'best' guitar player (from a keyboardist perspective)

[Delaware Dave]

Keyboard player’s perspective:

"Best" is subjective, what is best, best sounding? Best technique? best all around player of music type (jazz, prog, rock, pop)?  Anyway, here is my nomination, it almost sounds like two guitars are being played at the same time, one playing rhythm and one playing lead:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2XOIf7weco

[16251]

First person that came to mind. Stanley Jordan

[Baldwin Funster]

Roger Hodgson.  Although I'd say more like best guitarist that is mainly a keyboardist.  The guitar work of his in Supertramp is great.

[drohm]

Roy Clark. He could play anything in any genre...and multiple instruments. 

[KuruPrionz]

No one answer, just personal preferences - which is exactly what you get with humans! 😇

I saw Carlos Montoya, he played an unamplified nylon string guitar and got a standing ovation on his first piece. 

Roy Clark, ^^^ great guitarist beyond any doubt. 
Jimi Hendrix changed the way electric guitar was played, there is pre-Hendrix and post Hendrix elecrtric guitar playing. 

Chet Atkins was flawless, I saw his protege Richard Smith 3 times, another great. 

Steve Morse, Steve Howe, both amazing in different ways. John Renbourn, David Lindley, Mark Knopfler, too many to list!!!!

[drawback]

Big Robben Ford fan here.

 

Edit to echo Knopfler and add Joe Walsh.

[stoken6]

Question is too wide. "Best" anything is almost impossible to define. 

 

But speaking as a keyboard player, and therefore (almost by definition) having a modicum of knowledge of harmony, I'm turned off by guitarists who stick to the "blues scale of I" for their solos/riffs. I prefer someone who can reflect the movement inherent in chord changes. Knopfler can do that, Brian May - but too many can't/don't.

 

Cheers, Mike

[JamPro]

For me, the "best" guitarist is one who is cooperative musically, not competitive.  And willing to play with me. 

[Docbop]

For me hands down it's Peter Bernstein who has been playing with Larry Goldings and Bill Stewart for years and many albums.   Peter also used to play with Dr Lonnie Smith.    Peter Bernstein can fit into anything his list of sideman credits with all the big names of Jazz is proof he's the guitarist you want on the gig with you.   

 

 

[HSS]

 

 I agree with all the previous mentions.   I would add some of my current favorites;  Merle Travis, Django Reinhardt, Les Paul, Tommy Emmanuel, Billy Strings, Paco De Lucia, Albert Collins, Junior Brown, and Wes Montgomery. 

 

Just like with everyone, it's very subjective, and, for me, my "favorite" musicians on any instrument are a moving target dependent on what I'm into at the time and my mood.  FWIW.... When I was 15 - 20 years old and into rock, I thought Hendrix, Clapton, Page, Beck, Johnny Winter, Alvin Lee, and Leslie West were the Guitar Gawds. Who knows what I'll like in another 10 years when I'm a dirty old man filling my Depends. 

 

Someone mentioned Roy Clark upthread.  I stumbled on this video recently.   Damn!  He was cutting up while he was shredding like a Mofo. 

 

https://youtu.be/xlrcNtH5pu8

 

 

 

[Tusker]

Also agree with all of the above. 

 

There are keyboardists and there are multi-keyboardists. Pat Metheny is like a multi-keyboardist when he is on his Manzer Pikasso ...

 

 

[GovernorSilver]

Steve Lukather - studied with Jimmy Wyble - the author of The Art of Two-Line Improvisation, not particularly famous but known as guitarists' guitarist and one of the greatest educators hardly anybody heard of.   Best known for playing rock with Toto, but like other elite studio cats, proficient in multiple musical genres, and excellent rhythm player.   Also a storied songwriter and producer.

 

Jimmy Wyble - studio pro and jazz guitarist who developed a contrapuntal style documented in the aforementioned book, influenced other studio/jazz guitarists as both a player and educator.

 

Ernie Isley - Joined his older brothers, to transform the Isley Brothers from a vocal trio to full band.  He's their drummer in the studio but best known for his guitar work on the likes of "Who's That Lady", "Voyage to Atlantis", etc.

 

George Benson - I thought he was just an R&B singer, then later found out he's a monster jazz guitarist, and had been one for years before he started singing for a living.  He's celebrated for his picking chops, but peeps who listen more deeply discovered his inventiveness in navigating chord changes at any tempo, without losing his impeccable time-feel.  Quite a few pro-level players in their own right spend a good chunk of time studying how he does it.

 

Yamandu Costa - The Brazilian dynamo, who I first saw in the movie Brasilerinho.

 

Melanie Faye - One of those young guns who is so good, other pros go to her for lessons.

 

Ichika Nito - Effortless virtuosity with a sense of humor.

[Docbop]

I think the key is guitarist (or pianist) who is or thinks like an arranger.   Larry Carlton is a perfect example and his parts always just fit the tunes perfectly. 

[Shamanzarek]

When playing with a keyboard player a guitar player doesn't need to do heavy chording as it tends to dominate the mix. A few guitarists that know how to work well with keys are:

 

Ritchie Blackmore. He rarely plays a full chord sticking to single note riffs and double stops allowing plenty of room for both keys and guitar. Deep Purple still sounds heavy without relying on power chording on guitar.

 

Carlos Santana. Carlos usually doesn't do more than a four note chord on the D, G, B, and high E strings which allows the keys to be prominent . His chording is light and jazzy with his guitar soloing being the main attraction.

 

Robby Krieger. He plays a lot of arpeggios with a clean sound which intertwines with the often arpeggiated keyboard chords. On the few songs where he uses an overdriven sound he will usually play a riff rather than chords as on "Hello I Love You" or "Roadhouse Blues". When he does do fuller chords he uses a softer sound that blends well.  Robby plays fingerstyle but almost everything he does could be played with a pick so what he plays isn't complex like some fingerpickers.

