Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Let's see your nominations for the the very best pianists/keyboard players who plays or played R&B, blues or Jazz. Perhaps if you could take some time to explain your nomination then all readers can enjoy your insight to brilliance of the person you select.

I'll start off with Fats Domino.
Fats in my opinion, is one of the greatest R&B pianists to ever tinkle the ivories. His work covered many genres even straying into rock and roll and pop a few times.

Here's a bit of a list of his accomplishments.

The Fat Man /Detroit City Blues 1949 (Imperial 5058)
Boogie-Woogie Baby/ Little Bee 1950 (Imperial 5065)
Hide Away Blues/ She's My Baby 1950 (Imperial 5077)
Hey La Bas Boogie/ Brand New Baby 1950 (Imperial 5085)
Every Night about This Time/ Korea Blues 1950 (Imperial 5099)
Tired of Crying/ What's the Matter Baby 1951 (Imperial 5114)
Don't You Lie to Me/ Sometimes I Wonder 1951 (Imperial 5123)
Right From Wrong/ No, No Baby 1951 (Imperial 5138)
Rockin' Chair/ Careless Love 1951 (Imperial 5145)
I'll Be Gone/ You Know I Miss You 1952 (Imperial 5167)
Goin' Home/ Reeling and Rocking 1952 (Imperial 5180)
Poor Poor Me/ Trust in Me 1952 (Imperial 5197)
How Long/ Dreaming 1952 Imperial 5209)
Nobody Loves Me/ Cheatin' 1953 (Imperial 5220)
Going to the River/ Mardi Gras in New Orleans 1953 (Imperial 5231)
Please Don't Leave Me/ The Girl I Love 1953 (Imperial 5240)
Rose Mary/ You Said You Loved Me 1953 (Imperial 5251)
Something's Wrong/ Don't Leave Me This Way 1953 (Imperial 5262)
You Done Me Wrong/ Little School Girl 1954 (Imperial 5272)
Where Did You Stay/ Baby Please 1954 (Imperial 5283)
You Can Pack Your Suitcase/ I Lived My Life 1954 (Imperial 5301)
Love Me/ Don't You Hear Me Calling You 1954 (Imperial 5313)
I Know/ Thinking of You 1954 (Imperial 5323)
Don't You Know/ Helping Hand 1955 (Imperial 5340)
Ain't That a Shame/ La La 1955 (Imperial 5348)
All By Myself/ Troubles of My Own 1955 (Imperial 5357)
Poor Me 1955 (Imperial 5369)
I Can't Go On 1955
Bo Weevil 1956 (Imperial 5375)
Don't Blame It on Me 1956
I'm in Love Again 1956 (Imperial 5386)
My Blue Heaven 1956
When My Dreamboat Comes Home 1956 (Imperial 5396)
So Long 1956
Blueberry Hill 1956 (Imperial 5407)
Honey Chile 1956
Blue Monday 1956 (Imperial 5417)
What's the Reason/ I'm Not Pleasing You 1956
I'm Walkin' I'm in the Mood for Love 1957 (Imperial 5428)
The Rooster Song/ My Happiness/As Time Goes By/Hey La Bas (4 song EP) 1957 (Imperial 147)
Valley of Tears 1957 (Imperial 5442)
It's You I Love 1957
What Will I Tell My Heart 1957 (Imperial 5454)
When I See You 1957
Wait and See 1957 (Imperial 5467)
I Still Love You 1957
The Big Beat 1957 (Imperial 5477)
I Want You to Know 1957
Yes My Darling/ Don't You Know I Love You 1958 (Imperial 5492)
Sick and Tired 1958 (Imperial 5515)
No, No 1958
Little Mary/ Prisoner's Song 1958 (Imperial 5526)
Young School Girl/ It Must Be Love 1958 (Imperial 5537)
Whole Lotta Loving 1958 (Imperial 5553)
Coquette 1958
Telling Lies 1959 (Imperial 5569)
When the Saints Go Marching In 1959
I'm Ready 1959 (Imperial 5585)
Margie 1959
I Want to Walk You Home 1959 (Imperial 5606)
I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Someday 1959
Be My Guest 1959 (Imperial 5629)
I've Been Around 1959
If You Need Me 1960 (Imperial 5645)
Country Boy 1960
Before I Grow Too Old 1960 (Imperial 5660)
Tell Me That You Love Me 1960
Walking to New Orleans 1960 (Imperial 5675)
Don't Come Knockin' 1960
Three Nights a Week 1960 (Imperial 5687)
Put Your Arms Around Me Honey 1960
My Girl Josephine 1960 (Imperial 5704)
Natural Born Lover 1960
Ain't That Just Like a Woman 1961 (Imperial 5723)
What a Price 1961
Shu Rah 1961 (Imperial 5734)
Fell in Love on Monday 1961
It Keeps Rainin' I Just Cry 1961 (Imperial 5753)
Let The Four Winds Blow/ Good Hearted Man 1961 (Imperial 5764)
What A Party 1961 (Imperial 5779)
Rockin' Bicycle 1961
I Hear You Knocking 1961 (Imperial 5796)
Jambalaya (On the Bayou) 1961
You Win Again 1962 (Imperial 5816)
Ida Jane 1962
My Real Name/ My Heart Is Bleeding 1962 (Imperial 5833)
Dance with Mr. Domino 1962 (Imperial 5863)
Nothing New (Same Old Thing) 1962
Did You Ever See a Dream Walking 1962 (Imperial 5875)
Stop the Clock 1962
Won't You Come on Back /Hands Across the Table 1962 (Imperial 5895)
Hum Diddy Doo/ Those Eyes 1963 (Imperial 5909)
You Always Hurt the One You Love/ Trouble Blues 1963 (Imperial 5937)
True Confession/ Isle of Capri 1963 (Imperial 5959)
One Night I Can't Go on This Way 1963 (Imperial 5980)
There Goes (My Heart Again) 1963 (ABC 10444)
Can't Go on Without You 1963
When I'm Walking (Let Me Walk) 1963 (ABC 10475)
I've Got a Right to Cry 1963 " 128
Red Sails in the Sunset/ Song For Rosemary 1963 (ABC 10484)
I Can't Give You Anything But Love/ Goin' Home 1963 (Imperial 66005)
Who Cares 1963 (ABC 10512)
Just a Lonely Man 1963 " 108
Your Cheatin' Heart/ When I Was Young 1964 (Imperial 66016)
Lazy Lady 1964 (ABC 10531)
I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire 1964
If You Don't Know What Love Is/ Something You Got Baby 1964 (ABC 10545)
Mary, Oh Mary/ Packin' Up 1964 (ABC 10567)
Sally Was a Good Old Girl /For You 1964 (ABC 10584)
Kansas City/ Heartbreak Hill 1964 (ABC 10596)
Why Don't You Do Right/ Wigs 1965 (ABC 10631)
Let Me Call You Sweetheart Goodnight Sweetheart 1965 (ABC 10644)
I Done Got Over It I Left My Heart In San Francisco 1965 (Mercury 72463)
What's That You Got?/ It's Never Too Late 1965 (Mercury 72485)
The Lady in Black/ Working My Way Up Steady 1967 (Broadmoor 104)
Big Mouth/ Wait 'Til It Happens to You 1967 (Broadmoor 105)
One For The Highway/ Honest Papas Love Their Mamas Better 1968 (Reprise 0696)
Lady Madonna /One for the Highway 1968 (Reprise 0763)
Lovely Rita/ Wait 'Till It Happens to You 1968 (Reprise 0775)
Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey/ So Swell When You're Well 1969 (Reprise 0843)
Make Me Belong to You/ Have You Seen My Baby 1970 (Reprise 0891)
New Orleans Ain't the Same Sweet Patootie 1970 (Reprise 0944)
Sleeping on the Job/ After Hours 1978 (Sonet 2168 -UK)
Whiskey Heaven -- 1980 (Warner Bros. Records 49610)

