50 (+1 (or more)) Jazz Keyboardists poll

Too many good ones to choose from. I settled on Monk, but it could just have easily have been Ellington or Hancock, Kelly, Evans, or half a dozen others.

Guess it mostly matters on what mood I'm in.

I know. An embarrassment of riches is what it is. I'm undecided between about a dozen faves.

oh dude you suck for making me pick one

Take revenge. Start a 50+ tenor saxists poll.

Yeah, I could easily vote for any of at least 10 of these.

I wound up picking Evans. Monk and Herbie were big contenders. Herbie Nichols and Duke Ellington also - although both I probably like more for their composing than piano playing. Fuck though, Ellington is such a great piano player when he wants to be.

Oh shit, Mal Waldron.

I picked Tyner but would have liked to have seen Brackeen and Timmons up there. I think that Tyner was responsible for taking Trane where he needed to go and that is just about the biggest thing I can think of.

(I could lose Bob James, although i am indeed a big Taxi fan.)

Tristano is a big miss and Marmarosa is always a nice thing bc he was great and had such a delightfully amusing name for polls.

Herbie comes up very strong for his best stuff but gets so many points off for his mis-steps. I love Wynton Kelly, he is well solid!! Sun Ra could really play too!!!!

How many great ones though!!!

Nice poll! :-)

Brackeen & Timmons = the two omissions that sprang to my mind. Weird.

My personal favourite is probably Joe Sample, but it's understandable that he isn't on the list.

Had to go with Evans.

I was thinking about doing more instrumentalist deathmatches like the bassist deathmatch we did in the Sandbox, but so few people voted in it I decided not to.

I need to hear Anthony Braxton's piano quartet stuff.

Herbie Hancock

Thank you for making this easier by specifying keyboardist, thereby enabling me to disqualify (guilt-free) a half-dozen faves who "only" play piano (including the absent Jaki Byard.)(Plus there's a couple up there who stick to organ, of course, but they're not particular favourites.)

Anyways, Herbie Hancock.

where's ahmad jamal, yo?

but what the hey, i voted for Bud Powell, cuz I was listening to Bud Powell in Paris last night. Produced by Duke Elllington himself, oddly enough.

Heh, actually I did that so I could get to 50 more easily, and put in dudes I like a lot, for example Sun Ra and Larry Young.

Of the fifty I posted, I have seen three play live.

never heard that Mingus Plays Piano record. is it good?

Most notable omission: Teddy Wilson...probably in the all time top ten. I still would have voted for Monk, though. (Runners up: Tatum, Powell, Taylor, Tyner, Waller, Hines, Hancock and Morton.)

never heard that Mingus Plays Piano record. is it good?

um, sort of? It's definitely interesting. I was thinking that someone was going to bring this up.

I think in light of all the other talent under consideration here and in comparison to it, I would have to say it really isn't very good at all (IMO of course).

As a piece to the Mingus puzzle, if that's something that you're into, then you already know that you want it.

Certainly he has the most questionable keyboard resume of any on the list. But he did cut a couple of records on piano (this one and "Oh Yeah!" at least) and it's how he composed his music, so...

herbie h

I grew up loving Monk & Garner but Tatum's in another world of his own, so...

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

I ended up with Monk. I'm not sure that it was ever truly in doubt.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

http://persweb.wabash.edu/facstaff/morillos/Images/monk.jpg

Props for good taste to whoever voted Cedar Walton

SUN RA IS A CORNY VOTE

avant garde rock fan copout

OTM

RONG

Under all the gimmicks there is great playing and music

Right but the particular vote (vs. the selection of Sun Ra) may well have been a rock fan copout.

Props for good taste to whoever voted Cedar Walton

Thanks! His first album (Cedar! from 1967) is beautiful.

glad to see some love for teh Sphere on ILM

Even though I'm a bigger fan of Herbie's than McCoy Tyner's, I had to vote for the latter, because I value Herbie more as a bandleader and composer, whereas Tyner is still the better player.

I think it's at least arguable that Hancock is the better player. Tyner is kind of a one-trick pony, even though it's a really awesome trick that I can listen to over and over again.

Also, Tyner's brother ran for president as a communist. What did Herbie Hancock's brother ever do?

Sorry, VP, not president.

damn I really should have voted for Basie

A lot of the non-vote-getters deserved at least one vote

I'm glad Art Tatum got some votes.

I voted for Tatum, but yeah, Horace Silver and Basie were robbed.

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/c/c8/150px-DrederickTatum.jpg

Herbie Nichols, Hank Jones, Fatha Hines, Red Garldand, , Paul Bley, Brad Meldhau, not to mention Tommy Flanagan,who's not even on the list - I'd vote for them all if I could.

For some reason, I thought I could do Flanagan or Waldron but not both. I have no justification for this, but that's why Flanagan was left off.

Wait, what? I left Waldron off, too.

NEVERMIND

good poll that should've gotten more action

I would have wanted to vote for at least ten of them, but fair result despite the low turnout.

I was going to say wtf! no Mal Waldron but the original threadmaker also noticed the oversight!

Hasaan Ibn Ali could be a contender for the greatest pianist to disappear into obscurity after having a big influence on the poll winner.

Drummer Donald Bailey, in a 2008 interview with writer Don Alberts, said, "And who was [Thelonious] Monk's idol? Hasaan Ibn Ali. Nobody knows that!"