Iconoclast Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Solo warmup for Al DiMeola. This tour is over for him but I would recommend seeing him as a solo performer if you get a chance. My wife (total NON musician) came along with me and thoroughly enjoyed his show. He spoke a bit between pieces and I think my wife really liked the way he set up each song with his "banter". The weirdest part of the show, that I actually ended up digging, was Jordan jamming with GeoShred on his iPad to a backing track...OK sounds cheesy...I just paid money to watch a guy play his iPad to a recording, but honestly, he made that iPad sound a lot better than some musicians sound on their real instruments. I have tons of respect for Jordan, what monster chops and clean execution, but sometimes when playing his own pieces I start to hate the right hand wankery that he feels compelled to cram between each phrase. Like all these fills are a testament to his fear of space in music! But thankfully there were a couple of tunes in his repertoire that he held back on the single hand 4 octave arpeggio fills. One was a Bach piece that he held true to the original, another was an improv with no name that he started the show with, and another was a piece that I think he said would be on his next solo record that was at times very Emerson-solo-piano. Anyway, it was an unexpectedly cool evening. Quote You want me to start this song too slow or too fast? Forte7, Nord Stage 3, XK3c, OB-6, Arturia Collection, Mainstage, MotionSound KBR3D. A bunch of MusicMan Guitars, Line6 stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretel Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 I had to laugh a few times reading your post :-) Quite a fitting description of Jordans musical style I would say. But I am starting to like his way of playing and showing of, even though I couldnt take it for more than a few songs in a row. Do you know what Kevin Moore is doing these days by chance? Quote 2019 W.Hoffmann T122 upright, Roland FP-50, Roland RD64, Korg Microkorg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Simons Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 What was he playing on? Do you remember which Bach piece he did? I'm a definite Jordan fan. . . Dream Theater, not so much. I DID like the Liquid Tension Experiment recordings and a bunch of his solo stuff, really dug most of The Road Home, and absolutely loved the Rudess Morgenstein Project album. Quote Yamaha P515 & CK88, Pianoteq, Mainstage, iOS, assorted other stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Do you know what Kevin Moore is doing these days by chance? Kevin is working under the Chroma Key moniker and doing a Patreon campaign. Clonk here for FB page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricBarker Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 I have tons of respect for Jordan, what monster chops and clean execution, but sometimes when playing his own pieces I start to hate the right hand wankery that he feels compelled to cram between each phrase. Like all these fills are a testament to his fear of space in music! You really nailed what bothers me about Jordan. And what's worse is, it reminds me of myself sometimes (albite with tonnes more chops). When I'm not really feeling very creative, I just play a bunch of notes, and the modes and phrasing really aren't that interesting. I'm all for playing "phrases" instead of individual notes, as long as it's creative and unique, but neither I nor Jordan do that in cases like this. And I hate myself for it. I just wish the dude would get a little more blues in him, make every note count, use the space, gain some grit. That's why Sherinian was always my favorite DT keyboardist, even though Jordan can probably play circles around him technically. Can't hate on Moore either, though at the time i found his sound design to be a little weak (the moment he left he became a sound design God though!) Quote Puck Funk! Equipment: Laptop running lots of nerdy software, some keyboards, noise makersâ¦yada yada yadaâ¦maybe a cat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iconoclast Posted October 2, 2018 Author Share Posted October 2, 2018 What was he playing on? Do you remember which Bach piece he did? They had a big ol Steinway that both Jordan and DiMeola's piano player used. Sounded GLORIOUS. The Bach piece was partita #5 in Gmaj Quote You want me to start this song too slow or too fast? Forte7, Nord Stage 3, XK3c, OB-6, Arturia Collection, Mainstage, MotionSound KBR3D. A bunch of MusicMan Guitars, Line6 stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElmerJFudd Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 He almost always has his Kronos with him, and the iPad. His solo shows may also have MainStage on a MacBook Pro and he does have some rack synths like the Roland V-Synth XT but not sure how much he uses them since the Kronos. Quote Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tfort Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Rudess has repped (I know, what hasn't he repped...) the new Camelot Pro performance software, a cross-platform MainStage alternative. Wizdom Music is listed as one of the collaborators, along with principal developers Fatar and Audio Modeling: https://www.camelotpro.com Wonder if he was using that on an iPad or computer rather than MainStage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 tough crowd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Simons Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Rudess has repped (I know, what hasn't he repped...) the new Camelot Pro performance software, a cross-platform MainStage alternative. Wizdom Music is listed as one of the collaborators, along with principal developers Fatar and Audio Modeling: https://www.camelotpro.com Wonder if he was using that on an iPad or computer rather than MainStage. Didnt know, or forgot, that Camelot