Mike Davis Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 ...and forgive me, Rick Wakeman. And just to prove that punctuation is important, that last one could have read 'forgive me Rick Wakeman" if I hadn"t double checked. I have debated Keith Emerson vs. Rick Wakeman with myself over the years. Sometimes I'd think one was better, then the other, back and forth. I eventually decided that Emerson was probably the better player, but that I happen to like Wakeman's style better, subjectively. Fortunately, I don't have to choose either/or on a permanent basis...I can listen to either one depending on my mood. If Wakeman's face got chiseled on Mt. Keymore, I wouldn't argue. Grey Same here. I like both Emerson and Wakeman individually, but I tend to give Wakeman the nod because of the context. I like YES way more than ELP. And I like ELP! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mauriziodececco Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 Fo the Jazz side, I would nominate Abdullah Ibrahim/Dollar Brand. The feeling is quite unique. Quote Nord Wave 2, Nord Electro 6D 61,, Rameau upright, Hammond Pro44H Melodica. Too many Arturia, NI and AAS plugins http://www.barbogio.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
16251 Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 This is kind of goofy poll since the diversity of styles here are so vast. From Wikpedia "The four presidents were crhosen to represent the nation's birth, growth, development and preservation." Using that as a premise then here's four. In an hour I will probably think of four others. JS Bach - Birth Chopin - Growth Art Tatum - Development Chick Corea - Preservation Quote AvantGrand N2 | ES520 | Gallien-Krueger MK & MP | https://soundcloud.com/pete36251 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BbAltered Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 Sitting here on this fine Presidents' Day thinking about who I would place on a Mount Rushmore for keyboard players, Remember there can be only four candidates! Bach has to be on any Mt Rushmore of keyboard players. Everything we hear today has some basis in Bach. Heck, Bach was influential in how we tune a keyboard instrument and how we hear harmonies today. Bach' WTK is often called the Old Testament of piano music. If the WTK is the old testament of piano music, Beethoven's piano sonatas are often called the New Testament of piano music. The author of the most famous piano piece the Moonlight Sonata properly belongs on a Mt. Rushmore of keyboard players. I would also like to see Scott Joplin on the keyboard Mt. Rushmore. His piano work continues to be deeply influential in how people play the piano today. I sometimes think of Joplin as the first rock pianist. As a fourth, I am going to suggest George Gershwin. His compositions are much played classics and have stood the test of time. Quote J.S. Bach Well Tempered Klavier The collected works of Scott Joplin Ray Charles Genius plus Soul Charlie Parker Omnibook Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life Weather Report Mr. Gone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adan Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 Debates like this were more fun when I was 17 and picking seeds out of the center crease of double albums. Now I just pick cheerios out of sofa cushions. Quote Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro Home: Vintage Vibe 64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
octa Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 Bach is the statue of liberty. Chopin, the Lincoln statue. & Horowitz, Arthur Rubinstein, Tatum & Bill Evans on the mount. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawback Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 Jeez you guys. It's obvious: Anderton Bryce Fortner Quinn Just thinking about the gargantuan importance of this group, as it pertains to our little corner of the universe. Quote ____________________________________ Rod Here for the gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedar Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 I would have trouble limiting myself to 4 pianists deserving of Mt. Rushmore status, even if we limited the category to jazz pianists in the 1950s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou Gehrig Charles Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 Ron Mael.... Ron kind of looks like a statue already! He'd be perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonizer Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 Focusing only on the keyboard playing, and ignoring any musical contributions via songwriting and singing, Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner are my top 2. There are a bunch of others that I might rate in positions 3-8 (many of the names already mentioned), but I can't sort them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
octa Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 I should probably let this old thread sleep, but been having love affairs with Keith Jarrett, Bud Powell, Sonny Clark (thanks to a fairly recent thread here), Ahmad Jamal, Nat King Cole and McCoy lately. And they"re all contenders for spots now. I guess the Mount will be forever changing. Bill is sticking around though. Ok, head back to bed, thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRW Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 You could have Herbie up there 4 times from different eras. Funny Young Miles-era Herbie, the afroed Head Hunters Herbie, the slick and mustachioed Rockit era, and the modern "elder statesman" Herbie? The glasses - which are essential - might be the trickiest bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 I'm not crazy about rankings in music, but I like this answer: Zawinul gets his own mountain as far as I am concerned. Agreed. For genres... jazz, rock, fusion, electronics, classical, ethnic, ambient, funk, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Towns Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 Hi, This thread interests me and I noticed Rick Wakemans name come up more than once. I'm going to see him in December doing his one man show in London at the Cadogan Hall. Total capacity (and I guarantee it will not be a sell out) is 953 people. It does confuse me how despite his fame and talent he ends up appearing in these kind of venues. I last saw him in St Petersburgh, Florida in October 2019 and that was a similar sized venue. I'm honestly pleased that I'm seeing him in such an intimate venue as it adds to the experience. I'm also pleased that for the advert for the Concert, there is a picture of him playing twin Korg Nautilus's (a keyboard I'm thinking seriously of investing in) !