Tedster Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Put this question up on the guitar forum, as a shootout between Kevin Eubanks, Jimmy Vivino, Felicia Collins, G.E. Smith, etc...just to see who the favorite late night band guitarist was. Thought it would be a great question for the other forums as well... So, past or present, who's your favorite late night TV keyboard player? BTW...Jimmy Vivino (Max Weinberg's band) is leading the guitar forum in votes... "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Paul Shaffer. Nobody else on TV (or, arguably, anywhere in show biz) has the huge musical lexicon that Paul has. The man is a human jukebox. Not to mention 21 years on TV... you have to respect that at least a little bit! SG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steadyb Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Originally posted by Sven Golly: Paul Shaffer. Nobody else on TV (or, arguably, anywhere in show biz) has the huge musical lexicon that Paul has. The man is a human jukebox. Not to mention 21 years on TV... you have to respect that at least a little bit! SGI would have to agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rod76 Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 no doubt about it Paul is THE late night king of keyboards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BP3 Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Who else is there? I don't get the Jimmy Kimmel show in DC, so I have no idea what that's about. I loved Kenny Kirkland when he was still with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJDM Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 What!? Shaffer! Is there anyone else? DJDM.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Originally posted by DJDM: What!? Shaffer! Is there anyone else? No, there is not...well, Laura Hall, depending on when you get Whose Line Is It Anyway, but she's no King of Ging. Paul is The Man! dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave The Rave Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 This is going to be a short thread Paul's definately da man [rant]My late night pet peeve is that we never get to hear Paul or Kevin's band play the whole way through....damned adverts! I'm sure it would be very popular if they gave these excellent musicians their own spot on the program proper occasionally.[/rant] Cheers, :DTR Cambrian Guitars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_3guy Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 I've been a fan of Paul ever since he was the MD on Saturday Night Live. Also don't forget the original Blues Brothers. A friend of mine went & saw the Late Show last year. He said it was wicked. Apparently they do play thru the commercial spots. He said when the break for commercial comes, the band comes up loud & clear. So clear that you could almost reach out & touch the sound, but not so loud that it hurts you. Steve www.seagullphotodesign.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Yup, without a doubt, it's gotta be Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Hooper Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 PAUL Composer/Performer at Roger Hooper Music Product Trainer at CASIO www.rogerhooper.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Zeger Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Shaffer had this topic locked up from the start. Letterman + original Sat. Night Live band pianist = no contest. So, maybe "second place" is more a topic for discussion. My pick: Michael Wolff from The Arsenio Hall Show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed A. Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Paul Shaffer definitely. I don't even know the names of the keyboardists with Leno or Conan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kad Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Who was the pianist that played for Johnny Carson's band (lead by "Doc")? He was pretty slick, although not quite the charisma of Paul. Yes, I'll go with Paul as well. What a stage rig! Grand piano, B3, JD-800, K2000, vintage Oberheims - SWEET! Kirk Reality is like the sun - you can block it out for a time but it ain't goin' away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Horne Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 ... going back a few years, Derek Smith from the old Tonight Show (with Johnny Carson) and Paul Smith from the old Merv Griffin Show. Both were outstanding jazz pianists. I've listened to Paul S. from the Letterman Show when we could receive it here in the Netherlands and while he is an excellent rock keyboard player, he never struck me a top notch jazz/all around player. No guitarists were harmed during the making of this message. In general, harmonic complexity is inversely proportional to the ratio between chording and non-chording instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linwood Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Ross Thompkins did the Carson show. I'd agree with Paul. He plays it like he means it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Horne Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Originally posted by Linwood: Ross Thompkins did the Carson show. I'd agree with Paul. He plays it like he means it.Yea, I forgot Ross Thompkins ... excellent. No guitarists were harmed during the making of this message. In general, harmonic complexity is inversely proportional to the ratio between chording and non-chording instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steadyb Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Originally posted by Dave Horne: Originally posted by Linwood: Ross Thompkins did the Carson show. I'd agree with Paul. He plays it like he means it.Yea, I forgot Ross Thompkins ... excellent.And he probably never had to deal with an obnoxious DJ in the next room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Horne Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 ... decibel for decibel one of the best DJs in the business ... No guitarists were harmed during the making of this message. In general, harmonic complexity is inversely proportional to the ratio between chording and non-chording instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kad Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Now