The best/your favorite pianists?

[time4jazz]

There are so many incredible candidates, as this budding list already demonstrates. For my taste, the best of the best is Oscar Peterson. Not simply because of his immense virtuosity.  It’s because his jazz performances seamlessly and (seemingly) effortlessly incorporate — and maintain connection to — blues and gospel music like those of no one else. 
 

 

 

[Farfisakid]

Here is one my favs that has passed away but I think qualifies for someone you may know from the HAIR musical but unaware of in terms of his piano playing ...

 

 

[D. Gauss]

1 hour ago, Stefan011 said:

No Tatum so far? How times have changed...

 

 

IMO, there's a difference between best and favorite.  art's ability/technique was untouchable, but it always gets a bit much for me to listen to. 

[Ivan May]

I really like

 

Rick Wakeman

Keith Emerson

Martha Argerich

[linwood]

I saw your FB thread about growing acoustic piano music in your library and then came here to look. I guess I listen to Herbie more than anyone and then Keith and the list goes on and on with the usual suspects. There are  so many things about a player that can make you gravitate to them. Harmonic vocabulary, intent, the connection you sense that they have between whatever it is, the keyboard, and the notes that follow, etc.

 

Here’s a good one for you that might have been over looked that everyone in the house will dig. Matt Harris - From The Heart. For me it’s a great record. Nothing extra/ nothing out of place. It’s been a while since I’ve listened to it. About 12 years ago my Husky was at that point where the back legs were gone and he needed “sleep”. He was laying at my chair in my bedroom of a studio where he often was. I put this one on repeat to soothe him. I called my vet and he came over to the house and did the thing. Hadn’t listened to it since that day. It’s on now. Great record and what a nice send off for my best friend.

[Dave Bryce]

6 hours ago, stoken6 said:

I'm surprised nobody's mention Martha Argerich. She blows me away every time

She’s my honorable mention for sure.

 

dB

[Dave Bryce]

3 hours ago, Farfisakid said:

Here is one my favs that has passed away but I think qualifies for someone you may know from the HAIR musical but unaware of in terms of his piano playing ...

 

 

Wow - love his work on Hair, but I had no idea he could play!  
 

dB

[Mills Dude]

Hmm, I'd lean towards the guys that pushed the harmonic envelope in the post-bop era.

 

Alive - Herbie Hancock

Passed - Bill Evans (He's probably my #1 all time)

Honorable Mention - McCoy Tyner, Lyle Mays (Did he ever play anything 'not-so-good' on the piano?)

 

[Farfisakid]

38 minutes ago, Dave Bryce said:

Wow - love his work on Hair, but I had no idea he could play!  
 

dB

 

Bonus content in case you missed this one .... 🙂

 

 

[skipeb3]

Still with us...              Spooner Oldham

Gone...                        Pig Robbins

honorable Mention...  Leon Russell & a few others

 

[jazzpiano88]

Still with us...              Herbie Hancock  (Miles Quartet + Monster pioneer speaks for itself)

Gone...                        Bill Evans  (most influential pianist.  In Science we say he had the most citations)

Honorable Mention... Lyle Mays  (Never got the respect he deserved as a quiet monster)

 

Flavorites who do their thing the best but are not the overall favorite:

- Zawinul

- Shearing

- Grusin

- Bacharach

 

Edit: Wow, I picked the same as Mills Dude   Great taste

[ksoper]

Alive: Valentina Lisitsa. Anyone who can take the most trite piece and wring every last drop out of it gets my vote. Her "Fur Elise" ranks up there with Yo Yo Ma playing "The Swan." 

 

Dead: Geez, that's tough. I think I'm going with Joe Sample. Outstanding feel. There wasn't anything he couldn't play. Chops out the ass and the ability to distill centuries of styles. 

 

Honorable mention:  Elton John. When we saw him a few months ago I realized I've been subconsciously copping his left hand for years. 

[Dave Bryce]

9 hours ago, D. Gauss said:

IMO, there's a difference between best and favorite. 

Not sure I agree.  🤔

 

I’m not aware of any agreed upon objective methodology/criteria to measure who’s “best”; therefore, I would argue that your favorite is who you believe is “best”, based on your experience, exposure and personal taste. 

