piano players

[subvert47]

non-jazz:
Pascal Rogé (for french music)

especially Poulenc

Walter Gieseking - old school, his recordings of debussy are fine..

also Peter Frankl

Rubenstein for Chopin...!

I prefer Daniel Barenboim
especially the Nocturnes and his 1976 version of the Preludes

Glenn Gould - bach, bach, and bach

and everything else he ever recorded
e.g. Brahms Intermezzi are very fine

other pianists...

John Ogdon — his recording of Messiaen's Vingt Régards is unparalleled; also for Beethoven's various piano variations

Peter Hill — for Messiaen (except Vingt Régards of course)

Joanna MacGregor
Maurizio Pollini

 

[dHarry]

I´va had a basic introduction to jazz, but have been looking to get into it more. The sheer amount available is a bit overwhelming, so what piano player should i start with (non vocal jazz please).
Much appreciated.

there's no single one! But most of these will also get you seminal jazz recordings featuring trumpet & sax work from some greats:

Bud Powell, Horace Silver, Ahmad Jahmal, Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, Red Garland (fantastic on the Miles Davis Quintet 50's albums, I must get around to his subsequent trio work), Herbie Hancock (his own 60's albums, everything with Miles Davis from Seven Steps To Heaven to Miles In The Sky, 70's VSOP quintet), McCoy Tyner (everything with Coltrane, must get around to his subsequent work), Keith Jarret

out there: Cecil Taylor

 

[Jezmi]

Great, thanks for that.

 

[jenks]

How could i forget Chick Corea?

Stuff with taht great Miles band and then Return to Forever.

He also made a good album with Herbie

Not a piano player but Jimmy Scott on his mighty hammond

 

[Rambler]

other pianists...

John Ogdon — his recording of Messiaen's Vingt Régards is unparalleled; also for Beethoven's various piano variations

Peter Hill — for Messiaen (except Vingt Régards of course)

Pierre-Laurent Aimard runs em both very close on Messiaen; one of my great musical regrets was not going to a Sunday afternoon performance of Aimard playing Vingt Regards a few years back - I had a ticket but felt too knackered. Turned out by all accounts to have been one of the all-time great Messiaen recitals. Damn. Aimard also exceptionally good on Ligeti and Kurtag. You have to see him play the Ligeti Etudes.

But Kurtag himself is the man for his own music - the ECM CD of him and his wife duetting his own music is absolutely essential.

Also - Andras Schiff: my man for Bach
Alfred Brendel: my man for Beethoven

Nicolas Hodges, Ian Pace - two youner(ish) generation players with excellent avant garde tastes and superlative technique.

Old school - John Tilbury

RIP school - David Tudor

 

[shudder]

only heard Shiff's Bach on the radio, but I've always liked it.

As for my Rubenstein chopin, I know it's not at all the 'best' chopin, and sometimes i even find it distinctly odd (or at odds with my reading of the scores), but there's something really compelling about the aesthetic of his playing..

I've been meaning to give the vingt regards a good listen. I've heard much praise for Aimard, but I don't think I know any of his recordings. Basically all I know of Messiaen is Turangalila, The Quartet for the End of time, and assorted organ pieces I've heard. I would love to dig into his piano music. (is any of it playable by a moderate-level pianist??)

I very much second the Beethoven Brendel thing, but that could just be b/c I saw him play when I was young and impressionable.

is anyone else shocked at the amazing technical proficiency of young pianists these days, btw???

 

[subvert47]

I've been meaning to give the vingt regards a good listen. I've heard much praise for Aimard, but I don't think I know any of his recordings. Basically all I know of Messiaen is Turangalila, The Quartet for the End of time, and assorted organ pieces I've heard. I would love to dig into his piano music. (is any of it playable by a moderate-level pianist??)

yes. I can play a few of the vingt regards
and others I would never be able to play if I practised for 20 years

 

[shudder]

yes. I can play a few of the vingt regards
and others I would never be able to play if I practised for 20 years

cool! Maybe i'll check a copy of the score out of the school library sometime..

oh, and re: Pierre-Laurent Aimard. I just dug up my copy of turangalila and listened to it today b/c of this thread, and saw that he plays the piano part of my recording (with nagano and the berlin philharmonic). I wasn't paying huge attention, but some of his playing is breathtaking.

 

[subvert47]

oh, and re: Pierre-Laurent Aimard. I just dug up my copy of turangalila and listened to it today b/c of this thread, and saw that he plays the piano part of my recording (with nagano and the berlin philharmonic). I wasn't paying huge attention, but some of his playing is breathtaking.

not heard that version

I have Michel Béroff & Jeanne Loriod with André Previn and the LSO

and I saw/heard Peter Donohoe & Tristan Murail do it with Simon Rattle & the CBSO

both very fine

 

[Woebot]

andrew hill

 

[subvert47]

cool! Maybe i'll check a copy of the score out of the school library sometime..

also check out Poulenc's Novelettes. The one in C is a miracle of what can be achieved with such limited means. C Major has never sounded so beautiful

 

[zhao]

this the muthafukin man right here:

more skill, wit, charm, and magic in one of his fingers than Rollingstone top 100 put together.

the godfather of Dutch improv.

 

[bnek]

great topic

right now im listening to some MJQ - i love john lewis' style, his solo on 'django' (from the album django) is exquisite!

bud powell has already been mentioned - people should check out 'the amazing bud powell vol 1' and 2. and 'the scene changes' (that album is worth it for the cover alone).

andrew hill as mentioned earlier - so far ive only listened to 'black fire' and 'judgement' (which has bobby hutcherson on vibes - maybe one day we can have a vibraphone post?). both are brilliant, its quite challenging music, rhythmically (try tapping your feat to 'pumpkin' from black fire...)

my favorite monk lp is 'chriss-cross' - its pretty much perfect music to me, i know practically every note by heart but i'll never get tired of listening to it.

ahmad jamal's 'the awakening' is probably my favorite trio album - really beautiful music, i was listening to that long before i really became interested in jazz.

herbie hancock's 'maiden voyage', and his playing on bobby hutchersons 'oblique'

never really got into keith jarrett so much, but i really like 'belonging'

then theres jaki byard - i havent really listened to any of his albums as leader yet, but check out his playing on booker ervins 'heavy' - great album!

im interested in getting to know some mal waldron as well, he plays on 'percussion bittersweet' and i have his album 'the quest' which has some great songs. he has some trio albums that are meant to be good too.

i think ill be trying some herbie nichols next though, i have the complete blue note recordings, awaiting listening...

 

[bnek]

wow i just realized this wasnt a new post oh well.
i just remembered paul bley too. check out this from jimmy giuffre - a trio album w/ piano, bass and clarinet - amazing music.