Tampa Calling

Several days ago, while watching Marco Benevento fire up his piano on a YouTube video, I got to thinking — who are some of the best keyboardists around right now, the ones who truly bring chops to the table, either via instrumental compositions, or songwriting, or both? I’ve tried to go less obvious — no one’s questioning the skills of Gregg Allman, or Keith Emerson, or Count Basie, or Richard Wright, or George Duke, or Dr. John, or interchangeable piano men Billy Joel and Elton John, or even the wondrous Stevie Wonder. We all already know those dudes are at the top. But what about some of the less obvious, but no less great? In the vein of Ivan’s Top 5 Bass Players Ever — except that, despite the title of my post, I’m not really claiming these are the best key players ever, just my favorites — I’ve put together the following list, in no particular order, and with video.

Marco Benevento
He’s among the most talented keyboardists around right now, in my humble opinion. He’s pretty hip to current technology and usually incorporates it into his compositions. I’ve seen him play in his main band with drummer Joe Russo, the Benevento/Russo Duo, I’ve seen him perform as part of a Led Zeppelin tribute, Bustle in Your Hedgerow, I’ve seen him tear it up with Russo, Mike Gordon and Trey Anastasio during the GRAB tour, and I’ve seen him in his solo project, a trio with badass bassist Reed Mathis and drummer Matt Chamberlain. The following video Marco with his trio playing “Twin Killers” from a May 13 show in Philly.

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Lots of great music this year; here’s my subjective list of the best. Snider’s will be posted later.

1. of Montreal: Skeletal Lamping (Polyvinyl)
I’ve lauded this album to the moon and back, and I love it for the very reason it turns other people off – the quick and abrupt rhythm changes within the songs, the clever and suggestive lyrics, and the layers upon layers of rainbow-hued sonics. Kevin Barnes’ refusal to dumb down his music for mainstream audiences is commendable and refreshing, especially since the result is a virtual masterpiece. I’ve listened to it at least 100 times over the past three months and I’m still not sick of it, which, in my book, makes it the best album of ’08.

2. Bon Iver: For Emma… Forever Ago (Jagjaguwar)
Bon Iver is Wisconsin singer/songwriter Justin Vernon. His rootsy debut album under this moniker is the sort that takes your breathe away with its stunning, austere beauty — light drums, acoustic guitar, the occasional wash of background sonics. But the sole element that makes For Emma’s subtleties and well-crafted songs of longing and loss work so well is Vernon’s delicate, soulful falsetto, sometimes multi-tracked to elegant effect and so magnificently expressive it brings a tear to the eye.

3. TV on the Radio: Dear Science (Interscope)
Bumpin’ disco-funk dance music marked by out-of-the-box beats and brimming with sexiness and soul, Dear Science found a rather serious Brooklyn art rock band building upon their dark meditative style by letting loose and having fun with it.

4. MGMT: Oracular Spectacular (Columbia)
People use the word “derivative” a lot when discussing this band. But MGMT does ’70s-style psychedelic glam rock right, throws in some funky electro-pop for kicks, and presents it with the sort of cock-strutting confidence you’d expect from a band on its fifth record, not its first (or second, depending on who you’re asking). What really makes this album a top 10, however, is the production quality; I’ve heard demos and the songs wouldn’t be nearly so good if they hadn’t been jazzed up in the studio.

5. Icy Demons: Miami Ice (Obey Your Brain)
The experimental Chicago/Philadelphia ensemble departed from their distinctly Zappa-esque-jazzified-prog-rock-meets-New-Wave-pop sound to an album so out there that even I couldn’t wrap my mind around it at first – off-kilter melodies, shifting time-signatures colliding with warm and mellow samba beats, menacing cello and buzzing synthesizers broken up by a xylophone-infused vocal interlude. In the end, the novelty spoke to me.

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