... keyboards in jazz

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

electric keyboard devices, hammond wind pumps, etc have all been chosen by jazz artists from time to time

here is virtuoso Evans playing his guilty pleasure [from 1' 56" nb the sweetness of switch]

and if i could find some Ray Charles vamping away on an early electric i'd put that up too .....

[Serial_Apologist]

Hancock's ten minutes...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUFINUzGt8E

[MrGongGong]

or topically

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiQ0uyqySBg

[Paul Campbell]

Nothing better than a bit of B3 to cheer up a grey winter day; Jimmy Smith, Baby Face, Brother Jack, Dr Lonnie etc etc.

Here's one of Big John's finest...

[Serial_Apologist]

Liam Noble's 10 favourite keyboard/synthesiser tracks:

http://londonjazznews.com/2024/06/14/ten-keyboard-synth-recordings-i-cant-do-without-by-liam-noble/

Liam's view is that rather blame electronics for diluting jazz it's what you do with it that matters. I concur.

[Old Grumpy]

Wow, S_A - how did you find this thread? The last post was in the early part of the previous decade! Did you actually remember it, or perhaps you searched for "keyboard" in thread titles?


P.S. Nice Ray Charles clip here

[Ian Thumwood]

Given the way that technology is progressing with the likes of AI being used to create music and threaten the role of musicians, the argument about keyboards seems a bit twee. I doubt if anyone could have predicted AI to produce music when this thread was first posted.

I read that Keith Jarrett had refused to use keyboards with Miles Davis as he considered them to be toys. In my opinion the sound of Hammond B3s and Fender Rhodes are very much part of the jazz sound these days. Synthesisers are more problematic and I feel tend to date recordings more than anything else. You cannot beat the modern piano which was an improvement on earlier fortepianos and harpsichords. Seeing as it is now possible to manipulate the sound of a piano electronically, I think that this probably more interesting that what can be done with a synthesizer.

[Ian Thumwood]

I miss Calum's contributions to this board. His insight was always spot in and I think he had an open mind to jazz. I was surprised how different he came across on the one time I spoke to him on the phone. He was really down to earth with no pretensions.

It was a shame that the initial intention for the contributors to.meet up in London never came to fruition. I have enjoyed the company of Calum and Bruce, the only 2 members I have met. Is anyone up for a meeting?

[Old Grumpy]

I miss Calum's contributions to this board.

That was my first thought when I clicked onto S_A's post #5 and looked at the previous posts.

[Serial_Apologist]

I had a spare half hour - pretty unusual in my case these days! - and decided to go back to beginnings to see who we still have in our circle, and the sorts of things we were talking about.