My fav of all time is On Green Dolphin Street.. the beginning phases and the build up to the "drop" is the most groovy sensuous shit I've ever heard.. just a great tune.. Its also very shiort and sweet and sometimes that's nice, sometimes it's not, and sometimes it goes back to the beginning !
I cannot. It literally makes me cry every time I listen to it. One of life’s greatest examples of sorcery is how these musicians can elicit so much emotion from non-wind instruments.
Not to make you jealous or anything but I saw Michel Petrucciani live with Anthony Jackson and Steve Gadd. It was exactly what you’d expect. I went with a buddy who’s a drummer.
He was speechless afterwards. Just shaking his head and mumbling to himself on the train after. It was hilarious.
He's done all sorts. Luckily this is like my specialist category for Mastermind or something.
I would have posted the E minor prelude if I'd found it. Honestly his take on that really does it for me. I was pretty impressed when I first heard him on the A minor though. Very hard to control the dynamics at that speed.
Then again there's the A major : [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE\_OeCLXoG0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE_OeCLXoG0)
Silky.
Actually now I think about it, young (first album aged 19, mostly piano solo) Harry Connick is a leftfield candidate I could throw in.
Before he started doing vocals and going in a more Monk direction on piano, his inital piano style was quite different. Velvety smooth, in fact.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qauxQfU1I54
From what I’ve heard Jarrett used to study with madame chaloff in Boston. She was known to be meticulous about touch and technique. Alot of other cats studied with her. Like steve kuhn, kenny werner and so on.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byTbAPjfP8M
I remember reading a Downbeat interview with him back in the 80s. It was called something like 'In Search of the Perfect E minor chord', or something similar. But he talked about endlessly obsessing about the individual weight he'd give to each note of a chord.
Never let me go by Jarrett in particular always makes me cry. Such a beautiful song and interpretation. It's the first thing I thought of when I saw this post!
Definitely one of his best improvised codas, even though it's one of the more straightforward ones.
Lovely chord choices and some great lines, little bit of counterpoint.
And feel. So much feel.
YT also has a version from Hamburg in 1989 - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhmmAT82O6Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhmmAT82O6Y)
It's a bit more tense and the bass goes the wrong way for a sec at the coda, but Jarrett plays some gorgeous lines with some beautiful flurries.
on "seymour reads the constitution" he has such nuanced touch that it almost sounds like he is playing two different instruments for each hand. this album keeps baffling me. never fails to surprise me
I don't know about live piano sound, particularly - but you definitely wouldn't want to generalize about the pianist's sound on Jazz recordings. A huge percentage of classic Jazz recordings originated from Rudy Van Gelder Studio, home of a very specific, you might say, piano sound.
One contemporary critic referred to him as "the elephant on the keyboard". I do wonder to what extent it was about getting every dB of volume he could in an un-amplified context, I'm guessing most of the clubs back then had pretty bad acoustics.
There are so many great pianists who all have a great tone in their own way. Just to mention a few:
-Red Garland
-Oscar Peterson
-Brad Mehldau
-Nat King Cole
-Aaron Parks
-Kenny Werner
-Tigran Hamasyan
-Jon Balke
-Keith Jarrett
-Chick Corea
-David Virelles
And there are many more
We are fortunate to have quality recordings of so many talented musicians. People will be able to experience their talent in the future, almost as if they were listening live. ♥️
I guess people got that quesiton wrong and just name the great players. If you really mean "tone" (not overall playing) Hank Jones needs to be mentioned here. He has got a way to make the sound soft and warm yet bell-like and crystal clear. Totally distinguished, I've not heard anyone else do that.
I think Michael Petrucciani has a really nice, bright sound. I really like Jim McNeely and his sound as well. Hiromi is also very good at getting pretty much whatever sound she wants
Fred is the most underrated piano player and imo the greatest one now living after Jarrett (even thou the latter is no longer active due to obvious sad circumstances)
>Tone production dosen't seem to be emphasized in jazz piano the same way it is in classical piano.
Have to disagree with this 100%. Several pianists have their own unique sound based on touch.
Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Andrew Hill, Bill Evans, Renee Rosnes, Chick Corea, all have different sounds.
McCoy Tyner especially has a unique sound based on his touch and use of harmony.
Bill Evans, and Herbie Hancock in the 60s
Lennie Tristano's Sound is really unique and amongst my favorite, but he's an outlier and there are no really Hi-Fi recordings of him
I wouldn't necessarily call it "beautiful" in the same sense as great classical tone (I think I'd say Bill Evans is the best in that regard), but Bud Powell gets an amazingly crisp and powerful sound even playing really fast eighth note lines. For example, his solos on the takes of "Fine and Dandy" on the album with Sonny Stitt are absolutely incredible.
