There sure are many to choose from. (And Prince himself doesn't count.)

Lisa?
Andre Cymone?
Sheila E?
Dr. Fink?
Eric Leeds?
Brown Mark?
Levi Seacer?

etc.....

Who is it?
[Edited 5/28/08 13:12pm]

Prince.

Andre Cymone

Interesting question. Of all his musicians, I think there were only a few at the top who could truly keep up with him (as opposed to simply being really good at their particular instruments). In that regard, I'd say Sheila.

Tony M.

Sheila E.

Levi
Sheila
Andre

Wendy & Lisa

(well...if everyone else is gonna pic their personal fav...so am i.

sosgemini said:

Ok, sos, if you had to choose between Wendy & Lisa, which would it be?
I'd go with Lisa. I just really dig what she added to the mix - from her playing down to her vocal delivery.

simm0061 said:

mee too...she has such an unconventional approach to her music making...it speaks to my unconventional approach to life.

sosgemini said:

<<<< I co-sign with all of you
[Edited 5/29/08 12:23pm]

I don't think you can really answer this question. Talented how? There are different types of talent.

I would say Sheila in terms of musicanship, band leading, showmanship, versatility (in terms of styles) and of course all the percussion/drum skills. But I think even she would say she wouldn't be able to create a record all by herself; I don't think she's written anything solo, and when it comes to other instruments she doesn't really play more than a bit of guitar/bass/keys here and there (not counting her childhood violin!).

I think Eric the most talented jazz musician and possibly the best combination of technical and natural/imrpov ability on his instrument.

Levi seemed pretty damn versatile too, though he neve really got to stand out in front.

Everyone talks a lot about Andre, but if there were no Jody Watley albums, how we would we even know this? I mean where is the evidence of his talent just from the Prince material? Not saying he's not.....but I never got what people were basing this on.

W&L were probably his best collaborators in terms of songwriting and composition/arranging. I love them, but again, I think they woudl admit they're probably not the BEST players he ever had, though clearly they are extremely talented. Interestingly, their best songwriting was WITH Prince; while they do have some solo gems, their solo output isn't as consistent as their collabos.

Then there were a lot of people who were masters on their own particular instrument. Not sure how you can compare Brownmark on bass, to, say, Renato on piano.
[Edited 5/29/08 8:50am]

GaryMF said:

His three, out of print, solo albums (Livin' In The New Wave, Survivin' In The 80's, and A.C.) that he released after his departure with Prince. Not to mention his production for artists such as Evelyn King, The Girls, Jermaine Stewart, Pebbles and the aforementioned Jody Watley.

GoActive said:

Interesting..... What did he product for Evelyn, Pebbles, and Jermaine? Any of
their hits?

Still, that would make him a talented PRODUCER, not necessarily most talented musician/band member, which I already acknowledge from his work on Jody's stuff. I've only heard bits of his solo stuff and it sounds like Jesse/early Prince/generic Minny sound. Though I LOVE S-E-S-E-Sex by the Girls

WendynLisa
Threatened to become bigger than Prince, Prince got scared, let em go.

you'd have to separate that into instruments .. 'who's the best on what instrument?' ..

bass - Levi
sax - i like Eric Leeds
keyboards - Fink

that's just me though

Great question.

I'd have to go with (in no particular order):

John Blackwell
Renato
Sheila E

Michael Bland
Sheila E.
Renato

Whoever the drummer was during Purple Rain

Janfriend said:

that would be Bobby Z. (Rivkin)

Difficult 2 answer. 90% were highly skilled professionals.

Tough q as I'm not a musician and therefore can't thoroughly speak to technical skills but...
For their unique style and unconventional approach that Prince hasn't been able to recreate since they left, I'd go with:
Lisa
Sonny T.
Michael B.

sheila, hands down. girl sang, danced, acted and played the hell out of those drums

LISA.

Listen to her chords. she is ill.

or

Jesse - does he count?

tane1976 said:

Really then why aren't they bigger than Prince now. They have had years to achieve this objective but it still hasn't happen. They are great and I will admit that but they didn't set the scene on fire like so many thought. I am glad that their scoring jobs and session musicians jobs. Jesse was such a phenomenal guitarist but most of his solo cut there seems almost no guitar which I always thought was bizarre but live onstage he would cut it up.

mrbobgeorge said:

I will agree with that and Andre Cymone. But I will say my mellows Morris Hayes just cause he is my favorite of all of Prince bandmembers. But I am biased because he is a friend so I am absolutely not objective but he has been with Prince longer and than any other member unless you counted Sheila E. and she only appears occasionally.
[Edited 6/14/08 12:45pm]

Renato Neto for pure skill, Eric Leeds for Individuality

tane1976 said:

.....lol, only in your dreams.