Like A Local Q&A
John Kite, the Brown Palace’s Piano Man

Upon entering the Brown Palace’s famed atrium lobby, you’ll be greeted by the soothing sounds of pianist John Kite tickling the ivories, as he’s done for more than 20 years at the historic downtown hotel. He’ll take requests, play beloved old standards and provide the perfect mellow ambiance for the Brown’s traditional afternoon tea. When the sun goes down, however, he slips into the Ship Tavern, the hotel’s restaurant/bar, and gets a little bit rowdier. Singers are invited to lend their voices to show tunes, torch songs and jazzy favorites, as the Tavern transforms into one of the city’s most popular piano bars. Denver.org chatted with John about his longtime gig at the Brown and why Denver is the only city for him.

Denver.org: What’s special about playing here at the Brown Palace?

John Kite: I never get tired of this job. The people that you meet, the people that you see, the events you get to be at, particularly in this hotel, you really get a feeling for the pulse of what’s happening in this city. Even if something isn’t happening here, it always comes through here somehow.

Denver.org: You play in both the hotel lobby and the Ship’s Tavern – how are those venues different from each other?

JK: You couldn’t get more of a yin and yang atmosphere. When I leave the lobby to go into the Ship Tavern, I call it “going to the dark side.” And I don’t mean it in a negative way; it’s just that I do two completely different things, even though I’m playing the piano in both places. I don’t know of another piano player in town who’s had this kind of a luxury. Out in the lobby, I’m playing more mood music, background sounds. I don’t want to invade people’s space. In the Tavern, it’s another story. When I first get there, it’s usually very quiet, and I try to sink into the dinner music. But when the singers start coming in on Friday and Saturday night, the room changes quickly. It turns into kind of a do-it-yourself cabaret. So what’s fun for me is trying to make that switch.

Denver.org: What’s the strangest request you’ve gotten from a guest?

JK: The shtick question people ask me all the time is “Can you play ‘In A Gadda Da Vida’?” So over the years, I’ll tell anyone who asks, if you can do the drum solo, I’ll do the rest of it. I had a case one night when this gentleman kept asking for songs that not only did I not know, I had never even heard of. At the end of the night, his wife puts a hundred dollar bill on the piano and says, “You know, none of those songs exist, he’s just yanking your chain.” 

Denver.org: Do you have a most memorable experience in the 21 years you’ve worked here?

JK: Oh, I could go on and on. When the Summit of the 8 was here, Boris Yeltsin and Bill Clinton were meeting up on the second floor. The White House people had asked me to play, when they came out on the balcony, “Moon Over Moscow” for Yeltsin and “I’m A Yankee Doodle Dandy” for Clinton. And I said, “Uh … No! That’s stupid, why would I play that?” So I got the harpist to play “Simple Gifts” from Appalachian Spring with me, which I knew Clinton had played at his big victory party [in1996]. And Clinton leans over the balcony afterwards and says “Thanks, John!” and gives me a big thumbs up. And I was like – he knows my name! And he probably instantly forgot it. But that was an incredible thing that happened. 

Denver.org: Does Denver has a good music scene?

JK: Absolutely. The Colorado Symphony is amazing. And the jazz scene in Denver is really good! It’s fun. And the musical theater scene in Denver – we are great! We just sent Lydia to Broadway, we had the Little Mermaid open here. The reason we’re so great is that not only are the musicians here, the love for it is here. As far as Denver goes, it’s a magical place to be as a musician.  

Denver.org: As a Denver native, what do you like most about the city?

JK: I lived in Chicago, I lived in San Francisco, I love visiting New York, but I’m a Denver native. Not only is Denver home, but it’s a great city. I like the pulse here, I like the music here, I like the theater here. And the fact that we’re a big sports town helps, too. All of these things, the sports, the music, the theater – it all adds to this really intoxicating energy of the city.