Any Genre - Pick album(s) that best represents your favorite keyboard artist.

[16251]

Rock

Jazz

Fusion

Country

Classical

etc.

 

any Genre. Solo album or as a sideman. Some of my favorite players, IMO, play better as a sideman. As for my choices, I'm still considering the question. - thanks

[marino]

Ok, just for the sake of it:

 

Weather Report: "Night Passage" (1980). Josef Zawinul at the keyboards.

Incredible compositions, played with passion by an once-in-a-lifetime group at the peak of their virtuosity.

[Montunoman 2]

Oscar Peterson “Night Train” 

[Justin Havu]

Steve Porcaro - Someday/Somehow

Toto - IV, Hydra, pretty much any album that Steve's appeared on.

 

Brilliant sound designer, and a pretty good player too.

 

 

[JamPro]

Derr....Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life

Great compositions, great singing, innovative sounds, very cool guest stars (Herbie Hancock, George Benson), and the very best pop keyboard playing. 

[Docbop]

I like too many to try and pick one.   I'll just list one keyboard album that I've been listening to since it came out and still love it.   Return to Forever  Light As A Feather.    Chick, Airto and Flora, are still my favorites.   

[timwat]

I'm not sure if this is the kind of suggestions you're looking for, but in no particular order:

 

The Bremen Concert, 2/2/75 - Keith Jarrett solo (not the same as the ECM release of similar name, it's a bootleg of this particular date, found online)

Waltz for Debby - Bill Evans

Whisper Not - Keith Jarrett Trio

Thrust - Herbie Hancock

Rachmaninoff: Symphony 2 - Vladimir Ashkenazy

True Stories - David Sancious & Tone

Off The Wall, Thriller - Michael Jackson (various KB players)

Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen (Roy Bittan)

Brazilian Loe Affair - George Duke

Irakere - Chucho Valdes

Madman Across the Water, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John

Innervisions, Songs in the Key, Music of My Mind - Stevie (can you pick just one?)

Relayer - Yes (Patrick Moraz)

Six Wives of Henry VIII, Criminal Record - Rick Wakeman

Lyle Mays - Lyle Mays

Bach: A Strange Beauty - Simone Dinnerstein

Switched On Bach - Wendy Carlos

Snowflakes are Dancing - Tomita

Wired - Jeff Beck (Jan Hammer & Max Middleton)

Song for America - Kansas (Kerry Livgren & Steve Walsh)

Brain Salad Surgery, Tarkus  - ELP 

UK - UK (Eddie Jobson)

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto 3 - Emil Gilels (and the Horowitz, Ashkenazy, Argarich, and Rachmaninoff recordings are also stellar)

 

 

 

[Brad Kaenel]

Billy Joel - Turnstiles

"James": my favorite Rhodes tone; "Summer, Highland Falls": such a cool intro; "New York State of Mind": gorgeous changes; "Prelude/Angry Young Man": the de facto test for a responsive action 😁

 

[Justin Havu]

1 hour ago, Brad Kaenel said:

Billy Joel - Turnstiles

"Prelude/Angry Young Man": the de facto test for a responsive action 😁

 

 

This.  Also, Hornsby's "Spider Fingers."

[Mills Dude]

2 hours ago, timwat said:

I'm not sure if this is the kind of suggestions you're looking for, but in no particular order:

 

The Bremen Concert, 2/2/75 - Keith Jarrett solo (not the same as the ECM release of similar name, it's a bootleg of this particular date, found online)

Waltz for Debby - Bill Evans

Whisper Not - Keith Jarrett Trio

Thrust - Herbie Hancock

Rachmaninoff: Symphony 2 - Vladimir Ashkenazy

True Stories - David Sancious & Tone

Off The Wall, Thriller - Michael Jackson (various KB players)

Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen (Roy Bittan)

Brazilian Loe Affair - George Duke

Irakere - Chucho Valdes

Madman Across the Water, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John

Innervisions, Songs in the Key, Music of My Mind - Stevie (can you pick just one?)

Relayer - Yes (Patrick Moraz)

Six Wives of Henry VIII, Criminal Record - Rick Wakeman

Lyle Mays - Lyle Mays

Bach: A Strange Beauty - Simone Dinnerstein

Switched On Bach - Wendy Carlos

Snowflakes are Dancing - Tomita

Wired - Jeff Beck (Jan Hammer & Max Middleton)

Song for America - Kansas (Kerry Livgren & Steve Walsh)

Brain Salad Surgery, Tarkus  - ELP 

UK - UK (Eddie Jobson)

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto 3 - Emil Gilels (and the Horowitz, Ashkenazy, Argarich, and Rachmaninoff recordings are also stellar)

 

 

 

We're like brothers from another mother.  I like the Tomita reference. 

