Piano man
Bert Seager
Age: 45
Where: Wednesday-Friday afternoons at the Bristol Lounge, Four Seasons
Hotel, 200 Boylston St, Boston; 617-338-4400. Friday and Saturday nights at the Millennium Bostonian Hotel, Blackstone St., Boston; 617-523-3600.
Years performing in Boston: 20
Biggest gig Playing with Joe Williams to a sold-out Jordan Hall.
Favorite song: Rodgers and Hart’s “My Heart Stood Still”
Top request: The Gershwin’s “Someone to Watch Over Me”
“I hope I don’t turn into a piece of furniture,” says jazz pianist Bert Seager with mock angst.
Although he has been at the Bristol Lounge longer than some of the plush couches, Seager really has no reason to fear fading into the mahogany woodwork. Seager makes his presence known by spicing selections from The Great American Songbook with touches of modern pop.
Surrounded by polished silver and marble, Seager is center stage in the lounge’s bright rotunda. He has a prime vantage point for surveying the crowd _ and that’s important, he says. What he plays “all depends on who is here.”
Seager must have a good eye (as well as ear): The Bristol Lounge is the
most successful bar in the Four Seasons chain.
You’ll find a different Seager at his other regular gig, weekend nights at the Millennium Bostonian. There, with his group Freedom of Assembly, Seager cuts loose with improvisation.
“I am sure that no one has played free jazz in a hotel bar on a weekly basis before in this city,” Seager says. “At the Bristol, it’s a bit more refined, which sometimes leads me to practice a bit more internal censorship. I try to be polite there. At the Freedom of Assembly gigs, I’m still aware of the room and of the other players, but we’re in a bigger meadow and can stretch out a bit more.”
With his wild hair and gentle voice, Seager both looks and sounds like a young Art Garfunkel. When Seager plays, his head telescopes in and out between his shoulders.
“I love to establish communication” with the audience, Seager says. “It’s really nice when they come to say hello or to tell me what a song I played meant to them. It really helps my playing.”
And you never know who might come up.
“One day, a man came in wearing jeans and a T-shirt, carrying a Bible,” Seager recalls. “He asked to sit down at the piano with me. I didn’t know who he was, but as soon as he opened his mouth, I knew it was Bobby McFerrin!”
Seager pops up at other venues around town and travels overseas _ most recently to Japan. But home for him remains the benches at the Bristol and Bostonian.
“I get to play on great instruments . . . which are in tune,” Seager says with a smile. “I also get to listen and enjoy the music myself. The sound wakes me up and keeps my attitude positive. And it helps me prepare for the concerts and recordings where people are actively listening.”
