dave hartl

Decades of experience. Classical training. Hundreds of vocalists accompanied. Hundreds of songs in a dozen styles, stretching back over the last hundred years. When I sit down at the piano, it all comes together. I might know which song I'll play first but after that it's reading the crowd and keeping them happy.
To get an idea of the variety of music I play, click here to view my working song list. In every set, I try to hit a wide variety of styles; click the files below to hear me play them all, mostly recorded at the restaurants where I work.

The Great American Songbook:

Gershwin. Cole Porter. Arlen. Styne. Van Heusen. Bernstein. Ellington. All those great tunes people know from Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and other great vocalists. Ballads and swinging tunes that bring back happy memories. This is the cornerstone of my appeal.

Just click on the title to hear my version of your favorite:
The Song Is You
People
You Make Me Feel So Young
Some Other Time
End Of a Love Affair/ East Of the Sun
Someone To Watch Over Me/ Our Love Is Here to Stay
Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me

Modern songwriters and R&B:

Lennon and McCartney, Michel Legrand, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Burt Bacharach, and the other great writers of the post-Big Band era all add to the good times.
Overjoyed by Stevie Wonder
Michel Legrand medley: Once Upon a Summertime/ Summer of '42/ Summer Me, Winter Me
Here, There, and Everywhere by Lennon & McCartney
Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars by Antonio Carlos Jobim
Always a Woman by Billy Joel
Alfie by Burt Bacharach and Hal David

Broadway and movie favorites:

From Rodgers and Hammerstein to Les Miz, from the Golden Age of Hollywood to modern classics, people love to revisit the shows they've experienced.
It Might As Well Be Spring by Rodgers & Hammerstein
All I Ask from Phantom of the Opera
As Time Goes By from Casablanca
Emily
The Godfather: End Title medley
Porgy and Bess: I Loves You Porgy/ Bess, You Is My Woman Now

Ethnic favorites:

When I’m in an Italian restaurant, count on hearing “Come Back to Sorrento”, “Anamae Core”, and other favorites to enhance the mood. In a French setting, expect to hear Edith Piaf and Maurice Chavalier.
Al de La/ Come Back to Sorrento
La Vie En Rose

Jazz, Country, and Classical:

There are no stylistic barriers. If the crowd relates to it, expect to hear anything from Debussy to Horace Silver to Patsy Cline. I’ve played in more styles than most musicians ever do and love them all. With a Wi-Fi connection and my sight reading abilities I can download just about any tune and play it on the spot; no request is too obscure.
Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?
Sister Sadie
Crazy by Patsy Klein
Debussy: Arabesque #1

It was a quiet night at Fergie's in Somers Point, NJ, so I just played for the regulars.

Here's a half-hour set from 2014.

Here's a rough cut just for fun: "Hedwig's Theme" from the Harry Potter movies, by John Williams.