 

When I was in HS in the early 80s, I had an old Ford van with an 8 track player.  The records stores had been blowing out 8 tracks for a while so at that point only the obscure tapes, like Tomita and prog rock, were left.  Me and my buds would drive around listening to Tomita's version of The Planets and Firebird Suite as well as Snowflakes are Dancing.

 

Other great 8-tracks, like  Drama, Relayer, Trick of the Tail, ELP Works Vol 1.  Brings back great memories.  I can still remember where all the fades were when the player would change tracks. 

[CyberGene]

5 hours ago, 16251 said:

Rock

Jazz

Fusion

Country

Classical

Rock - “Animals” by Pink Floyd (Richard Wright)

Jazz - “Expressions” by Chick Corea

Fusion - “In a Silent Way” by Miles Davis (Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul)

Country - no, thanks!

Classical - I live for classical music, it would be unfair to rank performers. But by a sheer number of plays Glenn Gould might be high with Bach WTC 1 and 2 topping the charts in my youth. 

[Tusker]

This is really tough because I want to pick one of the great heroic albums. But you are asking about an album which best represents my favorite keyboard artist. So I'm thinking smaller and more personal.

 

I would pick the live album "The Road to You" with some of my favorite Pat Metheny Group tracks.

 

But isn't Lyle just a sideman? No Lyle is never just a sideman. He is a master accompanist and the embodiment of a type of group connection. On this album, he is reaching for something beyond and he is taking us all with him.

[CyberGene]

I wanted to find a place for Lyle too. But he doesn’t fit any of the genres presented. I’m not even sure what genre that is (jazz/new-age/fusion) but I love the way he plays in “Premonition” by Paul McCandless, for instance this:

 

[Biggles]

There can be only one!

 

 

[o0Ampy0o]

Mark Kelly on any and all Marillion albums.

 

"Bob Mayo on keyboards, Bob Mayo" the live from Detroit album and all he was doing in the later decades live which I don't think were commercially recorded and released before his passing.

 

Gregg Rolie on Santana and Journey records, espeviall the pre-Perry and  Japanese soundtrack.

 

[16251]

36 minutes ago, CyberGene said:

I wanted to find a place for Lyle too. But he doesn’t fit any of the genres presented. I’m not even sure what genre that is (jazz/new-age/fusion) but I love the way he plays in “Premonition” by Paul McCandless, for instance this:

 

Those categories were just to prime the pump. I just wanted to make sure the non-jazzers would chime in. That would give me a chance to explore what moves ppl.

I do appreciate your attempt to stay in the lines, since that rule gets broken all the time.

[jazzpiano88]

Couldn't pick one.   But....

 

Pop/Fusion:

    - Bob Mayo,  Frampton Comes Alive

    - Billy Joel,  The Stranger

    - Elton John, Caribou, GYBR

    - Joe Zawinul, Night Passage

    - Russell Ferrante, Shades

    - Michael McDonald, Minute by Minute

    - Lyle Mays,  As Falls Wichita....

    - Burt Bacharach,  all of it

 

Jazz:

    - Herbie,  Four and More

    - Keith, Standards

    - Bill, Waltz for Debby

    - Phineas Newborn Jr.,  A World of Piano

    - Hans Groiner, The Music of Monk

[stillearning]

Prog: Tony Banks, Genesis, Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot

Rock: Greg Rollie, Santana, First 2 albums

Good ‘Ol Rock: Billy Payne, Little Feat, Waiting For Columbus

Jazz: Dave Brubeck, Any Album

[HammondDave]

Rock and Jazz

 

Rock - Deep Purple Mark II -  "In Rock" - Jon Lord - Need I say anything more?

Rock - Vanilla Fudge - "Vanilla Fudge" - Mark Stein - A Gospel organist on LSD!

Prog - Yes - "Yes Album" - Rick Wakeman - His solo for Roundabout

Prog - ELP - Keith Emerson - "Emerson, Lake and Palmer" - Take a Pebble - Such amazing beauty and dynamics.

Jazz - Joey D. - Any Album - Maybe the GOAT of Jazz organists

Fusion - Return to Forever - "Romantic Warrior" - Chick Corea - the master of Moog soloing.. actually, the master of just about everything.

 

[stillearning]

Forgot one. If we can have the category ‘jazz rock organ’…

 

Brian Auger, Any album, especially live.