 

How could you call any player your favorite if you would choose someone else as being somehow better?

 

dB

[Pat Azzarello]

Alive: Keith Jarrett

Passed: Lyle Mays

HM:  Glenn Gould

 

This was a tough one Dave. I have Herbie, Chick, Keith Emerson, Patrick Moraz, and Rick Wakemen in the mix here as well, but you said three

 

[Justin Havu]

Oh, this is a tough one...

 

Still here:  Bob James.  His playing is incredibly moving to me.

 

No longer with us: Lyle Mays.  Piano solo at the end says it all.

 

H. M.  Elton John.  First full song I ever remember learning to play all the way through is Cold As Christmas from the Too Low For Zero album.  I was 6 or 7.

[Mighty Motif Max]

Favorite passed-on: Dave Brubeck. I'm a big fan of his integration of more advanced time signatures and Balkan elements into jazz, among other things.

 

 

 

 

Favorite living: Butch Thompson. One of the few who continued true trad jazz into the present day. I still have a cassette of one of his albums from when I was a little kid - that got played a lot growing up.

 

 

 

Honorable mention: Thelonious Monk - great chord voicings and I do like the dissonances.

 

 

 

Honorable mention 2: Milcho Leviev - Bulgarian jazz pianist. Improv over 33/16! He's the pianist on this recording:

 

 

[Sundown]

Hi Dave,

 

For an alive pianist, I have to go with Dave Grusin. He certainly has a large discography/catalog but just taking “On Golden Pond” (as an example), he’s remarkable. I also like Patrick Leonard a lot. I wish he had more material available. 

 

For deceased, I’d go with Wynton Kelly and Gene Harris. Chick Corea is also amazing of course, and I have to give a nod to Daniel Abrams. He’s not a household name but his video on practicing and technique for Homespun changed my approach to piano in fundamental ways. I had the luxury to talk with him on the phone once and he was just an amazing and generous guy.

 

I think Bruce Hornsby is also underrated. He has such a distinct sound and his solo work and work with other artists is fantastic.

 

Todd

[D. Gauss]

3 hours ago, Dave Bryce said:

Not sure I agree.  🤔

 

I’m not aware of any agreed upon objective methodology/criteria to measure who’s “best”; therefore, I would argue that your favorite is who you believe is “best”, based on your experience, exposure and personal taste. 

 

How could you call any player your favorite if you would choose someone else as being somehow better?

 

dB

Dude, that's easy peasy simple.  Maria Carey is a "better" singer than Louis Armstrong. 5 octave range, blah, blah, blah.  I own everything Armstrong recorded and not a single Maria Carey song...

[Sean M. H.]

2 hours ago, D. Gauss said:

Dude, that's easy peasy simple.  Maria Carey is a "better" singer than Louis Armstrong. 5 octave range, blah, blah, blah.  I own everything Armstrong recorded and not a single Maria Carey song...

 

 

Yeah, when people say "better," what they often seem to mean is "more technically proficient"...for example, saying that Art Tatum is a "better" pianist than player X based on his chops, speed etc (or your Mariah Carey example)...However, to Dave's point, who says that technical ability has to be the leading indicator of who is "better?"  If Tatum--just for example (I actually like Tatum)--fails to move you emotionally/spiritually or you find his dizzying speed uninspiring, one could argue it's silly to still say he is better/best in spite of that!  Music is after all a means to communicate and inspire, not a technical competition.

[Stefan011]

Milcho Leviev - what a player. Also the great Jaki Byard comes to mind from this period "left field".

 

When I mentioned Tatum, I did not want to rate his technicall ability. I just wanted to say, that when this question was asked in past, even in the 80s, he was THE greatist pianist. Now we respect him, but dont feel his influence so much. Also the quality of his recordings has something to do with it (as with Charlie Parker who I love, but dont listen to as often as he deserves).

[CyberGene]

5 hours ago, Mighty Motif Max said:

Honorable mention 2: Milcho Leviev - Bulgarian jazz pianist. Improv over 33/16!