 

Justin Hayward. His playing is the foundation of most Moody Blues songs. He mostly plays acoustic for the chord work which is sometimes fingerpicked and blends well with the Mellotron orchestrations. The electric guitar is usually reserved for solos and fills. One exception where he does heavy electric chording is on "The Story in Your Eyes" where it pretty much dominates the mix for much of the song.

 

Martin Barre and Ian Anderson. Ian Anderson's guitar playing is overshadowed by his flute playing but he has one of the most unique and distinctive styles of any acoustic player. Martin Barre is another player who mostly does ornamental melodic parts that stay out of the way in their often complex arrangements.

 

Roger Hodgson. In the case of Supertramp they are a keyboard dominated band often not even using guitar. When electric guitar is used it is fairly sparse playing melodic parts and soloing. When acoustic guitar is used it is sometimes the foundation instrument in a particular song. Supertramp was very diverse in the way they did their arrangements and arguably had one of the cleanest live sound mixes of any band which had much to do with their sparse use of guitar.

[ProfD]

The late Melvin Ragin better known as Wah Wah Watson who was a member of The Funk Brothers (Motown) and also played with Herbie Hancock.😎

[D. Gauss]

Tommy Emmanuel is pretty much the whole package in any style he chooses to play, be it electric or acoustic. untouchable. and he's funny, too.

 

 

 

[DaveMcM]

Not sure what you mean by (from a keyboardist perspective), but I'm a keyboardist, so... More of a local guy, but an incredible player. Years ago Gibson hired him to demo guitars at a NAMM show along side Chet Atkins. I was hanging out in the demo room between shows while Chet and Scotty Anderson were sitting on the edge of the stage trading licks. At one point Chet just stopped playing with a jaw-drop reaction to what Scotty was playing. As for national types, Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, Eric Johnson, Steve Vai, Jeff Beck, to name more than a few.

 

 

 

[KuruPrionz]

2 hours ago, DaveMcM said:

Not sure what you mean by (from a keyboardist perspective), but I'm a keyboardist, so... More of a local guy, but an incredible player. Years ago Gibson hired him to demo guitars at a NAMM show along side Chet Atkins. I was hanging out in the demo room between shows while Chet and Scotty Anderson were sitting on the edge of the stage trading licks. At one point Chet just stopped playing with a jaw-drop reaction to what Scotty was playing. As for national types, Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, Eric Johnson, Steve Vai, Jeff Beck, to name more than a few.

 

 

 

Scotty is a monster!

Thinking about it, my favorite guitarist that I've seen live is Jeff Beck, he opened for BB King when I saw him.

A different sort of monster, more of a "tone monster" rather than a "licks monster". Nobody else sounds like Jeff Beck.

 

[timwat]

There are so many great, famous, technically accomplished, players out there.

 

The ones I go back to the most, who repeatedly recorded things that say something to me are:

 

Allan Holdsworth, Eric Johnson, Phil Keaggy, Pat Metheny, and Bill Nelson (of Be Bop Deluxe fame).

[CEB]

Depends on the gig.  John Williams, Brent Mason, Paco De Lucia, Louis Shelton, Larry Carlton,  etc ......................................................................................................................................  some painfully shy introverted dude who won't leave their basement apartment.

[Polychrest]

5 hours ago, Docbop said:

I think the key is guitarist (or pianist) who is or thinks like an arranger.   Larry Carlton is a perfect example and his parts always just fit the tunes perfectly. 

Two exceptional guitarists who fit this paradigm are Steve Cropper and Robbie Robertson.  Among other skills, they both know how to share the spotlight with exceptional keyboard players in ways that make a song better.

[Dave Bryce]

Tommy Emmanuel is also way high on my list.  Seeing him play (again) next week.  He was the first one who came to mind when I saw the thread title.

 

So many others -  a few faves: Al DiMeola, David Gilmour, Jimmy Page, Steve Morse, Jeff Beck, Steve Howe...

 

dB

 

[RABid]

Adrian Belew is the only one that had any real influence on my synth playing.

[marino]

There's no "best" of course, but if forced to pick one, Allan Holdsworth could be considered the main title contender, from anybody's perspective. An obvious choice you might say, but that's what my ears are telling me.  

 

With the occasion, I would also like to signal a young kid from Sicily that has definitely caught my attention lately. His name is Matteo Mancuso, and he plays electric guitar with his fingers, no plectrum. He started about 5 years ago doing fresh arrangements of fusion tunes, and now he's experimenting with different styles and approaches. He's still growing and working on his first album, but he's already been praised by Al DiMeola, Steve Vai and other heavyweights.

 

 

[16251]

The OP talked about a guitar player sounding like two players and my initial response was Stanley Jordan.  I honestly haven't listened to him in years but think his approach is cool; he is like a keyboard player on the fret board.

 

Here's a list of guitar players that move me besides Jimi Hendrix. To be honest I rarely listen to guitar these days. To much to learn from pianists.

 

Grant Green

Bill Conners

Emily Remier

John Scofield

Pat Metheny

Carlos Santana

Bruce Conte

 

 

 

[skipeb3]

It's a tie between Steve Cropper and James Burton. Both are masters of playing with a keyboard...staying out of the way when they should and complimenting when it's right. 

Personal experience talking...

[GovernorSilver]

Just discovered Allen Cato.   Yet another awesome player I never heard of until today

 

 

[Pigmeat]

Duke Robillard for me.

[Steve Nathan]

Well, I'm a keyboardist, and from my perspective, Duke is still one of my all time favorites.

 

[Ivan May]

 

 

Steve Howe is such an integral part of Yes. He and Wakeman are arguably the most well known members.