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Musicians pushing instruments to the limit and beyond
I can think of a few musicians who push their instruments to the limit like Tommy Emmanuel, and Jimi Hendricks. In the 19th Century great piano virtuoso Franz Liszt expressed entire symphonies on the piano, and did a pretty decent job. Here, pianist Ayse Denis attempts to express Pink Floyd’s “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”, on a grand piano, utilizing the piano in very creative ways. While I think nothing can top David Gilmour’s howling guitar work on Shine On You Crazy Diamond, I think she does a noble effort here on the piano that the audience likes.
Please post any examples of great musicians pushing their instruments to the absolute limit.
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40 Replies
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Here Tommy Emmanuel plays two songs at the same time on the guitar.
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Jung,
That young lady’s piano rendition was beautiful! And too bad there are no recordings of Liszt!
— Bud
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Hi Jung,
Musicians who push their instruments to the limit? It makes me think of Deep Purple. Ritchie Blackmore on guitar is always a pleasure, but what Jon Lord did with his Hammond organ was impressive.
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Hi Jurgen
NICE! Love the rock sounds of Deep Purple that energy keeps building and building and towards the end, Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord push the guitar and organ. I love when musicians have so much passion to express they reach the limits of their instruments, and yet they some how break the barrier, and you have something magical happen, like here.
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Jurgen,
I had not heard that Deep Purple recording before. They really kicked some A.. on that one! I would put up a few more videos, but I’m having trouble with YouTube lately! But no time for that either. I’ve got practice to do, then I’m helping the clarinets at a school, followed by a band rehearsal tonight! Have a nice evening on the other side of the Pond! — Bud
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Bud,
Deep Purple was certainly a band that was on top form on stage. The live version of Highway Star is much more dynamic than the studio version on the album „Machine Head“.
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For all the times I’ve heard that Deep Purple song, that might be my favorite version of it. They really nailed it. Thanks for posting that.
It reminds me of something I was listening to the other day. The song below is from Billy Cobham’s first solo album, the first cut. He and Jan Hammer, the two Mahavishnu Orchestra alumni, lead it off, and it has Leland Sklar on bass and Tommy Bolin on guitar. Two years after this, Tommy joined Deep Purple.
For a lot of lovers of jazz rock fusion, this album is on their all time top 10 list, including me. They said it took 2 days to record, and it was basically done live – one or two takes at most, and no edits afterwards. Another track from it, Tommy broke his high E string, and they just kept going. It’s a lot of improvisation, Tommy hadn’t played with these guys before. And he was 22 years old.
As far as pushing their instruments, yeah, they did that. This album affected a lot of people. Nobody had heard drumming like this before, very singular style, for example. And Jan is Jan, always know it’s him too, and unique. These guys just let it rip.
If you like this, the whole album is on YT. What do you think? Maybe like Deep Purple with a bit more loose improvisation? With feeling. Released in 1973.
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Jurgen, I love that video. Deep Purple was one of my favorite bands. I think the Hammond was one of the reasons I liked them a little better than Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin although both of those bands were great too. It seems I’ve always had a copy of Machine Head, on 8 track, cassette, vinyl, or cd. One of my favorite tracks was the song called Lazy. Here’s a great version of Lazy I found a few years ago. The line up is as follows, Jimmy Barnes (Vocal), Joe. Bonamassa (Guitar (R), Brad Whitford (Guitar (L), Arlan. Schierbaum (Organ), Michael Rhodes (Bass), Anton Fig. drums. Barnes is from the Australian band Cold Chisel, Whitford is from Aerosmith and Anton Fig was the drummer from David Letterman’s Late Show band. Bonamassa is pretty good on the guitar too. I think you guys will like it.
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Here’s one that to me is the greatest keyboardist of all time. The late, great Keith Emerson:
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Hi Thomas
Keith Emerson is amazing! He plays blistering fast with such precision. Goes to show it’s not just the classical pianists who can play at this level. Watching him improvise, it’s like the keyboard is an extension of himself as he expresses all that musical passion. To be able to play at that level, I guess you have to be one with your instrument. I did a little research, and it looks like Keith composed his own Piano Concerto that the London Philharmonic performed.
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Jung,
Good timing on your comment about Liszt’s arrangements of classical works.