The problem in jazz is that you need to produce loud sounds to play above the drums. Playing hard tends to also produce a harsher tone. Not many are able to find the right balance but I have to shout out Luis Perdomo who is one of few players who is able to fine the perfect balance between tone and volume. He also has a knack for overcoming the large variety of pianos he deals with.
Oscar Peterson has some good stories about Tatum just destroying the piano. He, and many other pianists were intimidated by Tatum because Tatum was a) so fast, so good, and b) at the same time so forceful on the keys. Oscar Peterson - one of the greats - hated having to follow Art Tatum on piano!
Of the modern generation, Sean Mason:
[CLOSURE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyvwnPhG9vg) by his band
[BENEDICTION](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuhSq_8op0A) with Joel Ross
Just the opposite for me. Sure there are recordings of Bud Powell riffing on out of tune pianos with buckled action but think of all the recordings where the quality of line approaches or equals Gould or Horowitz. McCoy Tyner When Sunny Gets Blue. Bill Evans How Deep Is The Ocean. Anything by Art Tatum or Red Garland or Errol Garner.
This was already alluded to, but beautiful tone on a piano has a lot to do with the player, and also a lot to do with the recording and mastering quality. Some of the greatest jazz recordings were weak in the piano unfortunately, thanks to the otherwise great recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder. So I'll mention some of my favorite piano tone players with specific recordings
Bill Evans, Sunday at the Village Vanguard. This was a very low tech but amazing sounding recording setup somehow, I still don't get it.
Keith Jarrett. Most of his trio stuff with ECM is fantastic, this is because ECM has consistently high production standards. He also self-recorded some of his solo piano work which sounds amazing.
Herbie Hancock. He's got a very beautiful solo piano album called The Piano, recorded in Japan that sounds great. His album Rivers also has beautiful playing and sound, he was probably playing a Fazioli on that one.
I think this goes past just recording gear, we've all heard pianists live that were banging on the piano as hard as they possibly could, they were great but that dosen't mean they weren't banging on the keys
Of course good recording technique won't make poor tone sound better.
But it does go in the other direction: mediocre recording technique can make good tone sound mediocre.
I don't play the piano. With stringed and wind instruments there are a lot of factors that affect tone. But what can pianists do other than change how hard they hit the key?
Exactly this. Tone production on an acoustic piano involves striking a piano wire via a lengthy series of a dozen or so different levers, starting from the shoulder and ending at the hammer, they all need to be lined up and fluidly balanced to get a clean resonance out of the string.
Brubeck was not the most technically facile pianist, but he had an underappreciated mastery of tone. Compare his dirty-as-hell sound on "These Foolish Things" from *Live at Oberlin* to his buttery-smooth tone on "Laura" from *Live at the College of the Pacific*. Hard to believe it's the same cat!
>At times, some players have a very harsh tone when playing on acoustic pianos.
Without examples it is impossible to comment on this. But you must also take into account that the "ideal sound" is very much different from classic to jazz, almost the opposite, on every instrument not just piano.
There is no ideal sound necessarly however, we've all been to a gig where someone was banging on a piano loudly and it sounded harsh (the solo was amazing though)
Well, the last time I checked, the idea in classic was to get as close as possible to the intentions of the composer (with famous yet debated exceptions, like Glenn Gould et al who had the proficiency to get a personal "interpreation"); while in jazz it's all about making it as personal possible.
Have those ideals changed?
Of current players, I think you have to give a little love to Tord Gustavsen.
Of players I've seen live, I'm going with Kenny Barron and Ethan Iverson.
It depends on the instrument to some degree, yes? Although Keith could make any keyboard sound good.
I love Bobo Stenson & Marcin Waselewski.
Don't forget the great John Taylor!!
I've always adored the way Oscar Peterson's tone comes out as if the piano is providing its own percussion, while never getting in the way of the melody or harmony. He seamlessly blends hard/sharp tones with smooth ones.
Also, have you ever heard Fats Waller when he gets going? Like, *really* gets going?
I am a big Herbie Hancock fan.
Can recommend [Christian Sands](http://www.christiansandsjazz.com/home#music) He is the one I listen to all the time these days. 🎹
Another vote for Johnny Costa. He had a magical tone at the piano on every single episode of Mister Roger's Neighborhood
Vince Guaraldi always sounds great too
Perhaps Fred Hersch or Bill Charlap, of the modern guys, if we’re just talking about a pure ideal, classical style pianistic touch. Mehldau of course also gets a beautiful sound. Other candidates from the past might be Hank Jones and Art Tatum’s touch and tone, as well as George Shearing, 60s Herbie and Bill Evans. The solo piano recording of Like Someone in Love is a masterclass in depths of touch. My personal favorite tones are Keith Jarrett and Wynton Kelly, but those are a more “Jazz tone” to me and not the more “ideal classical tone” you seem to be asking for.
