What kind of city places painted pianos along the promenade of a downtown pedestrian mall?  Progressive, health-conscious Denver does, and the musicians and passerby are richer for it.

I flew to Denver for a conference and stayed in one of the downtown, high-rise hotels. That placed me within an easy walk of a couple of blocks to the 16th Street Mall.  As expected, retail stores and sidewalk cafes filled this one-mile path.  Unexpected, though, was the presence of musicians of all skill levels, practicing their instruments and hoping to find tip-worthy favor from the casual listeners.

I was first drawn to an accomplished pianist practicing a complicated Chopin etude.  A block further down, by ears commiserated with a young man trying to conquer all of the sharps of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.  His tip jar was empty.  Bless him.

A young veteran with a compelling tone in his trumpet asked, “What would you like to hear?  Something happy? Slow? Jazzy? Gospel?”  I said, “Gospel.” He closed his eyes and played Amazing Grace with feeling and fervor.  A few minutes later, a fiddler captured my ears with an Appalachian mountain tune, and dueling banjos plucked on the opposite corner.

A piano sat vacant for a few minutes, and it tempted me to add to the cacophony with my own Fur Elise and become a part of this vibrant culture.

I went in search of a salad.  I left with ALL of my senses satisfied.

Bravo, Denver.