Yesterday I was planning what local concerts I was going to see this fall and winter, and one I am considering is from a pianist named Igor Levit. The last work on the list for his performance is:
Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 (“Eroica”) (arr. for piano by Franz Liszt)
Should be very interesting. Thanks.
ums.org/performance/igor-levit-piano/
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The theme of this thread being “pushing instruments”, I thought I’d also include Igor’s cover of one of my favorite Billy Joel songs, And So it Goes. Definitely an emotional tune, even if not always having the same twist to it as he shows here.
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Hi Chris
That should be awesome to take in a Franz Liszt transcribed Beethoven Symphony. I checked out Igor Levit, and he is a very accomplished pianist having won many piano competitions as well as the “Beethoven Ring” awarded by the Beethoven society in Bonn Germany (Beethoven’s home town). I found this amazing performance of the Moonlight Sonata by Igor Levit. I think pushing the instrument to it’s limit is not only about speed, but also can be about squeezing out maximum sensitivity and emotion that the piano is known for. In piano competitions I’ve heard sometimes the most challenging are the slower pieces and being able to move the audience by making every note felt. Igor really expresses the beauty of the Moonlight Sonata in this moving interpretation.
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Jung,
Thanks for posting that. I think I’m going to enjoy seeing him. Ok, I’m up to 5 shows I’m going to, all of which are classical. First time that’s ever happened.
I was thinking of looking at Liszt’s arrangement. Haven’t found it yet, but I found a different one that he did on YT.
Liszt is not the only one to do arrangements for a smaller ensemble than the original. The idea of doing this sounds like a Duo Session for one.
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To Chris, Jung, Jurgen, Tim, Daryl, Thomas, & Everyone,
Thanks for all the great videos! I’ve enjoyed them all, & some I hadn’t seen before! In response, I’m posting 3 more, which I’m sure you’ll find very entertaining, w/wonderful musicianship & showmanship! You can’t go wrong with any of these performances!
1.) Art Taum, (1909 – 1956) “Tiger Rag” Here’s a note transcription of what Art IMPROVISED as an almost completely blind pianist! This is amazing, & I doubt anyone can play faster than this!
Art Tatum ‘Tiger Rag’ Audio + Sheet Music – YouTube
2.) Thomas Wright “Fats” Waller, (1904 – 1943) “Aint Misbehavin.” Here’s a funny & entertaining
song he wrote & played in the movie “Stormy Weather.”
(This would be a good older tune for Mona & Lisa to do in their own style!)Fats Waller – Ain’t Misbehavin’ – Stormy Weather (1943) – YouTube
3.) Billy Joel, (1949 – present) “Angry Young Man.” From his Russian concert in 1987; a more peaceful time! I love the way he gestures & flirts w/the audience while performing!
Billy Joel – Prelude / Angry Young Man (from A Matter of Trust – The Bridge to Russia) – YouTube
— Bud Jackson
youtube.com
Art Tatum 'Tiger Rag' Audio + Sheet Music
The Dixieland classic "Tiger Rag" as played by the legendary Art Tatum.Note:- Audio comes from the Zenph re-performance of the original 1933 recording by Tat...
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Bud,
Art Tatum. There’s a reason people think he was the greatest pianist ever.
Of course Art improvised it. That’s what he did with every song. If he ever played a song the same way twice, he was cheating. That’s per Oscar Peterson, talking to Andre Previn, in another vid that I’ve mentioned before, in describing his discussions with Art.
Fats Waller. Ain’t Misbehavin’ is from the classic movie, Stormy Weather, which also starred Lena Horne, for whom it was her big break singing the title cut. It also starred Cab Calloway and Dooley Wilson, who played Sam in Casablance. Quite a movie. It’s old enough to be in the public domain, from 1943, so the full movie is on YouTube:
And here’s Lena singing Stormy Weather.
Billy Joel is one of my influences as a keyboard player. I used to play Prelude / Angry Young Man. The hardest part is finding a piano with a good enough action that you can do that drum roll on middle C. Most won’t recover fast enough. That’s a great live vid of him playing it.
Thanks, Bud, that’s all great stuff.
youtu.be
[FULL MOVIE] Stormy Weather (1943) | Classic Musical in 4K
▬ Public Domain Classic Musical, digitally restored, and upscaled to 4K ▬Synopsis: Dancing great, Bill 'Williamson', sees his face on the cover of Theatre Wo...
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Chris,
So you’re a Jazz fan too! I remember that you had spoken of going to a local Jazz festival. Art Tatum must have had many past lives as a piano player! (Maybe he WAS Liszt at one time?) It’s hard to understand that level of musicianship! I looked him up on wiki & found out some cool stuff, like he was very modest, gentlemanly & didn’t use drugs. He had to quit drinking though. I didn’t know that he sang Blues too!