is able to run on iOS. That could be huge. Quote Yamaha P515 & CK88, Pianoteq, Mainstage, iOS, assorted other stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretel Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 The Bach piece was partita #5 in Gmaj After having checked out the first ~2min of this piece I think I know now the inventor of 4 octave arpeggios and a fear of space in music I never thought I would diss Bach on the Internet... Yeah I realize this is odd. Quote 2019 W.Hoffmann T122 upright, Roland FP-50, Roland RD64, Korg Microkorg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 The Bach piece was partita #5 in Gmaj After having checked out the first ~2min of this piece I think I know now the inventor of 4 octave arpeggios and a fear of space in music I never thought I would diss Bach on the Internet... Yeah I realize this is odd. It's not Gould's best Bach performance. He plays it in a rather rigid/frigid way, and way too fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthaholic Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Im much more interested in how you liked Di Meola. Im a big fan of his. I saw him in the mid 1990s. He was great, his band was awful because they were brand new and, as he admitted, not rehearsed. Quote The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Simons Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 The Bach piece was partita #5 in Gmaj Good Lord, that recording is unbelievable, the technical challenges are fearsome. Not surprising that Jordan gravitated to the piece. Quote Yamaha P515 & CK88, Pianoteq, Mainstage, iOS, assorted other stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ockeghem Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Bach could show off too, people had the same critiques about him no doubt! Difference is, Bach could rein it in and write simpler pieces as well. I would look forward to Jordan doing the same. However, I do enjoy the fireworks from time to time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyS Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 The Bach piece was partita #5 in Gmaj After having checked out the first ~2min of this piece I think I know now the inventor of 4 octave arpeggios and a fear of space in music I never thought I would diss Bach on the Internet... Yeah I realize this is odd. It's not Gould's best Bach performance. He plays it in a rather rigid/frigid way, and way too fast. He has that tendency more often. I really think a lot of the invention 2 and 3 parts he plays too fast as well on some recordings I heard. Quote Rudy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yannis D Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Thanx for sharing the info Just one question: i wonder what's the use of playing a Bach partita (1st part, the hole thing?) as it was written in a non-classical kind of concert. I can understand an artist who would play 'around' the piece, adding things, etc etc. But play it as written, within a progressive context as an opening act no less, i don't get it.. Quote Be grateful for what you've got - a Nord, a laptop and two hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iconoclast Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share Posted October 3, 2018 He was playing various pieces based off of his history and influences. As he started out at Julliard as a classical player this fit that part of the program. The youtube I posted is 13 minutes long. I'm pretty sure Jordan didn't play 13 minutes of that song but I do recall the opening being the same. I'll guess he played 6-9 minutes of it(?) really not at all certain. Quote You want me to start this song too slow or too fast? Forte7, Nord Stage 3, XK3c, OB-6, Arturia Collection, Mainstage, MotionSound KBR3D. A bunch of MusicMan Guitars, Line6 stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iconoclast Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share Posted October 3, 2018 Im much more interested in how you liked Di Meola. Im a big fan of his. I saw him in the mid 1990s. He was great, his band was awful because they were brand new and, as he admitted, not rehearsed. DiMeola was great. His band was unusual in that he was accompanied by a pianist and an accordionist. 1. Never be the pianist that follows Jordan Rudess . Clearly a no win situation. 2. Having never heard a virtuoso accordionist in any kind of setting, let alone an ensemble, I had low (or no) expectations. Quite honestly it was really cool how the accordion fit into the mix. My wife probably would have thought that the accordionist was the star of the show, she really thought he was cool. 3. Although an acoustic show, there was a lot of tech in the mix. DiMeola used a lot of effects on his acoustic to include pitch shifting and even very distorted electric tones at times and a lot very wet ambient reverbs. They played mostly from his newer catalog only doing Mediteranean Sundance as the 2nd encore. Quote You want me to start this song too slow or too fast? Forte7, Nord Stage 3, XK3c, OB-6, Arturia Collection, Mainstage, MotionSound KBR3D. A bunch of MusicMan Guitars, Line6 stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 1. Never be the pianist that follows Jordan Rudess . Clearly a no win situation. I learned this in 1977. Watching Jordan play, I knew I always needed to keep the day job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod S Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 Thread bump as I found out last week he is playing in Brazil in December! http://rockmaster.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/jordan.jpg Quote Korg Kronos X73 / ARP Odyssey / Motif ES Rack / Roland D-05 / JP-08 / SE-05 / Jupiter Xm / Novation Mininova / NL2X / Waldorf Pulse II MBP-LOGIC American Deluxe P-Bass, Yamaha RBX760 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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