My visit to Piedmont Piano (warning: LONG, and pics too!)

[Reezekeys]

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of doing a two-night stand at Yoshi"s jazz club in Oakland CA. with AWB. This was my third time playing Yoshi"s with the band and it"s always been a great time. Three shows, two of them sold out and the late show Tuesday almost sold out. Guitarist Jeff Tamelier, a local great and TOP alumnus, sat in with us on the last show and tore it up.

 

Last year, while I and most other musicians were busy not doing gigs, my nephew and fantastic pianist Dan Zemelman did a few live streams from a piano store called Piedmont Piano. I remember one of them in particular because he was playing a Yamaha CFX, their flagship concert grand. It turns out this store was a 20-minute walk from my hotel, so I knew I had to check it out. It"s open by appointment only now, so Dan called ahead and we met there. The owner, Jim Callahan, was busy getting ready for a show they were putting on the next day but made time to talk to us. He"s a jazz fan for sure. I played some duos with Dan - myself on the piano featured in this next photo. I may not play a piano as nice as this ever again, but I got to do it this past Monday:

 

Dan and I were gonna record ourselves playing but I was kicked off this piano because it needed to be tuned for the show the next night - a solo performance from Sullivan Fortner, an absolute monster of a player. Too bad I had a gig that night!

 

Here"s a wide shot of the showroom:

 

Another shot looking the opposite direction. See that Yamaha on the left? That"s a special one:

 

Here's a closer look. It"s an S-400B, a handmade model from the 1980s. This one is special because it came from a place called Maybeck Recital Hall and is the piano heard on 42 albums from the 'Live At Maybeck' series on Concord Records. Listing everyone who recorded one of those albums would make this super-long post even longer but a few of them you might know are Barry Harris, Hank Jones, Richie Beirach, Monty Alexander, Fred Hersch, Ellis Larkins, Jaki Byard, Kenny Barron⦠the list goes on:

 

Another Fazioli, not as big as the one I played. Unlike that one, it might cost slightly less than my house :

 

And now from the sublime to the slightly ridiculous, an early Yamaha digital piano for the home that is not a Clavinova. I did not play this:

 

And lastly, maybe the first 'electric piano' - this from the 1940s I believe. A real piano with no soundboard and pickups on the strings. Jim said it was not functional right now.

 

Jim told Dan and I that we were gonna have to do a duo concert there some day, and I'm gonna hold him to that! Thanks for bearing with me through my little travelogue. If you're ever in Oakland and want to experience playing some great pianos (or are in the market for one), check this store out! This is the website: https://www.piedmontpiano.com

[Morrissey]

That's nice of them to throw in the bench with the Fazioli

[cedar]

That's nice of them to throw in the bench with the Fazioli

 

I had the same reaction. But then I remembered how expensive some piano benches are. My recollection is that the concert-type benches one tends to see at concert halls are something like $750-1K.

 

Still, I chuckled when I saw that the bench was thrown in, as if that would make the difference to anyone considering the purchase.

[Reezekeys]

Thanks Dave, yea playing that Fazioli was quite an experience. I would have been on that my entire visit had they not scheduled it to be tuned then. Of course that meant Dan & I were done playing any other piano there, unfortunately. The price tag wasn't on it but I heard a mention that it was a little north of $200K. I'd probably need a home equity loan to pay for shipping!

 

They had a Steinway S there, the same piano I now own - but unlike mine, it was in pristine condition (I think it's the one next to the S400, same finish as mine too). I asked Jim what a ballpark figure for getting mine (late 1940s, no work besides occasional tunings) fixed up and he said a total restoration would be around $30K... holy s&^t - well, that's not gonna happen. Doesn't really make sense since I'm pretty sure a fully-restored S newer than mine goes for that amount or less. Right now I'm thinking of doing things piecemeal, as I can afford, and just get the piano to where I can enjoy it. It's gonna take a while!

 

BTW, the action on that S400 was unlike any Yam I've ever played - quite a bit heavier than the C7X at the Honolulu Blue Note. I think Jim mentioned that he just got this recently and that it needed some work done, so that might account for the feel. However, what I know about the various piano brands' actions wouldn't fill a thimble so maybe I'm all wet â but that was my impression.

 

I'm only sorry I didn't know this store was so close to Yoshi's the last few times I was there. Now I have something to look forward to for future gigs at that club, besides the good vibes and killer food they give the band!

[Reezekeys]

That's nice of them to throw in the bench with the Fazioli

 

I had the same reaction. But then I remembered how expensive some piano benches are. My recollection is that the concert-type benches one tends to see at concert halls are something like $750-1K.

 

Still, I chuckled when I saw that the bench was thrown in, as if that would make the difference to anyone considering the purchase.

I thought that was pretty funny as well!