This may seem a little unexpected but I found this cool vid with two of R 'n' B's best pianists on one stage.
Ray Charles needs no introduction. I hope everybody saw the movie, "Ray".
Leon Russell is known as the composer of "This Masquerade", for his work with Joe Cocker in the sixties and for his touring Southern rock band, but if this ain't a blues tune then I don't know what it is. I don't know who the other long-hair is
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How about Reese Wynans? He does a solo at about 2:09 on this video when he was with SRV and Double Trouble. Check him out. I think he is great.

Don't forget Johnnie...

You might as well add Booker T. Jones to the list.



Booker T. & the MGs were basically the house band for Memphis' Stax Records much like the Funk Brothers were basically the house band for Detroit's Motown Records.

I recently got hip to this wonderful player...Earl Gilliam

Fantastic George,

I presume he's playing at the club............the Big Easy Club in Houston, TX. See the link below:

Earl Gilliam - Texas Doghouse Blues

Thanks for bringing him to our attention.

For me its gotta be Gil Scott-Heron.

Check out 'Better days ahead' on the 'Secrets' album or pretty much anything off 'Pieces of a man' or 'Winter in America' albums.

Its unfortunate he's in a bad way now due to a lifetime of Heroin use, but his playing is sublime.

I'm partial to the organists! Give me Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Joey DeFrancesco, Shirley Scott, Babyface Willett , Big John Patton, Charles Earland and Lonnie Liston Smith for starters.

For Jazz pianists, I'm partial to Thelonius Monk (the greatest), Erroll Garner, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Les McCann, Nat "King" Cole & Bobby Timmons.

Blues....well, there's really far too many but a short list would include Pete Johnson, Otis Spann, Pinetop Perkins, Johnnie Johnson and Ray Charles Robinson AKA Brother Ray!

Jimmy Smith, James Mcgriff, Greg Allman, Keith Emerson , Steve Winwood,Benmont Tench just to name a few, anything played on Hammond by any of these guys floats my boat

I've come to this party late. Has anyone mentioned Meade Lux Lewis? or Professor Longhair? Jimmy Yancey? How about Dr. John?

And since jazz is included I'd list James P. Johnson and Jellyroll Morton, too.

JimK

Hmmm, think I need to revise my choice in the light of recent posts.

Gil Scott-Heron AND Jimmy McGriff and Jimmy Smith.

The Jimmy Smith album on Blue Note called 'The Sermon' is fabulous.

Not sure if I'd get away with saying Stevie Wonder here as he's a bit more Soul/Funk than R&B, and if we're talking modern Jazz, how about Diana Krall?

I agree. Diana Krall does indeed deserve a mention. Her piano playing is both smooth and controlled. She really knows how to play in the pocket and is an excellent nominee for the very best IMO.

Can we ad Eliane Elias?

jps wrote:Can we ad Eliane Elias?

You most certainly can Jeff. She is very understated in her recordings for the most part but never the less a very competent jazz pianist who can tinkle the ivories with the best when she wants to express herself. Personally I love her phrasing and cool smokey sound.

For those who would like to hear her play........http://www.myspace.com/elianeelias