There are a few solo piano entries in the jazz aristocrats extensive discography (most notably, perhaps, 1953s The Duke Plays Ellington) that reveal the full extent of Ellingtons skills. Hmm, didnt see Kenny Barron there, yall must not dig that muscular style. My exact thought when reading this naive list. [4], Kanno attended Waseda University, where she majored in literature, but she transcribed music for various student groups at Waseda in her free time. Mary Lou Williams I could add hundred of very good pianists but i think that the top 5 is rather well defined.Astonishing musicians who reinvented the piano and had theyr own convincing style.To Arrange for piano is a very complicated and extremely interesting art . Whats the reason for his omission. Each episode is named after a famous band or genre of music, from episode 1 Asteroid Blues to episode 5 Ballad of Fallen Angels, a tribute to the Aerosmith song of the same name. Your email address will not be published. Tete Montoliu belongs very high on the list. He joined the Frankie Fairfax Orchestra not long after, and then relocated to New York City, where he performed with Teddy Hill and Edgar Hayes in the late 1930s. That marks nearly 18 years of Cowboy Bebop on Adult Swim. He would be more appropriate as a person in the TOP 50 for BLUES pianists. This article was most recently revised and updated by, bop, or bebop - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Where dime piece wizes, had they legs in the air Though influenced by the romanticism of Bill Evans, theres always been a palpable Latin inflection to Coreas music, which has ranged from straight-ahead jazz to electric fusion (he led the jazz-rock behemoth Return To Forever in the 70s). Fred Hersch is missing. While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, everyone hears beautiful music as it appeals to their ear. From Allentown, Pennsylvania, Jarrett started playing piano at the age of two and rapidly blossomed into a precociously gifted child prodigy steeped in classical music. All Rights Reserved. Pianists are musicians and musicians are artists and not marathon runners, tennis players or race car drivers. Shes an awesome pianist. Agree with most of the picks, but Gene Harris and Beegie Adair should have been included. Dave Grusiin and Bob James? BTW, no Denny Zeitlin? He wasnt a jazz pianist and he was more of a composer than a performer anyways. Ahmad Jamal We are comparing piano players,musicians and arrangers. Davis liked Garland for his Ahmad Jamal-like lightness of touch and use of space. . If in all this beautiful list there was no place for lennie tristano who wrote this list should do some homework. ", She explained: "High-energy jazz tends to stick out and be a lot more deliberately present in a TV or film soundtrack than luscious, classical-style orchestral music, because it is straying away from the more 'establishment' European and Hollywood film scoring traditions. Diana Krall? Bebop took the harmonies of the old jazz and superimposed on them additional substituted chords. I was having a drink one evening with Frank Strazerri and he said George Gershwin could cut me. Someone will always come along and refute it. In short, I suggest you might devise a poll based on categories such as as harmonic creativity, melodic creativity, originality, interpretation, composition and form building, playing technique, influence on other musicians etc etc. Danny Zeitlin? Lamont Jhonson,Rubalcaba,Phineas Newborn Jr.. Great artists- but I miss Erroll Garner !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Burt Bacharach, legendary composer of pop songs, dies at 94 Burt Bacharach was an eight-time Grammy winner, a prize-winning Broadway composer for Promises, Promises and a three-time Oscar winner. Thank you for putting Barry Harris on the list. His own discography contains just one solo album, 1991s Kenny Kirkland, for GRP, though its likely that, had he not died prematurely, aged 43, from congestive heart failure, Kirkland would have recorded many more solo albums. Alexander Von Schlippenbach, Aki Takase, Marilyn Crispell, Paul Bley, Joel Futterman, Connie Crothers, Stanley Cowell, Sun Ra, Fred Van Hove, Mal Waldron, Misha Mengelberg, Don Pullen, Alice Coltrane and so many more. I feel John Lewis is most underrated here. Jazz Pianists? And no Billy Taylor? As to rhythmn, as they say in NY, Forget about it. I don't create by saying, 'I must create a classical piece here,' or 'I must create a jazz piece here.' Maybe swap with Monk POR LO VISTO NO ENTRAN MUJERES, LAS MENCIONADAS Y HAZEL SCOTT. Monk is in the