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KuruPrionz Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 Obviously, you must have J.S. Bach on your mountain. Without him, who would have created the tempered scale that allows so many musicians to play ever so slightly out of tune in all keys? The two best keyboard players I ever got to hear in concert are Arthur Rubenstein and Herbie Hancock. So, they have to be on there. That leaves one. I've seen Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson, both of them twice and both are very good. I'm going to say Garth Hudson from The Band because he managed to not sound like every other keyboard player and he did it in a rock and roll band which is a strange place to be. Quote It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyRude Posted October 27, 2021 Share Posted October 27, 2021 Chuck Leavell Chuck Leavell Chuck Leavell Chuck Leavell Quote Some music I've recorded and played over the years with a few different bands Tommy Rude Soundcloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docbop Posted October 27, 2021 Share Posted October 27, 2021 Can't believe no one has mentioned Russell Bridges better know as Leon Russell he's did it all. From his days touring as Bee Bumble to member of the Wrecking Crew working with Sinatra and other giants. Then into rock world with Delaney & Bonnie, Joe Cocker, played Bangladesh with George Harrison then on to his own career that later took him into the Country world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baggypants Posted October 27, 2021 Share Posted October 27, 2021 Bach for the history, Rachmaninov for the challenge, Elton John for the populists and Errol Garner for the joy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoken6 Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 Bach for the history, Rachmaninov for the challenge, Elton John for the populists and Errol Garner for the joy.I like this answer as it covers so many bases. I might swap Herbie out for Errol, simply because while Garner's hardly an unknown in the eyes of the wider public, he's probably better known as a composer. Everyone knows Herbie for Rockit, Watermelon Man and Chameleon. I was toying with Stevie instead of Elton, but they both cover the role of "keyboards in pop". Cheers, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan_evett Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 Bach for the history, Rachmaninov for the challenge, Elton John for the populists and Errol Garner for the joy.I like this answer as it covers so many bases. I might swap Herbie out for Errol, simply because while Garner's hardly an unknown in the eyes of the wider public, he's probably better known as a composer. Everyone knows Herbie for Rockit, Watermelon Man and Chameleon. I was toying with Stevie instead of Elton, but they both cover the role of "keyboards in pop". Cheers, Mike. Yes, Sergei Rachmaninoff needs to be up there. We need a few different 'Mount Rushmores' to cover all this inspiration. Lots of great players around, and some new names have popped up recently for me. Though I typically teach beginning through late-intermediate piano students, a couple of former advanced players have ended up on my roster - adults wishing to re-invigorate their chops. While I did play at that level briefly - early on in college before switching majors, my LH technique would need some tightening up - before attempting much of that again. It's been inspiring to both re-discover the works of veteran concert-level players and learn of several relatively new performers. One I discovered yesterday is Helene Grimaud, and I'm quite taken by her approach to the keyboard; she has a finely detailed sense of dynamics and expression, and is quite innovative with interpretation and phrasing. Her rendition of the Rachmaninoff 2nd Piano Concerto is now my favorite. Quote 'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo. We need a barfing cat emoticon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delaware Dave Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 Slightly off topic: Several years ago I joined a Southern Rock band outside of Baltimore called Beatin the Odds. I auditioned and after the audition the singer said that during one of our quick breaks he got the thumbs up from all of the members, but he needed an answer to a question. The question was 'how committed was I to the project?'. He then took off his shirt and tattooed on his back, in color, were the faces of Duanne Allman, Ronnie Van Zant, Danny Joe Brown, and Rickey Medlocke. He called them the Mount Rushmore of Southern Rock musicians. I told him I had no tattoos and wasn't planning on getting any. He laughed and said that was his level of commitment. P.S. The band folded inside of a year ..... Quote 57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn Delaware Dave Exit93band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammondDave Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 No love for Chic? Quote '55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400’s; Wurlitzer 206; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module; B3X; Model D6; Moog Model D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Mullins Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 Joe Zawinul Fred Hersch Keith Emerson Thomas Dolby Quote Yamaha CK88, Arturia Keylab 61 MkII, Moog Sub 37, Yamaha U1 Upright, Casio CT-S500, Mac Logic/Mainstage, iPad Camelot, Spacestation V.3, QSC K10.2, JBL EON One Compact www.stickmanor.com There's a thin white line between fear and fury - Stickman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
area51recording Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 The dude from Spinal Tap HAS to be up there......he uses both hands..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Lobo Posted October 28, 2021 Share Posted October 28, 2021 Vladimir Horowitz - for classical piano interpretation Oscar Peterson - for setting the standard for jazz piano improvisation Ray Charles - for inventing soul electric keyboard playing Jelly Roll Morton - for inventing jazz Jimmy Smith - for inventing jazz organ I know, that's 5. My Rushmore has 5. Sue me. Or complain to management. Quote These are only my opinions, not supported by any actual knowledge, experience, or expertise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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