] It has a warm, rich, clear sound and records well. Also have a Yamaha S90ES, Roland XP-80 (which I use for most gigs) and last year regained possession of my old 73-key Rhodes Mk II stage piano, which I may someday have restored. Virtual: Native Instruments B4, Pro-52. Just got Scarbee Keyboard Gold Bundle (Rhodes, Wurly, Clav).2. I don't really covet any keyboards right now; I'm pretty happy with what I have. Sometimes I think I'd like to get some hardware with lots of actual hardware knobs (in the vein of Evolver), so I could get a better feel for synth programming, but my other priorities - improving my piano, composing, and production skills - will probably take the rest of my life.
If money were no object, a hand-picked, well-maintained Steinway B might be nice. Or a high-end European grand. But I'm not pining - my Yamaha is great.
3. I don't have any unique MIDI controllers.
4. My slant is toward acoustic pianos.
5. Preferred genres: tough one. Jazz - not necessarily straight-ahead bebop-based styles, but harder to define hybrids like my old favorites Oregon and Pat Metheny Group, and some ECM stuff. Brazilian jazz-pop (an almost ideal blend of sophisticated harmony, compelling rhythm, and great arranging); AfroCuban music. Oh yeah, there's also New Orleans funk, and some rock, and on and on.
6. Keith Jarrett, more for his standards playing than solo improvs or classical interpretations.
Herbie Hancock, more for his straight-ahead playing than his electronic excursions (though his Rhodes solo on Chameleon is a classic). Some of his recent stuff doesn't do much for me, but his Blue Note recordings from the 60s and his work with Miles Davis are phenomenal.
Lyle Mays is one of my faves, not just a great pianist but an incredible synthesist/arranger/composer, whose work in combining piano with electronic instruments (and, in performance, MIDI) with the PMG is, to me, unequalled and perhaps under-appreciated. Check out his piano solos on 'Proof' (both on 'Speaking of Now' CD and concert DVD); and the synth solo on 'Imaginary Day' with its incredible morphing tone. Oh, and the cascades of synth ostinatos in the background of the intro to 'The Way Up,' a brilliant composition based on a 3-note motif (as he explained in Keyboard magazine a few years ago). Works for me on multiple levels.
Now for a left turn: in AfroCuban music, my favorite contemporary montuno player, hands down, is Cesar ('Pupy') Pedroso. He was with the great Cuban dance band Los Van Van from the 70s till the early 2000s, and now leads his own incredible band 'Los Que Son, Son.' In such a restrictive form as montuno playing, it's hard to be original, but Pupy's montunos are completely unique, like mini-compositions. They can be hard to hear in the dense mix of those bands, but to me they're little gems that are worth digging out. He's a great writer-arranger, too, and a good soloist, though soloing isn't where he stands out. Of his band's CDst: 'Que Cosas Tiene La Vida' and 'El Buenagente' are my faves.
One of my other favorite Cuban pianists is Luis Martinez Grignan ('LilÃ'). A contemporary of Ruben Gonzales, he died in 1990, well before the Buena Vista Social Club craze, but back in the day he was generally considered the stronger pianist, from what I've learned. His short solos on old Arsenio Rodriquez and Chappottin recordings are a gold mine of Latin piano.
In pop music, I used to listen to Little Feat a lot, and enjoyed Bill Payne's playing. Oh, and of course Stevie Wonder. I can't necessarily separate his playing from his songwriting - it's all part of a seamless whole.
I could go on, but it's time to get back to work!