Pantheon, not for his playing, but for the totality that he brings to the genre. Many people speak of bebop as a revolution in Jazz. I think the list captured most of the major players, missed a few that I would have included McPartland and Newborn to name a couple and some of the rankings are idiosyncratic. Clare Fischer??? Maybe others should be on the list, and maybe the order should be rearranged, but one thing you got for sure Art Tatum absolute #1! Bebop itself as a genre was so opposite and out there in comparison to the classic swing style of jazz. Bebop is a heavily improvisational style of jazz, known for sudden and frequent key changes. Molten melodic lines poured out of him in a rapid-fire torrent of improvisation that took virtuosity to a new level. Charlie Parker lids blow hot like boiling tea pot Everyone obsesses on his 61 Vanguard recording, but his valedictory was jazz equivalent of Mozarts or Verdis Requieman 8-night stand in San Francisco, ending a week before his death in NYC. Donald Macleod and Geoffrey Smith visit the engine-room of jazz - the rhythm section - and in particular, Bebop's two key drummers, Kenny 'Klook-Mop' Clarke and Max Roach. I would not put Monk at #2. He should at least be in the top-10. This amazing musician has got to be the most overlooked jazz pianist of all time! When he was 18 years old, Gillespie moved with his family to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Art Tatum Buddy DeFranco - clarinet. Below is a quick comparison between Swing music and Bebop. Come on. His use of a Latin rhythm marked a rare departure from the standard walking bass line of 1940s jazz. does anyone think Herbie should be moved lower for inflicting Watermelon Man on the worldand still playing it in public in the 20-teens? : WebBebop Composer of the Week Donald Macleod is joined by writer and broadcaster Geoffrey Smith to explore the jazz mode of bebop. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgckQmjUtcU. Show the man some love please. At the pinnacle of our list of the 50 best jazz pianists of all time is the man regarded as a keyboard deity. Cecil Taylor Ellis Marsalis is a trumpet man, I believe. Its worth noting that tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins anticipated the improv aspect of bebop when he recorded the song Body & Soul in 1939, in which he briefly stated the main melody before embarking on a long improvisation that bore little resemblance to the main theme. the astounding Bill Evans. He played on Tranes totemic 1960 masterpiece, Giant Steps, and as a sideman also featured on significant LPs by Sonny Rollins (Saxophone Colossus) and guitarist Wes Montgomery (The Incredible Jazz Guitar Of Wes Montgomery). Thats the real big challenge the piano presents. Gillespie's own big band, which performed from 1946 to 1950, was his masterpiece, affording him scope as both soloist and showman. Any of these women in my opinion were superior to several names on this list: Marian McPartland, Mary Lou Williams, Joanne Brackeen, Renee Rosnes, Eliane Elias, Geri Allen, Jessica Williams, Hiromi, and a few others. I really think this is difficult work. Newsletter: Secret China dinos conspiracy, I love how your voice is in all of our heads: How TikTok came to love and fear Everybodys so creative, NOTHING is better than REMOTE work! Mc Coy Tyner Looking for other, s influences are worn broadly and proudly, but perhaps none as proudly as the tribute in episode 22, Cowboy Funk. During the. Dizzy Gillespie, known for his "swollen" cheeks and signature (uniquely angled) trumpet's bell, got his start in the mid-1930s by working in prominent swing bands, including those of Benny Carter and Charlie Barnet. [citation needed], Apart from anime and games, Kanno also composes for live-action films and television commercials. Pete Johnson 3. From 1937 to 1944, Gillespie performed with prominent swing bands, including those of Benny Carter and Charlie Barnet. Patrice Rushin? Keith Jarrett is fantastic pianist, but Chick Corea is most powerfull composer, phenomenal jazz pianist and equal with Herbie Hancock! And the musicians that jammed there included Jazz greats like Ben Webster, Charlie Christian, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, and Charlie Parker. Don Shirley? After Tatum, Monk, Lyrical Bill, there is a swarm of fine contenders. I still cant fathom how VInce Guaraldi didnt get on the list. Dizzy Gillespie. There isn't one genre I like more than the others. How about Monty Alexander, Nina Simone, Dr Billy Taylor, Les McCann, Denny Zeitlin & Organist, Jimmy Smith? But bebop or rebop, as it was also known for a time wasnt to everyones taste. His final recording Gene Harris Live at Otter Creek is his best album. He is also a graduate of the same program that I graduated from (YORK UNIVERSITY, BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS-MUSIC MAJOR). Long dresses, and they silk brassiere. 