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richardh View Drop Down
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Originally posted by deafmoon deafmoon wrote:

Vittori Nocenzi - BANCO
Keith Emerson, - ELP
Rick Wakeman, - YES
Patrick Moraz, - YES
Tony Banks, - GENESIS
Don Airey, - RAINBOW
Thijis Van Leer, - FOCUS
John Evans, - TULL
Gianni Nocenzi, - BANCO
Jon Lord, - DEEP PURPLE
Tony Kaye, - YES, BADGER, DETECTIVE
Martin Orford,- IQ
 

great list especially as you include Don Airey who is often overlooked. Have you heard his work in Colosseum II? Well worth checking out. He gets a chance to show off a bit more. The Scorch is a high point and there are loads of tracks where he 'spars' with the late great Gary  Moore
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Originally posted by resurrection resurrection wrote:

Originally posted by FunkyHomoSapien FunkyHomoSapien wrote:

Emerson and Wakeman automatic, but what about the guy who influenced them both? And many more besides, Rock's first lead keyboard player, Billy Ritchie.  

Yes I agree in terms of importance and quality - He had Emerson and Wakeman and many others in his wake - but strictly speaking, does Ritchie qualify as a pure Prog keyboardist? His real influence was pre-Prog.

Billy Ritchie practically invented Prog. But didn't hang around for the results.
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Wakeman, Emerson, and Wright all the way baby
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Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

Originally posted by deafmoon deafmoon wrote:


Don Airey, - RAINBOW


great list especially as you include Don Airey who is often overlooked. Have you heard his work in Colosseum II? Well worth checking out. He gets a chance to show off a bit more. The Scorch is a high point and there are loads of tracks where he 'spars' with the late great Gary  Moore


An obscure prog fact about Don Airey, he was the keyboardist on Jethro Tull's Crest of a Knave tour Wink
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verslibre View Drop Down
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Originally posted by The.Crimson.King The.Crimson.King wrote:


Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:


Originally posted by deafmoon deafmoon wrote:



Don Airey, - RAINBOW

great list especially as you include Don Airey who is often overlooked. Have you heard his work in Colosseum II? Well worth checking out. He gets a chance to show off a bit more. The Scorch is a high point and there are loads of tracks where he 'spars' with the late great Gary  Moore

An obscure prog fact about Don Airey, he was the keyboardist on Jethro Tull's Crest of a Knave tour Wink


I saw the Rock Island tour and Martin Allcock handled all the keyboards (and played a bass solo in one spot). That would've been cool to see Don.

Don's recent solo recording A Light In The Sky is a killer rock album in the Deep Purple/Rainbow tradition!
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The.Crimson.King View Drop Down
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Originally posted by verslibre verslibre wrote:

Originally posted by The.Crimson.King The.Crimson.King wrote:


Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:


Originally posted by deafmoon deafmoon wrote:



Don Airey, - RAINBOW

great list especially as you include Don Airey who is often overlooked. Have you heard his work in Colosseum II? Well worth checking out. He gets a chance to show off a bit more. The Scorch is a high point and there are loads of tracks where he 'spars' with the late great Gary  Moore

An obscure prog fact about Don Airey, he was the keyboardist on Jethro Tull's Crest of a Knave tour Wink


I saw the Rock Island tour and Martin Allcock handled all the keyboards (and played a bass solo in one spot). That would've been cool to see Don.

Don's recent solo recording A Light In The Sky is a killer rock album in the Deep Purple/Rainbow tradition!

I recall him doing a keyboard solo at that show.  It was mostly sequencers and MIDI triggered things...probably considered passe these days but it was cool in 1987 Wink
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Popularity is the measuring stick being used here, not quality.
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So recently I saw a high-quality video of VDGG performing Childlike Faith in Childhood's End at a gig in 2010, and Hugh Banton is a freaking monster. I know I've made it no secret I'm a huge fan of the band, but gosh, it wasn't until I saw what he's been doing and STILL doing that it really put into context just how talented and accomplished a musician he really is. Emphasis on MUSICIAN.
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These have probably all been said, but:
Jon Lord
Hugh Banton
Tony Banks
Steve Walsh
Edgar Froese

And I'll throw in Kevin Moore because Wait for Sleep and Space Dye Vest are super fun to play



Edited by bloodnarfer - September 11 2013 at 14:11
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The.Crimson.King View Drop Down
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Originally posted by Neo-Romantic Neo-Romantic wrote:

So recently I saw a high-quality video of VDGG performing Childlike Faith in Childhood's End at a gig in 2010, and Hugh Banton is a freaking monster. I know I've made it no secret I'm a huge fan of the band, but gosh, it wasn't until I saw what he's been doing and STILL doing that it really put into context just how talented and accomplished a musician he really is. Emphasis on MUSICIAN.

Hugh is one of my favourite keyboardists and I rank his organ playing even above Emerson.  The organ tones he got on the VDGG albums were unbelievable.  What Emerson did for synth (exploring and creating new sounds) Hugh did for organ.  I think I read that he rebuilt his organs and effects processors himself.  Also, when not laying out the nightmare organ tones in VDGG, he worked restoring church/cathedral organs.  There's a great 1972 video from Belgian TV with the boys performing "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" that gives a pretty good look at Hugh's custom keyboards, sound and technique.

