Keyboardists: Jordan Rudess, Derek Sherinian, Michael Pinella, Chick Corea, Tony MacAlpine
For me to truly admire any musician, he/she would probably have to impress me with either way of life or personality, and artistical achievements despite difficulties etc.
In that way, I can say that I admire quite a lot of musicians out there. Both foreign, Sir... and domestic.
Anybody who have full focus in their everyday life on musical original creativity, (as Eternal Dragon pointed out), and wherever that leads them.
I often miss that full focus alot, and for me, it´s like the biggest emotional loss that I suffer in my way of life, that I don´t feel that I can allow myself to live and die by the ´sword´ (music) anymore.
(It´s quite rare that I can have that inner satisfaction from teaching music, although I often can appriciate other aspects of being a music teacher.)
Strictly refering to musical aspects, it would take a musician who through the music can bring me a sense of ´nirvanaesque´ emotional quality, with almost religously epical "touched-by-God" - experience, and also have the techniqual skills to perform it. But it´s more about the previously stated things to me. That would take something different, something that sounds genuinely heart-felt and non-cliché. The feeling of creating their own personal style as well.
Speed kills. It´s impressive and all, but not the most important thing for me at all. (as pointed out by Ravi Shankar in a TV interview after winning the Swedish Polar music award)
Focusing on speed alone also may kill the overall emotional listening experience and reduces the chances that the musician would have the same dynamic level and intepretation skill / emotional thoughtfulness as the ones I truly admire. That´s my personal feelings about speed, although I think it sometimes is necessary to create certain moods.
Chick Corea is one of the jazz musicians, who I sometimes can feel that with.
Also why not give late
Esbjörn Svensson´s E.S.T. a try if you like Chick Corea, and/or can relate to the above thoughts about emotions in music. (he died this year)
These are very versatile and change moods and style of play alot , in case you are in a hurry checking them out.
The other keyboard players mentioned are of course also very skillful and versatile indeed, but maybe expected to play more within different traditionally more static musical styles.
Other musicians that comes to mind, who can bring the same quality that I can think of would include
Ravi Shankar, the Indian Sitar & Raga player, who states that his music is more about an inner journey than "playing for the galleries" as he stated is more common in Western music. (although I think he partly did just that in the Monterey music festival, to the delight of that hippie crowd.)
And my favourite concert pianist is without doubt
Sviatoslav Richter, who managed with the seemingly impossible to bring the highest level of emotional focus for me as a listener - without making anything seemingly spectacular.
I think it was above all in the combination of intepretating the composers´s musical intentions, along with microscopical accuracy in the dynamic precision and aware intention in each and every single key stroke in each and every piano piece I´ve heard him play.
Even amongst classical piano superstar legend performers, I find that extremly rare. (sometimes due to the extremely complex techniqual issues in many classical piano pieces.)
If dead musicians counts, e.g. classical composers ( / musicians), then musicwise, I´d like to mention and
Ravel and
Mussorgsky - Master sculptures of sound and even sound effects, aiming to enhance the emotional experience through piano music (Ravel) and symphonic orchestration (both, although Ravel is commonly regarded as the undisputed #1, which I bow to),
Chopin - Sentimental Master of sad piano music, late stage
Mozart - Master of arranging music and fine tuned elegance, - etc..
And above all, my very favourite composer
Rachmaninov - Visionary Master of piano music, and uhm, all of the above! (except for symphonic orchestration perhaps)
And as a band, I simply must mention all members of
Symphony X, being part of one of extremely few bands, who really triggers the same kind of emotional admiration in me.
All this said, I still truly believe that the same level of emotional listening experience of music fans of music with less dynamic variation often can be as real and precious. That they still can have the same relation to music as I described. Sorry for the long post. Finally some time off, and this topic really brings out thoughts and opinions that I never want to forget that I have...