7.Alan Toussant In a stroke of fate, the universe made sure things started coming together for them exactly three years ago. Allen Toussaint (Bright Mississippi). This isnt true. And it quickly became quite competitive. Though he gleaned much from the left-hand stride-style of Art Tatum, alto saxophonist and bebop architect Charlie Parker was Powells main inspiration. Have to agree that these names could fit in there somewhere. A Night in Tunisiaplays a very, very important role in being one of the first compositions to have something thats very common today, which is a non-walking bass line, trumpeterJon Faddissays. Grusin went on to become a prolific composer of movie scores was a highly-regarded bebop pianist and composer who enjoyed a long and fruitful association Two of their log in sites told me the site was not secure. What about Herbie Nichols and Kenny Drew, both of them brilliant pianists. In jazz, the horns the saxophones and trumpets have traditionally been the musics glamour instruments and its main focus. While the shows censorship in America made sense as a cautious response to 9/11, the series struggles in Japan were another matter. No list of seminal, great pianists can be taken seriously if it omits the artist who, more than anyone else, shared and lived the aesthetic of the Romantic poet John Keats (from Ode on a Grecian UrnBeauty is Truth; Truth Is Beautythe counsel Bill issued to Tony Bennett in 1978). Oscar Peterson 3 McCoy Tyner 33 Lyle Mays Emerging in the bebop dawn of the mid-to-late 40s, he pursued his own idiosyncratic path, creating a unique musical universe where angular but hummable melodies, dissonant cluster chords, and a lightly-swinging rhythmic pulse ruled. Gillespies earliest professional jobs were with the Frankie Fairfax band, where he reportedly picked up the nickname Dizzy because of his outlandish antics. Disappointing to see that no one has mentioned Satoko Fujii so far. Thanks to the hyper-realistic gun designs used in the show, fans have been able to figure out exactly what heat everyone is packing. Thanks for publishing this. Wild Horses also contains a hidden Babe Ruth, When we meet our heroes, theyre in the process of getting their lives in order after a period of chaos. He played as a sideman for Billy Eckstine and Charlie Parker, and was in bluesman Eddie Vinsons band alongside a young John Coltrane. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. But the big name often overlooked is Sonny Clark unmatched feel. Watching Spikes exasperation over Miles obsession with baseball is a treat, but it isnt the only baseball content in the episode. Lists such as these are never definitive but are made to be debated and argued; to think of them in any other way is pointless. 4. Fats Waller Earl Hines Erroll Garner 17 ?????? By the 70s, though, James star was on the rise thanks to his being the in-house arranger at producer Creed Taylors influential CTI label. Barbara Carroll? Earl Hines would hold the No.1 spot for me. 3: Nat King Cole He patented a technically advanced, uniquely florid style from an early age that melded elements from stride, swing and classical music. Here are 12 facts you didn't know about Cowboy Bebop. But he was all arpeggio and flash . ARE YOU GUYS BLIND!! He became immediately recognizable from the unusual shape of his trumpet, with the bell tilted upward at a 45-degree anglethe result of someone accidentally sitting on it in 1953, but to good effect, for when he played it afterward, he discovered that its new shape improved the instrument's sound quality, and he had it incorporated into all his trumpets thereafter. As we just saw, Bebop developed naturally in jam sessions. WhileGillespie himself was a skilled arranger (successful at creating scores for the rich wall of sound that trumpets, trombones and saxophones offer), bebop somehow manages to make do with less. Not one great jazz piano played by a woman???? The question is ridiculous, because it is impossible to answer. Other than that, might as well throw darts. Though Miles Davis tried to poach him (Zawinul worked on Miles groundbreaking In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew albums at the end of the 60s), the pianist stayed with Cannonball until 1970 and then co-founded famed