[David Emm]

Larry Fast's first solo album "Synergy" jolted the bleep out of me. It defined a lot of what we see as Good about synth-world. His version of "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue" is a thing of beauty. No label really defines it but "electronic" and that doesn't touch its shoe tops.

[bill5]

Totally off the top of my head, may change later:

 

Jazz (traditional/mainstream): I'll also go along with Oscar Peterson's Night Train 

Jazz (fusion): Jeff Lorber's Wizard Island. Love that it's both really good and so easily accessible 

Rock: Billy Joel's The Stranger. I really wanted to pick Bruce Hornsby who I like better as a player, but no one album is "it" for me; I'd want to pick n choose (really I could say similar for Billy Joel but Stranger is good enough keys-wise on the whole to get the nod) 

[16251]

Got carried away.

 

Bill Evans - Everybody Loves Bill Evans, Bill Evans at Town Hall

Herbie Hancock - Speak Like a Child, Thrust

Chick Corea - Light as a Feather, Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy

Wynton Kelly - Full View, his work with Blue Mitchell, Smokin at the Half Note with Wes

Red Garland - his work with Miles Davis quintet

Cedar Walton - VIP trio standards

George Duke - Crosswinds Billy Cobham; Zappa One Size Fits All, The Grand Wazoo

David Hazeltine - Inspiration Suite

Horace Silver - Horace - Scope

Max Middleton - Blow by Blow - Jeff Beck

Brad Mehldau - Art of the Trio Vo. 1

McCoy Tyner - Today and Tomorrow

Joe Zawinul - Nancy Wilson with Cannonball Adderley; Mercy, Mercy, Mercy; Mr. Gone

Lyle Mays - Still Life Talking

Sonny Clark - Cool Struttin'

Kenny Barron - People Time Stan Getz

Vice Guaraldi - A boy name Charlie Brown

Russell Ferrante - Four Corners Yellowjackets

 

Had to add Bud Powell on Verve - (thanks Dave for reminding me.)

 

[Sam Mullins]

For rock:  Steve Nieve on Imperial Bedrooom (Elvis and the Attractions). Was there any of the New Wave/pub rock/punk bands that even came close to that band?  I watched a 1979 5 song set last night and Nieve’s improv within a  rock context is incredible. 

[niacin]

Classical - 

Sviatoslav Richter: Pictures at an Exhibition (Live recording Sofia 1958)

Marie-Claire Alain: Johann Sebastien Bach Complete Works for Organ (1980)

 

Jazz - 

Ahmad Jamal: The Awakening

Oscar Peterson: Night Train; Portrait of an Artist

 

Soul Jazz - 

Charles Earland: Cookin' with the Mighty Burner

Big John Patton: Got a Good Thing Goin'

 

Soul -

Donny Hathaway: Live

 

Fusion - 

Joe Zawinul: with Weather Report, Mysterious Traveller & Tail Spinnin'

 

Funk - 

Herbie Hancock: Thrust

John Medeski: with John Scofield, A Go Go

Jon Cleary: Jon Cleary and the absolute monster gentlemen

Delvon Lemarr: Live at KEXP!

 

Rock - 

Gregg Rolie - with Santana, first 4 albums

Rick Wright - with Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here

Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection

 

Electronic - 

Vangelis: Bladerunner; Antarctica

Jean Michel Jarre: Oxygene; Equinoxe

 

 

              

[Mark Zeger]

Any Paul Simon song with Richard Tee on Rhodes

 

McCoy on the John Coltrane/Johnny Hartman album. The art of comping.

 

Chick on Rhodes on “Light As A Feather”

 

Another vote for Lyle Mays on “Wichita”

 

Jan Hammer’s synth leads on Jeff Beck “Wired”

 

Any Stevie tune with synth bass, ex “Boogie On Reggae Woman”

 

 

 

 

 

[JimboKeys]

In no particular order:

 

Patrick Moraz - Refugee
Brian Augur - Closer To It (Oblivioun Express)
John Lord - Shades of Deep Purple
Booker T and the MG's - Greatest Hits
Fred Schendel - Chronometree (Glass Hammer)
Jan Hammer - Birds of Fire (Mahavishnu Orchestra)
Rick Wakeman - Close to the Edge
Thomas Dolby - The Golden Age of Wireless
Gary Numan - The Pleasure Principle
 

-- Jimbo

[Steve Nathan]

As a kid, these were the favs.

[Tusker]

Not to disturb the flow here but what a brilliant $&@0#%^ music collection.

[Farfisakid]

Yes, great picks.

 

Bach - “insert title here”

John Paul Jones - “Physical Graffiti”

Scary Pockets/Goldings - “insert title here”