency–with the hope that we might find ourselves playing for you in your area! So…stay tuned!
Here’s us, earnestly rehearsing in Ben’s amazing garage studio…in Seattle, the founding capital of garage bands…
Building Steam with a Grain of Salt
It’s so great to sit down in a perfect acoustic space, at a killer Steinway, with these brilliant musicians, and be recorded in high-resolution audio and 4K video.
Recording News
Mostly, I’m in the studio practicing, recording and composing. New things coming up! You can sign up right here to be a VIP to receive my performance and recording news.
Made a video! Want to see it?
Bassist Dan Dean, drummer Ben Smith and I spent a couple days laying down some tunes in the studio at Sage Arts, in Arlington, WA.
Grateful credit for photos to: Monte Cline, Dennis Diehl & Tracey Salazar