Enjoy Wink





Edited by The.Crimson.King - September 11 2013 at 13:03
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Gerinski View Drop Down
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Originally posted by The.Crimson.King The.Crimson.King wrote:

 I think I read that (Hugh Banton) rebuilt his organs and effects processors himself.  Also, when not laying out the nightmare organ tones in VDGG, he worked restoring church/cathedral organs.

Yes he worked many years as organ builder / mechanic and had his own organ building company.
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verslibre View Drop Down
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Originally posted by bloodnarfer bloodnarfer wrote:

Edgar Froese


On that note, how about Johannes Schmoelling? He's the guy responsible for those great Jupiter-8 synth leads on early 80s TD albums. His successor Paul Haslinger was also conservatory-trained, but he never came up with anything as cool as JS.
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I'd say Froese too.
Also
Klaus Schulze
Dave Sinclair
Irmin Schmidt
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Originally posted by The.Crimson.King The.Crimson.King wrote:

Originally posted by Neo-Romantic Neo-Romantic wrote:

So recently I saw a high-quality video of VDGG performing Childlike Faith in Childhood's End at a gig in 2010, and Hugh Banton is a freaking monster. I know I've made it no secret I'm a huge fan of the band, but gosh, it wasn't until I saw what he's been doing and STILL doing that it really put into context just how talented and accomplished a musician he really is. Emphasis on MUSICIAN.

Hugh is one of my favourite keyboardists and I rank his organ playing even above Emerson.  The organ tones he got on the VDGG albums were unbelievable.  What Emerson did for synth (exploring and creating new sounds) Hugh did for organ.  I think I read that he rebuilt his organs and effects processors himself.  Also, when not laying out the nightmare organ tones in VDGG, he worked restoring church/cathedral organs.  There's a great 1972 video from Belgian TV with the boys performing "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" that gives a pretty good look at Hugh's custom keyboards, sound and technique.

Enjoy Wink



Man I love that video. Thanks for posting it to remind me of all its magic and splendor. Smile He actually looks kind of like my younger brother.
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For me... (in no particular order...)

Vittori Nocenzi - BANCO
Keith Emerson, - ELP
Rick Wakeman, - YES
Patrick Moraz, - YES
Tony Banks, - GENESIS
Charly García - SUI GENERIS, LA MÁQUINA DE HACER PÁJAROS, SERÚ GIRÁN
Thijis Van Leer, - FOCUS
Rik Van Der Linden - EKSEPTION, TRACE
Gianni Nocenzi, - BANCO
Jon Lord, - DEEP PURPLE
Toni Pagliuca - LE ORME
Matt Bellamy - MUSE
Kerry Minear - GENTLE GIANT
Serge Locat - HARMONIUM
Lutz Rahn - NOVALIS
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richardh View Drop Down
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Originally posted by verslibre verslibre wrote:

Originally posted by bloodnarfer bloodnarfer wrote:

Edgar Froese


On that note, how about Johannes Schmoelling? He's the guy responsible for those great Jupiter-8 synth leads on early 80s TD albums. His successor Paul Haslinger was also conservatory-trained, but he never came up with anything as cool as JS.

Agreed. I really like that era of TD from Pergamon to Le Parc. 
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verslibre View Drop Down
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Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:


Originally posted by verslibre verslibre wrote:

Originally posted by bloodnarfer bloodnarfer wrote:

Edgar Froese


On that note, how about Johannes Schmoelling? He's the guy responsible for those great Jupiter-8 synth leads on early 80s TD albums. His successor Paul Haslinger was also conservatory-trained, but he never came up with anything as cool as JS.

Agreed. I really like that era of TD from Pergamon to Le Parc.


It's amazing. Every note recorded therein is indispensable. That era had the overall richest sound palette, too. Their studio contained an astounding number of instruments and hardware pieces.
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Originally posted by verslibre verslibre wrote:

Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:


Originally posted by verslibre verslibre wrote:

Originally posted by bloodnarfer bloodnarfer wrote:

Edgar Froese


On that note, how about Johannes Schmoelling? He's the guy responsible for those great Jupiter-8 synth leads on early 80s TD albums. His successor Paul Haslinger was also conservatory-trained, but he never came up with anything as cool as JS.

Agreed. I really like that era of TD from Pergamon to Le Parc.


It's amazing. Every note recorded therein is indispensable. That era had the overall richest sound palette, too. Their studio contained an astounding number of instruments and hardware pieces.


It's cool to see this TD era get some love, although I am far from being a fan myself. Pergamon, or Quichotte as I know it, is brilliant though. It captures the past TD with those two long pieces beautifully, and then marries them with the 80s new flip flopping electronics. My fave TD record of the 80s hands down. I also quite like Hyperborea and Exit, but for my money they're no way near the majestic occult spacy surrealism of Alpha Centauri through Rubycon. 
Just my preference thoughSmile
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'Underwater Sunlight' is an inspired piece of 80's electronic-prog. The piano passage from Haslinger at the start of 'Song Of The Whale (part 2) is pure beauty.
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Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:


Originally posted by verslibre verslibre wrote:

Originally posted by bloodnarfer bloodnarfer wrote:

Edgar Froese


On that note, how about Johannes Schmoelling? He's the guy responsible for those great Jupiter-8 synth leads on early 80s TD albums. His successor Paul Haslinger was also conservatory-trained, but he never came up with anything as cool as JS.

Agreed. I really like that era of TD from Pergamon to Le Parc. 


I shall second that.
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