I’ve seen Oscar Peterson twice, & once each for Evans, Jarrett, Monk & Corea. And Hancock a few times. I regret not keeping up my piano skills, other than doing vocal warm-ups in class w/piano.
(Sorry to name drop — you can probably do that too!) I’ve seen Cab Calloway, & one of his trumpeters, Jonah Jones. That last piece in “Stormy Weather” is Cab doing “Jumpin’ in Jive’ w/the Nicholas Brothers dance team. That whole piece is incredible! My students couldn’t believe it when I showed it to them 2 years ago!
And I gotta tell you, I saw Lena Horn & Tony Bennett together in concert in New York City in 1974! Backed by a big band with members from Doc Severinsen’s Tonight Show Band! That was a great concert! And I met Tony around 1980, and he was super nice to talk to!
I haven’t seen all of Stormy Weather — just clips, so I WILL watch it this weekend. THANKS!
This may be the fastest Jazz trumpet solo I’ve ever heard! Freddie Hubbard, another master that I’ve seen live, had incredible technique, with Art Tatum like speed! And Eddie Daniels is on this recording too, playing alto! AND — I just saw the MLT video that I think we’ll see tomorrow advertised on YouTube — so I’m gonna watch it — NOW!
THANKS AGAIN and TAKE CARE! — Bud
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Bud,
Yes, to all of what you said.
I’ve got Now and Then on loop and have had it there since I discovered it 2 1/2 hours ago.
My friends at university and I followed Jeff Beck from blues to rock to jazz. Since the mid ’70s, I’ve spent more time with jazz than any other genre. As a listener though, more than a musician. I play it too, but I’ve played a lot more rock and pop.
But I have wide ranging taste in music. In this thread alone I mentioned I’m going to 5 classical concerts this fall and winter, and I also mentioned Billy Joel a couple times. I grew up with the Beatles, and classic rock, and pop, and vintage R&B, and Motown of course, and all of that happened by 1970.
I’m going to soak in Now and Then for a while more…it’s so ever loving cool.
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Thanks Chris,
I think it’s best to be open to all kinds of Music, with no Musical prejudice! I play in a Jazz big band, but I’ve played in Rock/Funk/Pop bands too! It’s all good, as they say! But I use the guitar for fun, mostly for Rock & Pop, & to teach songs to kids. I want to spend more time on guitar, but I get pulled in different directions. But I have fun with it!
I recently got tickets for Sergio Mendes again, & Chris Botti. Then Blood Sweat & Tears are coming here again! I appreciate the Classical stuff too! If you’ve never heard of Rafael Mendez, (1906 – 1981,) OMG! He was one of the greatest ever! His double & triple tonguing was unmatched! He arranged & composed Music too. And yeah, I met him twice & heard him live! He played trumpet, guitar, piano, marimba & clarinet but recorded only on trumpet I believe. As a child, his whole family had a band, and they were forced to play for Pancho Villa! Rafael had a very interesting life!
Ciao! — Bud
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Hi Chris
Oh I love Beethoven’s Symphony No 7 second movement. It has such a sombre feel of a tragedy, but expressed so beautifully, which is what Beethoven is a genius at. He takes you through such a powerful and moving emotional journey in his symphonies from the depths of despair to triumphant joy, and some of the dark brooding moments he encapsulates in amazing beauty to lift your spirts up. This piece is exactly that, and the piano transcription is wonderful.
Another one I really love is Bach’s Adagio, which is one of his most beautiful pieces. It is in the same vein as Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, expressing a haunting emotion but so beautifully. This is a transcription of Marcello’s Symphony to keyboard by Bach, and Bach has transcribed it so wonderfully, that it is more famous and renowned than Marcello’s symphony. Here renowned Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili, who was quite outspoken when the Ukraine conflict broke out, does her most beautiful interpretation. She transformed it into a very modern sound and feel like something composed today. She plays with amazing sensitivity and emotion pushing the piano to it’s most emotional limits. It looks like the music in her head is just magically flowing through the piano.
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To my knowledge, The Knack only produced three albums. The single „My Sharona“ from the first album „Get the Knack“ was a worldwide success. Maybe not a particularly sophisticated song, but a song with which the musicians managed to send themselves and the listeners into ecstasy. Pure fun.
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Jürgen,
I remember that song, a friend of mine’s band used to play it, long ago. Good fun, and as Jung said, a very big hit.
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I don’t know if the Beatles reached the limit of their instruments with this song, but at least they let off a lot of steam.