fusion pioneers Weather Report. Oh yea dont forget Bobby Timmons!!!!! Calm down now. The episodes were eventually aired by the channel. Our music is going to be the classical music of the future.. Ultimately, it conveys all the complexity and passion of jazz in an intimate space., In addition to the differences in composition and sound, the bebop style truly embodied Black Americans pushback against societal boundaries. With the rise of avant-garde jazz, the music continued to shed its mainstream appeal, though every now and then the occasional jazz record would infiltrate the pop charts. As well as being famed for her work on Cowboy Bebop, the Japanese composer has written scores for many popular anime series, including Wolf's Rain and Space Dandy. Gillespie composed most of the albums recordings, including Serenade to Sweden, Sophisticated Lady and Johnny Come Lately. Sans vouloir oublier le pass, (je me souviens des concert live de Michel a Miramas et sur le port de Cassis) Gillespie died on January 6, 1993, at age 75, in Englewood, New Jersey. Agree..many left off.Marian especially.A d what a out Joanne Brackeen?Phenomenal. Let It Snow!: Dean Martins Classic Christmas Song, Come As You Are: The Story Behind The Nirvana Song, Glen Campbell, Shaggy, And Lil Wayne: Currently Trending Songs, Weighty In The Eighties: When Prog Rock Went Pop. Anyone who can make Mack The Knife sound interesting must be good!! Anyone else own the album Mingus Plays Piano? Even so, Brubeck could still play with imagination and elegance, and often composed music using unusual and asymmetrical time signatures. No Ellis Larkins? (Cowboy Bebop), "Yakusoku wa Iranai" (Escaflowne), "Gravity" (Wolf's Rain), "Inner Universe" (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) and Stand Alone Complex O.S.T. Duke is like Monk, inimitableand of course, that partly comes from being a great composer first of all. Any top 50 list will be flawed, but BY FAR the greatest oversight was to not include Hampton Hawes! Musicians generally work in the evenings. While I dont agree with all the choices/rankings (who does??) "The music of Charlie Parker and me laid a foundation for all the music that is being played now," Gillespie said years later. Here is just a sampling of his work and there is much more on youtube. Claude Bolling Theyre all truly great,just in the wrong order. Over the course of its 26 episodes. His shoes were filled by Max Roach, a percussion virtuoso who absorbed and extended Clarke's innovations. He influenced a generation;one notable was Dudley Moore who could imitate Errolls playing very well esp the left hand-but nobody has ever quite sounded the same though Errolls brother said there was a Tommy? And I am surprised that Brad Mehldau was not mentioned . I bet jazz lovers could come with a 100s of great pianists but of course the ones at the top He started as an orthodox stride-style player but soon introduced innovations. He didnt travel extensively, but he was good enough to replace Oscar in Ray Browns band. But his playing is mechanical and soulless. a list of 36 jazz pianists with no Tristano, Billy Taylor of Timmons is completely stupid. In the late 1950s, Gillespie performed with Ellington, Paul Gonsalves and Johnny Hodges on EllingtonsJazz Party(1959). And cant believe you didnt include Ellis Larkins aka Mr. Feather Fingers. Ok, you gave us a Braxton and Threadgill set..MORE??? Two other people mentioned Clare Fischer. Count Basie said Earl Hines was, ..the greatest piano-player int the world. FILE - Composer Burt Bacharach performs in Milan, Italy on July 16, 2011. You can always make the case for any of these folks but as time goes on people forget the greats of a somewhat earlier day. JOHN BALLYANTYNE!! 2 / 5 Donald Macleod focuses on the 'yin and yang' of bebop, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. After Coltrane, Tyner established himself as one of contemporary jazzs pre-eminent pianists with a series of astounding albums for Blue Note and, later, Milestone. It would not matter who is on the list. And, of the younger generation, Robert Glasper. Johnny Costa is comparable to Art Tatum. The list goes on ,doesnt it? Kirkland also played with jazz greats, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and drummer Elvin Jones, in the 80s, and appeared on five albums by ex-Police frontman, Sting. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Nevertheless, we must find a way to include several outstanding persons not on the list, in my order of priority they are: Johnny Oneal, Phineas Newborn Jr, Terry Pollard and Mulgrew Miller.