Jazz and Blues Lounge

Piano Men and Women

by balaspa on December 28th, 2007

The death of Oscar Peterson got me thinking about jazz pianists recently.  As you may have known from reading past posts, I tend to be a man who is a fan of the horns.  However, if you read carefully, you will notice that I stray into other instruments from time to time.  I am a Lionel Hampton fan, for example, and he played the vibes.

I do enjoy jazz pianists.  However, who are the ones you should focus on?  Around here, I do try to imagine that people new to jazz stop by and check things out and, maybe, something I write will make them explore this genre of music.

Jelly Roll Morton was probably the first big deal jazz piano player.  I wrote about him on here somewhere.  He claimed to be the inventor of jazz.  While that may be in dispute, what you cannot dispute is that without Jelly jazz wouldn’t be what it is today.  He was also, without a doubt, a truly talented composter and piano player.

If you are even remotely interested in jazz, it won’t take you long before you come across the name Thelonius Monk.  Not only is that one of the greatest names EVER, he was one of the greatest and most influential jazz musicians of all time.  His tunes are still covered to this day.  If you don’t have at least some Monk in your collection of jazz, then your collection of jazz has a big, gaping hole in it.

Earl “Fatha” Hines is right up on the Mt. Rushmore of great jazz piano players.  He is one of my personal favorites.  He was given the nickname “Fatha” out of respect from people who thought he was one of the greatest ever.  He was.  Again, you need to have at least one Earl Hines recording.

Herbie Hancock is a guy who got some of his “training” under the great Miles Davis.  He also scored a huge pop hit in the 80s with the song “Rock It.”  He is still playing and recently opened the Chicago Jazz Festival with a concert where he played along with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  He is a truly talented man who has made some of the most impressive music of the latter half of the twentieth century.

Keith Jarrett is one of my personal favorites.  Back when I was working at that jazz radio station, myself and another DJ got into a little contest to see who could get away with playing the longest jazz tune.  I managed to play one of Keith’s work in which the album was four records, with one song on each side.  Needless to say, I got in trouble for playing something almost a half-hour long.  Keith is great, but has an annoying habit of singing along with the notes he plays.  I cannot possibly describe the sound, but it can get on your nerves very quickly.

Diana Krall is a vocalist.  I am not  big on vocalists, so I cannot say for sure how much I like Diana.  I know she is married to Elvis Costello, so that gives her some cred in my book.  Still, what I have heard has made me think she has the potential to stick around and become a true jazz great somewhere down the road.  From what little I have heard, she has some talent at the keyboard.  I just wish she didn’t open her mouth so much.

Those are just a few of my favorites.  As always, I LOVE hearing YOUR favorites.  I absolutely love discovering new music through this blog and from your suggestions.  It’s part of why I do this and part of what makes a blog so cool.

So, please, feel free to leave your suggestions.

POSTED IN: Bands, Chicago, jazz, records