One-Of-A-Kind Piano Shows Much Of Tulsa's History

If you've been to the Tulsa State Fair you may have seen the art deco piano at the Saied Music booth, and you may have been curious about who painted the vintage Steinway and why.

The folks at Saied Music have been talking about creating a singular piece that incorporates Tulsa, and its music and its art.

They found a 1919 Steinway piano, restored it and added electronics.

Dustin Saied was available to do the artwork that took three months. The images are spray painted on using stencils; multiple colors required multiple stencils.

"Each layer of color - the pink, the green, the black, the white, the red - each one is a single stencil. Each stencil got layered on one at a time," Saied said.

There was lots of time spent waiting for layers of color to dry before adding the next layer.

The piano is covered with Tulsa icons, both architectural and musical - Bob Wills, Cain's Ballroom, the Brady Theater, and Greenwood and Archer.

It also shows off Tulsa's pretty solid jazz history.

"We've got Chet Baker a famous trumpet player from Tulsa, Roy Milton and Charlie Parker; trying to hint at some of the famous Tulsa jazz musicians," said Saied.

A crew from Saied Music moved the piano from the fair to a new place. It's heading to the Brady District to be part of Momentum Tulsa, an exhibition for young Tulsa artists.

For the next few weeks the piano will be making people happy in a new place.

The Momentum Tulsa exhibit at Living Arts, opens Friday evening as part of the First Friday Art Crawl. Momentum Tulsa runs through the 18th.