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Your Favorite Jazz Pianists ?


laurenc319

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I guess it would have to be Carl Perkins. I just flat out LOVE Carl Perkins--he's not the "best" or most influential--I KNOW that, but I just LOVE the way he played the piano.

Others (off the top of my head):

Hampton Hawes

Bud Powell

Phinneas Newborn

Red Garland

Gene Harris

Duke Jordan

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It's hard to find a piano player that betters the touch and sensitivity of Bill Evans. He is in a class by himself if leading a trio with the piano as lead. But there are so many greats it's hard to name one. The top five positions below play in so many of my favorite recordings on the jazz side. If I were to name my favorite jazz instrument, it would have to be tenor/alto sax backed by any of the group below depending on style, this also leaving out many more....

Bill Evans

Red Garland

Wynton Kelly

McCoy Tyner

Tommy Flanagan

Cecil Taylor

Cedar Walton

Bud Powell

Carl Perkins

Thelonius Monk

kh

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My list is a long one, and I've probably not included another half dozen or more names that should be on the list.

Thelonius Monk

Horace Silver

Duke Ellington

Count Bassie

McCoy Tyner

Cecil Taylor

Mal Waldron

Bud Powell

Andrew Hill

Randy Weston

Bill Evans

Red Garland

Cedar Walton

George Cables

Herbie Hancock

Kenny Kirkland

Kenny Baron

Marcus Roberts

Kirk Lightsey

Chick Correa

Klipsch out.

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My list is a long one, and I've probably not included another half dozen or more names that should be on the list.

Thelonius Monk

Horace Silver

Duke Ellington

Count Basie

McCoy Tyner

Cecil Taylor

Mal Waldron

Bud Powell

Andrew Hill

Randy Weston

Bill Evans

Red Garland

Cedar Walton

George Cables

Herbie Hancock

Kenny Kirkland

Kenny Baron

Marcus Roberts

Kirk Lightsey

Chick Correa

Klipsch out.

You forgot

Jaki Byard

Sun Ra

'Young" John Young

Horace Parlan

Sonny Clark

Duke Pearson

Gildo Mahones

Jason Moran

Milcho Leviev

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Maybe not the most dazzling of the group, but I love Duke Peason. His compositions and leadership were just out of this world. I also like listening to the amazing fingers of Art Tatum fly across the keys. I could list dozens more like Hampton Hawes, early Herbie Hancock, Sonny Clark, Walter Davis, Jr., etc., etc. The list is too just long.

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You forgot

Jaki Byard

Sun Ra

'Young" John Young

Horace Parlan

Sonny Clark

Duke Pearson

Gildo Mahones

Jason Moran

Milcho Leviev

Allan,

You're absolutely correct, and we've probably still neglected quite a few. I forgot to include Keith Jarret along with the others you've listed. There are so many I love listening to, and especially from your list; Sun Ra, Jaki Byard, Sonny Clark, Duke Pearson, Horace Parlan. I heading for the LP shelves now.......

Klipsch out.

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For a single performance, I'd say the piano playing pig from "The Three

Little Bops" Looney Tunes cartoon. The music for this

classic was by Shorty Rogers and the actual piano player was probably

Pete Jolly.

.......Well the piano playing pig was swinging like a gate

Doing the Libarace on the 88

"I wish my brother George was here"

.........The big bad wolf he learned the rule

Ya gotta to get hot to play real cool

post-17394-13819278293584_thumb.jpg

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If I had to choose one (and not for their entire body of work) I'd go with Jarrett. Jazz is an elusive term, and many could argue with some merit that Jarrett's stuff with his European Quartet that I love so much is not Jazz. Oh well. Some his playing just really connects with me.

Bobo Stenson's playing with the same three guys from that group (Palle Danielson, Jan Garbarek, and Jon Christensen - check my spelling) on Witchi-Tai-To and Dansere is worthy of note in that style as well. For a while my jazzer friends in college thought that Bobo Stenson was a Jarrett alias.

I heard somewhere that Bill Evans was directed by Miles to play more like Wyn Kelly on KOB.

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