Hi gang...

Just saw Lyle Lovett And His Large Band last night at Red Rocks in Denver. Once again, Jim Cox was holding down the keyboard chair for the act - and doing a terrific job. In particular, his work on "I've Been To Memphis" was outstanding - especially the piano solo at the very end. He went a bit beyond Matt Rollings' original 'outro' stylings: as well as stride, he flew in snippets of modern jazz/quartal harmonization, blues, gospel, vaudeville/circus stylings, to name a few. It was sort of like listening to a kaleidoscope of stylings from great players/composers. Think Bill Payne meets Chick Corea meets meets Gershwin; blend in a bit of Victor Borge and Scott Joplin as well. I could've listened to more, much more of Jim's improvisation. Awesome playing and creative inspiration.

Anyway... I'm thinking it's time for an "Americana" Issue. I've been heavily influenced by the likes of Bill Payne, Matt Rollings, Benmont Tench, Craig Doerge, etc. Much of that influence comes through in my work with country and variety gigs here in the Denver area. I've met many fellow players who have similar influences as well. Also, over the years, many of my piano students have asked me for chord voicings, riffs and licks that come from that school of playing. So, I suspect that there's a hunger out there for a Keyboard Issue that covers Americana keys. There are some great players who could share their insights - from regional to national performers. Would be an educational, and fun Issue for a lot of folks...

Thanks...

Allan

Red Rocks - what a great concert venue. Saw Norah Jones there a few years ago and it was amazing.

We do have a story on Benmont Tench coming up in November, in fact. An Americana-themed issue is an even more interesting idea still.

A challenge with "theme" issues in general is to squeeze in even a representative sample of artists who'd be worthy. It'd definitely be a worthwhile pursuit and a great topic.

Stay tuned...

It might be nice to see some print devoted to the keyboard techs who looked after the gear and set-ups of those players you mention (Payne, Corea, Doerge, et al.) Prior to the "digital revolution", keyboard gear was somewhat bulkier, a bit more delicate and a lot harder to manage, for one thing.

Speaking of Americana, Dave Smith and I went to see Bruce Hornsby last night, at the Napa Valley Opera House, which is a wonderful, intimate room. It was just Bruce, a Steinway D, and the occasional faded-in synth pad, but I've never seen him without a full band before. Now that I have, I'm convinced he's one of the great American musical storytellers.

We have a big story on him coming up in the October issue (on which I'm currently frantically working to meet deadlines), and in the opening, he describes his own sound as "Bill Evans meets the hymn book."

To that, I'd add, "Mose Allison meets Vince Guaraldi." Which is something you'd might not grok if you don't see him with just a piano. But wow, what an amazing show. Bruce definitely is in the pantheon Allan outlined at the beginning of this thread.

Speaking of Bruce Hornsby, when he was a Baldwin artist, the company always went to great lengths to have a Gulbransen Midi system installed on his performing pianos. (He gets that string pad sound from a Juno 60 or a Roland D-something synth that's hooked to the piano). Now that he's officially a Steinway artist, does anyone know if Steinway is providing the same type of Midi system for him since he's no longer endorsing Baldwin pianos?

A friend of mine saw Bruce Hornsby perform in Boulder, just a few weeks ago. It was his first time seeing Bruce without a full band; he was also quite amazed.

I've never seen Bruce without the band. But one time, at a show in Chicago, I did get to hear him do a solo piano rendition of "My Romance" that was exquisite. Though his chord voicings, melodic interpretation, and improvisation were fascinating, it was what he didn't play that made the arrangement so ear catching; he is a master of leaving space in his playing.

I'm not up on the current crop of Piano to MIDI devices. At the Boulder concert, my friend did notice the pads/washes layered with the Steinway that Bruce was playing. He spoke with the engineer after the show, and was shown an optical scanning device that he claims was attached over the keys - behind the fallboard. The Gulbransen MIDI System I found on-line was the QRS PNOscan by MIDI 9 - which, from the description I found on the QRS website fits under the keybed. So I'm not sure what Bruce was using to trigger the layered tones.

Allan,

These days he's using a Moog Piano Bar to trigger synth sounds from the Steinway.

BTW - we're printing your letter!

Thanks, Steve !