Take the next six and a half minutes to watch this video of Keith Emerson on a Steinway Piano from 1974. One of the truly great improvisational geniuses of our time.
P.S.-the piano is missing the key slip and has an odd colored strip running across the bottom of the fallboard, but the playing is nothing short of magnificent!!! See if you dont agree.

Keith Emerson solo

Great stuff! The very first rock concert I went to was Emerson Lake and Palmer at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago a few years earlier. The opening act was Yes (Rick Wakeman was no slouch either!). I remember Keith sticking daggers between the keys of a Hammond B3 organ to sustain a chord, then tilting it up on a corner to balance it and madly playing! Quite a show!

His posture is horrible though.

Wow Dan! This is absolutely phenomenal! I just finished my final paper for grad school and took a gander at this. What a way to top off a semester. A perfect ending.
Regards,
Roger

Emerson was my hero :-)

I first saw/heard him in concert when he was with the Nice, I think they were opening for Jeff Beck (ok, I'm old, but I can still rock).

I once took my piano teacher to an Emerson concert (can't remember if it was Nice or ELP).

My teacher was a professor at New England Conservatory, Dr. of Music, piano major.
And... he was blown away, became a diehard Emerson fan :-)

(His comment: "Man, that cat rocks!")

Because of Emerson, I drove my teacher nuts (luckily he was also a family friend). The matter what he gave me, I wanted to play it like Emerson

P.S.
Thanks CC2 and Chopin Lover

truly amazing...
I hope ill gain a 1/100 of his talent in my lifetime

Matt

omg... look at 1:45 !!!!!
truly one of the best pianists of the 20th centure!

AWESOME!!!

Thanks for posting!

I love it Stanza, exactly!

I remember watching him throw the knives at his Leslie speakers, and laying the Hammond (he used an M100 for that part) over on himself, while playing it ... from behind the organ!

I had a C3 at the time (with a 145 & 147 Leslie), tried to lean over from behind and play it, heck I couldn't play it like Emerson from in front, never mind behind :-)

Have you read his book ... Pictures of an Exhibitionist?
Interesting life he's led.

You're all more than welcome. Isn't human talent an amazing thing? I love to be awed by someone in this way. So much to aspire to.

Dan,
I just watched this for the 5th time. Thanks again for sharing it! I agree, it never ceases to amaze me what heights human talent can reach. A recent post in PW asked why there appears to be a lack of modern pianists who don't compose. They should take one look at this to be reassured that there most certainly are.
Thanks again and best regards.
Roger

Roger,
You are very welcome. I agree with all you just wrote. Do you think he'd enjoy playing my pianos? Maybe I should contact Keith and invite him over for a piano party Man, wouldn't THAT be a trip!!!! By the way, thanks for taking the time to come by that day. Hope you enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed listening to you play them.
Dan

That's what we need ... Keith Emerson at a Piano Forums Party!

Heck, the rest of us could just watch and learn.

I have every album (yes, those big round vinyl things) he ever made. He can play classical and jazz as well as he plays progressive rock.

He can do more with his left hand then I can with both. He is in fact, part of the reason Piano World exists, because I was so inspired by his playing, I made the piano my lifelong ambition.

Frank,
That is an incredible connection. Because of Keith Emerson's inspirational affect on you, we all benefit here today from this terrific forum. And here I posted this video thinking I was going to be one of very few people who would have remembered, and appreciated, his immense talent. Looks like I was WAY wrong about that......thankfully!!
Dan

Pardon me while I stick my neck out here...

Clearly, the man has incredible skill. But I don't find this particular performance all that enjoyable. Sure, it's fun to watch, and there is no way on God's green earth I would ever be able to even think about doing such stuff. It's dazzling. But it's not very musical.

Mark

P.S. I was a big ELP fan in the early to mid 70's. They did some nice stuff. They also did a lot of boring stuff, imo. I liked his work on the Moog, or whatever it was he was playing. Always loved "From the Beginning."

Dan, you got that right!

Although lots of piano/keyboard players have influenced me over the years (starting with my Dad, who, although an Iron Worker by trade, could play beautiful classical piano), Keith Emerson was the single biggest influence.

I still pay homage to many pianist (Rubenstein, Horowitz, Ellington, Monk, Bruebeck, Allison, etc.), but to me, Emerson is the Man.

He's the reason I played in progressive rock bands, and the inspiration that kept me going through all my years associating with piano/keyboard music (including owning my own music store).