I’ve been lucky to participate in his master class in 2004 here in Bulgaria. He’s highly regarded here, especially for popularizing our typical odd meters abroad mixing them with jazz. 

[Spider76]

Living: Michel Camilo.

The only hypervirtuoso that I can listen to over and over without getting bored, thanks to his melodic sense, unstoppable rhythm and the sheer joy and musicality that oozes from his Latin roots.

 

Dead: Radu Lupu.

I attended one of his recitals almost by chance, and was absolutely dumbfounded. Never, ever before or after I've seen a real Maestro play the music and the audience with such total mastery. He played the most delicate and musical pianissimos I've heard in my life, and kept the whole concert hall in the palm of his hand, listening without -literally- a breath. And I say literally: there was such silence, tension and emotion than when he finished a piece you could hear the collective sigh of everybody gasping for breath.

He was MUCH more thunderous, assertive and loud, yes LOUD when playing those barely hearable notes than in the raging fast and fortissimo virtuosistic passages.

A music lesson I will never forget.

 

Honorable mention:

Tommy Flanagan, because of A Child Is Born (and everything else)

[octa]

Keith Jarrett would be the living choice I s'pose. Rick Beato interviewed him last month and says KJ is playing again? Hopefully the interview will be on YouTube sometime!

 

There are too many to choose from in the dead category 😛 Last night it was Jaki Byard. Been listening to sax players more than pianists lately (Phil Woods at the moment) and Jaki sure does play tastefully on this track/album!

 

Honorable mentions: Bud Powell, Nat King Cole, McCoy, Bill Evans, Chick, Herbie, N. Hopkins, Hank Jones, Teddy, Flanagan, Tatum, Oscar P., B. Preston, Richard Tee, Monk, Mulgrew & etc. etc.

 

 

[pinkfloydcramer]

Matt Rollings

Bill Evans- at times (You Must Believe in Spring album etc.) he was like a portal. 

Lyle Mays- another other-worldly talent

Jerry Lee Lewis, dammit

 

 

 

    

 

[El Lobo]

2 hours ago, pinkfloydcramer said:

Jerry Lee Lewis, dammit

Yes! And Little Richard and Fats Domino -- the piano players who created rock 'n' roll

[D. Gauss]

25 minutes ago, El Lobo said:

 the piano players who created rock 'n' roll

that would actually be Ike Turner.

 

[Dave Bryce]

14 hours ago, D. Gauss said:

Dude, that's easy peasy simple.  Maria Carey is a "better" singer than Louis Armstrong. 5 octave range, blah, blah, blah.  I own everything Armstrong recorded and not a single Maria Carey song...

 

I disagree.  

 

I think Maria Carey is more technically proficient than Louis Armstrong, but I can't stand listening to her vocal gymnastics.  For me, Armstrong is the better singer - he has more style, and sings with more nuance and emotion than Ms. Carey, IMO.  The fact that you own a ton of his stuff and none of hers would seem to intdicate that you think he's better than she is as well.

 

My point remains: "best" is subjective, and is more based on the consumer than the provider.  

 

As I said in my last post - I’m not aware of any agreed upon objective methodology/criteria to measure who’s “best”.  I stand by that.

 

dB

[timwat]

4 hours ago, octa said:

Keith Jarrett would be the living choice I s'pose. Rick Beato interviewed him last month and says KJ is playing again? Hopefully the interview will be on YouTube sometime!

 

 

I had not heard this!!!

 

One would suppose his playing may not be the same a pre-stroke, but just that fact he is playing again is wonderful news.

[Mike Davis]

19 minutes ago, timwat said:

 

I had not heard this!!!

 

One would suppose his playing may not be the same a pre-stroke, but just that fact he is playing again is wonderful news.

Even if Jarrett doesn’t play a note, and of course I hope he will, it’s going be worth watching. Beato is one of the best interviewers ever, and Jarrett is brilliant.

[El Lobo]

3 hours ago, D. Gauss said:

that would actually be Ike Turner.

 

Rocket 88 is considered by some to be the first rock 'n' roll record and Ike Turner played piano on it. I give credit for that. But Ike Turner has hardly had the influence on rock 'n' roll piano as has The Killer, Fats, and Little Richard.