that I think of it, I must change my vote... Not exactly "Late Night" TV, but John Costa from Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. Now that guy is SCARY!! Kirk Reality is like the sun - you can block it out for a time but it ain't goin' away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Horne Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 John Costa was also a favorite of mine and I'm embarrassed to say that I had forgotten all about him. He died back in 1996 and I remember feeling a little sad after I heard that. What's also sad is many people never knew who he was. No guitarists were harmed during the making of this message. In general, harmonic complexity is inversely proportional to the ratio between chording and non-chording instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve LeBlanc Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Paul Shaffer...of course...those of you who aren't familiar with the large amount of work he did prior to "Late Night" need to do some studying...the guy was/is an amazing piano/organ player. John Costa was amazing...he inspired me so much before I was old enough to know he was playing Jazz and was an even bigger inspiration once I started learning Jazz. but he probably deserves his own thread...maybe a Children's TV show best of? http://www.youtube.com/notesleb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle ggurl Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Gotta love Paul. Besides the playing, charisma, and rapport with Dave (and did you see any of the shows where he actually hosted the show in Letterman's absence? not bad!), ya gotta love the suits and glasses ... Original Latin Jazz CD Baby "I am not certain how original my contribution to music is as I am obviously an amateur." Patti Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Fiala Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Northern Ontario's native son and primo B-3 man ....Paul! Tom F. "It is what it is." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Not to disturb the Paul love-fest, but I have to get a vote in for Billy Preston. He was for a very short time the bandleader for some short lived nighttime talk show - can't remember what it was, but I don't think it was Arsenio. Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Fiala Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Billy Preston deserves his own category, man! Tom F. "It is what it is." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burningbusch Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 One of the first and still the greatest, Steve Allen. And if you youngins don't know who he is, here's a relevant section from his biography. "Best-known as a comedian and the first host of the American TV institution, the Tonight Show (1954-57), Allen frequently played piano and sang on his shows and used them as a forum to present guests from the jazz world. He also played the lead role in the film The Benny Goodman Story in 1955, produced the TV series Jazz Scene USA in 1962, and narrated a history of jazz on records The Jazz Story (Coral). Allen recorded frequently for Coral, Dot, Roulette, EmArcy, and Decca during the peak of his TV fame and as late as 1992, taped an enjoyable mainstream set for Concord Jazz, Plays Jazz Tonight.. In addition to some 43 books (and counting), Allen claims to have written (as of 1994) more than 4,700 songs, of which only a bare handful -- "This Could Be The Start of Something (Big)," "Gravy Waltz," "Impossible" -- have staked claims in the repertoire." Second choice would be the late, great Bill Foster (the Fox) of the Man Show. World's fastest beer drinker to boot. Worst. Chevy Chase used to play Rhodes on his short lived, thankfully, late night gig. I've never seen hands shake so much. Man was he nervous. Busch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roto Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 How about Chevy Chase? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daBowsa Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 The keyboard player for Conan uses a Speakeasy Vintage preamp - his leslie is underneath the studio audience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Horne Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Originally posted by burningbusch: One of the first and still the greatest, Steve Allen. And if you youngins don't know who he is, here's a relevant section from his biography. "Best-known as a comedian and the first host of the American TV institution, the Tonight Show (1954-57), Allen frequently played piano and sang on his shows and used them as a forum to present guests from the jazz world. He also played the lead role in the film The Benny Goodman Story in 1955, produced the TV series Jazz Scene USA in 1962, and narrated a history of jazz on records The Jazz Story (Coral). Allen recorded frequently for Coral, Dot, Roulette, EmArcy, and Decca during the peak of his TV fame and as late as 1992, taped an enjoyable mainstream set for Concord Jazz, Plays Jazz Tonight.. In addition to some 43 books (and counting), Allen claims to have written (as of 1994) more than 4,700 songs, of which only a bare handful -- "This Could Be The Start of Something (Big)," "Gravy Waltz," "Impossible" -- have staked claims in the repertoire." Second choice would be the late, great Bill Foster (the Fox) of the Man Show. World's fastest beer drinker to boot. Worst. Chevy Chase used to play Rhodes on his short lived, thankfully, late night gig. I've never seen hands shake so much. Man was he nervous. Busch.I'm going to knock a few points from Steve Allen. I watched that show for years and Steve would play the piano, but Paul Smith would play behind him and Steve never acknowledged that. I'm sure most people never noticed that, but I saw that a few times. SA was very talented, but it rubbed me the wrong way when Paul Smith would play behind him, make him sound even better, but was not acknowledged by Steve on the air. Was I the only one to notice that? No guitarists were harmed during the making of this message. In general, harmonic complexity is inversely proportional to the ratio between chording and non-chording instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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