I love all kinds of music, and appreciate the talents of many people (including ALL of our members), but Keith Emerson is at the top to me.

His technique is incredible, his imagination boundless, and the sheer joy he gets from playing is contagious.
He can play serious classical or jazz, or take off into places the rest of us mere mortals can only imagine.

For those of you who may not have experienced the pleasure, start with The Nice (admittedly a bit spacey at times, but hey, that was where we were then) and move on to ELP (Palmer & Powell).

As I always say when I play at one of our Piano Forums parties, I'm an old rock and roll musician, and this is what I mean.

J. Mark,

And that would be the point.

If you listen to the early stuff (The Nice), later stuff (ELP), and solo efforts, you're bound to find something you like, the matter what your taste.

Even if you don't like it, you have to appreciate the talent.

Thanks for posting this, I began as an ELP devotee a long time ago and remember the first time I heard Emerson play this fugue by Gilda Friedrich, it was incredible!

I still crank up my Hammond and go through my old ELP rep.

Good Stuff

P.S.

He played a Bluthner in his early days, hehe I couldn't resist.

Wow! Just think if Keith (Emerson) and Dave (Brubeck) decided to get their pianos together to an evening of jazz! I don't think my heart could take it. What talented men. Excuse me while I go burn my Yamaha 6'3".

Mark,
While we certainly are all entitled to our own musical opinions, I had to chuckle when I read this, written by you:

So, in other words, you acknowledge that he has "incredible skill", is "fun to watch", and "It's dazzling"........but NOT ENJOYABLE????????? You're a tough guy to please!!

Hi Dan,
As it appears my relocation to Houston is a done deal (waiting for the final paperwork), I'm truly glad I had a chance to stop by and play your pianos. Playing my Chopin and Schubert pieces on the CC2 was sheer heaven on earth. And having a 3 hour break from doing my research to bounce back and forth between the CC2 and the Estonia 190 was like being a kid in a candy store. It was great to hear you play too! You're a fine artist and it was such a civilized respite for me to sit in your living room and listen to you play the classics. You played them beautifully. I still can't say I've played on a Stanwoodized piano, because the extensive custom work you've done is really a work of art. You've created something totally unique. The action was nothing short of magical. And thanks again for pulling the grand action out to show me all of your customizations! It was absolutely fascinating to see all the custom work you've done. Clearly, your hard work has paid off in spades. Your CC2 has such a unique personality and was a joy to play.

Nevart has said she may have some time during Christmas week to come out and visit. It's important that I hook you two up before I move. But you'd better pull out the crow bar, because I doubt if we'll be able to pry her away from the M&H (hehe) once she's had a go at it. And she's never played an Estonia, so I can't wait to see the look on her face when she sinks into it.

Gotta run. I'll give you a call in a week or so and maybe we can hook up again.

P.S. If you can ever convince Mr. Emerson to attend a PW piano party at your place, I'd rent a 747 from Houston to NY just to be there!

Best regards,
Roger

Thanks so much for the kind words Roger. I'm really happy for you and this terrific new opportunity in Houston that has come to fruition. Now you will have the ability to get your own Concert Grand!!! I hope you and Nevart can come by.....I would love to see her face when she plays the CC2 and Estonia. I'll wait to hear from you.
All the best,
Dan

Here's another amazing progressive rock performer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgZhiYff7nM

Jordan Rudess is a real monster!

what left hand work!

that's just incredible i'd continue to comment but i am speechless

While we are in the mode to be blown away by virtuosity, here is another of my favorites. All incredible on their respective instruments:

Mahavishnu Orchestra

And another:

Chick Corea and Return to Forever

Amazing Emerson video! By the way, to explain his posture -- his bench is extra high so he can reach the synth on top of the piano.

Even though I am a Physical Therapist, and this is heresy for us to say, I forgive his postural shortcomings in light of the result.

How about this posture?

Emerson was my first keyboard hero, and remains a major influence today. BUT I'm afraid the original post here could leave the impression that the (yes-amazing) video clip is improvised. Far from it - within my modest ELP collection are several examples of virtually every passage from the clip - including a live take that's the same thing we hear here, only slower. I actually prefer the slower version, as it's easier to digest and appreciate. I think it represents the "show-off" portion of the live shows from that era, which is something that Rick Wakeman also incorporated into Yes concerts, quoting a few more classical standards than Keith did.