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Hi Jurgen
I think with Helter Skelter, in the Beatles pioneers of music tradition predated Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Metallica, and Nirvana with this. Probably the first Heavy Metal sound in rock history.
I remember the Knack in the late 70s/early 80s with My Sharona, it was a massive hit. That guitar riff is iconic, and makes that song.
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Jurgen,
Yeah! I’ve always loved that first heavy metal song the Beatles did! They set the style for many other bands to follow! I’m sure I’ve seen Paul play this live somewhere in the 4 times I went to his concerts.
Good pick! — Bud
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Jung, Here’s a fun one. Rockabilly artists The Stray Cats not only pushing the music capabilities of minimal instruments but also testing the physical strength of the drums and bass by standing on them.
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Hi Tim
Yeah the lead guitarist really pushed his guitar all out, brilliant musicianship all around. That big bass really sounded great too. What kind of guitar is that? Gretsch Country Gentleman? Not only plays wonderfully, but looks grand too!
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Jung, I’m not a guitar guy at all so I did a little research and I believe this guitar is a Gretsch 6120, either a 1959 or 1960. It is probably referred to as a Country Gentleman because it was built for playing country music and used by Chet Atkins among others. I know a lot of Rockabilly guitar players used them and the orange ones especially because that’s what was used by rockabilly icon Eddie Cochran. The Stray Cats guitarist Brian Setzer has a collection of these guitars but here’s an interesting video about Brian and his original 1959 Gretsch 6120.
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Hi Tim
Thanks for the video. Wow, what an interesting story Brian Setzer has with this beloved guitar he got when he was 17, and pretty much stayed with him through his entire career to now. All the customizations he did, monopoly dice knobs, stickers, repairing the neck after it came off, having it stolen and then getting it back…. Musicians certainly get attached to their guitar and often have the same one their entire career. A similar story with Randy Bachman and his first Gretsch that got stolen and he got it back decades later. George Harrison with his first Gretsch guitar that stayed with him throughout his career. They are very special instruments.
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Tim,
That was definitely fun to watch! So much energy and musicianship on a simple melody, but man they did somethin’ great with it!
Thanks! — Bud
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Yeah Bud it is pretty simple but I think that was the allure for the young rock n rollers. If you knew 3 chords you could have a band and become popular with the girls. It worked pretty good for Elvis.
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Tim,
Yeah, there’s a lot to be said for those 3 or 4 chord songs. And it’s fun to see what some great musicians can do with this stuff, like the Stray Cats! And I love the way the Beatles expanded the Rock chord repertoire by expanded it with more complicated Jazz type chords. Though I don’t think they used 9th or 11th chords, their chord progressions sure created a more varied color palette in their original songs.
I appreciated your video here very much! — Bud
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This is the original speed the guitar and drums were played at for “Rain.” The tape was then slowed down to give it a different sound. The bass was recorded over the slowed down tape, so it wasn’t quite this fast in real life. Paul (sped up or not) is a beast here, and Ringo is on fire.
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Dan,
Interesting! I didn’t know they originally recorded it at this faster speed! But I think that ultimately, they made the right decision by slowing the speed down for the feel of this song.
Thanks! — Bud
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They make it look sooooo easy. So much talent!
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This certainly isn’t for everybody, but guitarists that like to experiment and push the envelope to serious extremes are rather few. Steve is one that really goes to any length in his work, always finding different ways to express himself. Yeah, it’s waaaay out there, but I find it mesmerizing.
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I know, I know, we’ve had Sina as a guest in the forum several times. But I always love her passion playing the drums, truly pushing. Apparently she is now starting to play with her own band and produces music videos. Great.
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I’ve been following Sina about as long as I’ve been following MLT. Sina is a great drummer…..I don’t care for some of her musical selections, but she plays the drums with abandon. She has a little bit of Buddy Rich in her. And her technique is great.
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Since the end of 2017, Sina has also been playing drums in the Cologne band “The Gäs”. Not bad at all, right?
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Jurgen & Michael,
I’ve never heard of Sina until now, but I like her playing. It’s always nice when women give the men some competition! In that Gas video, which I like also, they should have given Sina more camera time! That was kind of frustrating! I’d rather see more of her than the posers out front! (Sorry, but women deserve equal time!)
Those were very good, thank you! I love Jazz, but Rock is great too! I appreciate the differences!
I’ve seen Buddy Rich live about 6 times, & he was a monster drummer! He even played with Charlie Parker’s band!— Bud
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