Who are some of your favorite piano players ? Of course the number one pick would have to be Prince. Also, Ray Charles was a wonderful player. I would also have to include Alicia Keys and John Legend in this category . Name some more great key players .

nurse said:

No, it wouldn't have to be. He's good, but I wouldn't even list him as a favorite. I much prefer him as a guitarist.

Stevie Wonder
Patrice Rushen
Steve Winwood
Liberace (laugh, but the dude was a genius at the keys)
Jerry Lee Lewis
Hazel Scott
Little Richard
Elton John
Roberta Flack

Those are the popular ones I like. Then there are the great jazz pianists that I don't even know much about.

RipHer2Shreds said:

Stevie Wonder and Elton John .

Of course Prince is one of the best! Just listen to Madhouse 8 and the song 4 especially. Another REALLY good piano player is Nobuo Uematsu who does music for the Final Fantasy games and movies.

FunkJam said:

These are great songs and even though I don't know the artist-they are worthy of a mention because the music for these games are wonderful .

Well most of my first choices would come from the world of jazz

Duke ellington
Count Basie
Bud Powell
Thelonious Monk
Oscar Peterson
Herbie Hancock
Bill Evans
Dave Brubeck
Art Tatum (this guy'll blow your mind)
Eddie Palmieri
McCoy Tyner

Some from other genres

Ivory Joe Hunter (funk brothers)
Nicky Hopkins (with the Who, The rolling stones and others)
Ray Charles
Stevie Wonder
Donny Hathaway
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (se the variations of A vous dire je maman)
Rachmaninoff (duh)
Lizt
Earl Van Dyke (funk brothers)
Bernie Worrell
Sly Stone (not super high on the technical side maybe, but I love his style on piano and organ)

I can't even list the numbers of great pianopeople I love,
so I just name one. Duke Ellington.Pure genious!
/peace Manki

manki said:

nurse said:

Oh yes, his piano intro to Take the A-train is among my favorite pieces of music ever. Duke may not be as technically proficient as some of the other jazz guys, but in terms of pure feel he's definitely my favorite.

jacktheimprovident said:

Great list, I'd add Beethoven, Pintop Perkins, Otis Span, Joe Turner and Doctor John

Keith Jarrett
Patrice Rushen
Joe Sample
Herbie Hancock
Eliane Elias
Kenny Barron
Stevie Wonder
Bob James

Don't forget Ben Folds. I cannot forget nobody mentioned Rentato Neto. He plays his fucking ass off. why do you think Prince loves him? He comes close to outplaying him.

Other than dozens of the ones already mentioned...

Richard Smallwood

Stevie and Elton I would imagine are great

Ray was obviously great

Beyond what was said, Billy Joel comes to mind..

I'm going through a very heavy Keith Jarrett phase this week ( just the solo piano stuff)...if only he weren't so arrogant, sometimes I have a problem listening to him because he behaves like an ass. However, his recording of 'I Love You Porgy' from "The Melody at Night, With You" will rip you apart

jacktheimprovident said:

Technically or not never meant anything to me.It's how soulful your playing
is that important.Duke Ellington was a musical genious just by his incredible arrangments,but it was when hearing recordings of him just alone playing
his stuff on the piano.So haunting,soulful & beutiful it totally floored me.
Of course he was a master composer also.
/peace Manki

I think Jazz players would send most other categories to school... No one mentioned Chick Corea, Art Tatum, and there's a new 18 yr.old prodigy named Eldar Djangirov who is PHENOMINAL!

For varying feels and styles, these tend to be my faves...

Chick Corea
Marcus Roberts
Herbie Hancock
Aretha Franklin
Joe Sample
Greg Phillinganes
Michael O. Jackson
Lisa Coleman
Patrice Rushen
George Duke
Natalie Merchant
Oscar Peterson
Brad Mehldau

Oscar & Brad edit.
[Edited 6/22/06 23:21pm]

2freaky4church1 said:

I'd have to disagree. Renato comes off as a consummate pianist, compared with Prince's tasteful skills. RN burns.

sdekm1 said:

hey I mentioned art tatum

ThreadBare said:

I totally second that opnion.Renato got these technical skills,but
personally his playing don't touch me.Dr Fink is my hero!
/peace Manki

manki said:

No, i meant the opposite. RN would school P.

jacktheimprovident said:

Whooops! Missed it!

Monty Alexander

Billy Joel
Listen to the intro to "Angry Young Man," or the piano solo in the middle of "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant." That is some crazy shit. The man is good.
He's classical piano works should also be mentioned, he didn't perform them, and I know they were too difficult for him to play, but he wrote them, and that's some good musicianship right there.

Billy Joel is much better than Stevie Wonder. But, don't get me wrong, I love him too.

Slave2daGroove said:

How do you know Beethoven was so good?
You've never heard him play, have you?

As I am classically trained on the piano myself, my choices are from the world of classical music:

Glenn Gould
Evgeni Koroliov (completely underrated, he's a genius)
Vladimir Horowitz
Lang Lang (if I want to hear virtuosity)
Daniel Barenboim
[Edited 6/23/06 4:21am]

jacktheimprovident said:

Wonderful.

Also, Earl Hines.

Don't forget Roy Bittan from the E-Street Band; he's one of the finest rock n roll piano players around. The things he does on Live at Hammersmith 75 are amazing.