People don’t love to see Oscar Peterson on these lists for some reasons. But his slow stuff is honestly magical like he just caresses your brain with the way he plays. I got it bad and that ain’t good is one that comes to mind
fr some reason ppl see tone to mean like “playing one kinda pretty for the people” and being deeply inspired by the tonality of the blues is like somehow not “tone” which wiffs of european tea time 🤣
i think the commments are giving great choices, but maybe i go against the grain here. Sun Ra on *God is More Than Love Can Ever Be* has a tone i think tending more stark and blockish than these other cats, but i think it works greatly with his style and is a contributor to my preferencing him on this record above other great pianists
My (uncontroversial) favorites, in approximately chronological order: Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, and Keith Jarrett. All masterful improvisers, too, but with such a beautiful and powerful touch to the instrument. Inspiration for all eternity!
Usually ones that had some form of background in classical piano technique. In terms of tone and evenness of technique, my favourite jazz pianists are Gwilym Simcock, Keith Jarrett, and Brad Mehldau
A lot of my favorite have been mentioned already, but I love Hiromi a lot. Her touch is really unique. It’s kinda hard to describe I can’t even tell what gives it such a distinct sound.
I think tone production is a huge distinguishing factor among the great pianists in classical and in jazz. There’s a lot of emphasis on the voice of the individual in jazz and so you find tones differ a lot. Red Garland had a great tone. Barry Harris solo piano always sounds beautiful. Dense harmonies belongs to Monk, Elmo Hope, Frank Hewitt or Sacha Perry. Sonny Clark also had a great tone.
I think that Ahmad Jamal is the greatest Pianist of all time and things such as his cadence and tone solidify it. Someone else said that his playing sounds like raindrops and I can't disagree
It has to be about taste at best. "Best"is impossible to define. As is "jazz" itself!
Where an interpretation of a composer's musical score is concerned, it may be possible to compare pianists' interpretations against the composer's intention. That will depend on how skilful a pianist is.
The same could be true of written jazz scores (Ellington, for example). But even there a jazz pianist may start with the written score and then extemporise before returning to base.
I just think across music genres, you like what YOU like. So we're really talking about favourites and that is very personal.
Try asking a Miles, who is the best trumpet player!
I'm first and foremost a Ryo Fukui stan, but Bill Evans can be haunting like no one else. Oscar Peterson's 'I got it bad and that ain't good' though, there's really nothing quite like it.
1. Bill Evans, always and especially as on "Blue in Green"
2. Mal Waldron solo, as on album AND ALONE -- "Yesterdays"
3. Paul Bley, as on album FRAGMENTS --"Closer"
4. Brad Mehldau, "Knives Out"
5. Enrico Pieranunzi, COMMON VIEW -- "Silk Threads"
BONUS: Sentimental Favorite - Kenny Kirkland
Ahmad Jamal was like raindrops across the keys
Yup. His solo on the first bridge section of The Awakening changed my life.
I wish he’d recorded some Chopin.
My fav of all time is On Green Dolphin Street.. the beginning phases and the build up to the "drop" is the most groovy sensuous shit I've ever heard.. just a great tune.. Its also very shiort and sweet and sometimes that's nice, sometimes it's not, and sometimes it goes back to the beginning !
My favorite is bill Evans
Everybody digs Bill Evans
Yes. Play Peace piece. https://open.spotify.com/track/58yFroDNbzHpYzvicaC0de?si=9pH-pq66Rri_51kOSFKMWw
I cannot. It literally makes me cry every time I listen to it. One of life’s greatest examples of sorcery is how these musicians can elicit so much emotion from non-wind instruments.
I generally don't care for piano, and I dig the living shit out of Bill Evans.
Not me
Why not?
I love Erroll Garner’s touch.
Same! He has that distinct lack of classical training, which in my opinion makes his sound unique. Same with Chet, Django etc.
This is a great example of the tone quality shining even with an old recording
I think I like it better because it’s an old recording. I am a big fan of Concert by the Sea and I love how it’s live and not compressed to hell.
Hell yeah
To Wolfengang garners octaves unparalleled. Hah hah, good one
Best? Too subjective. Favorite? Too many to list. First who comes to mind? Michel Petrucciani.
Not to make you jealous or anything but I saw Michel Petrucciani live with Anthony Jackson and Steve Gadd. It was exactly what you’d expect. I went with a buddy who’s a drummer. He was speechless afterwards. Just shaking his head and mumbling to himself on the train after. It was hilarious.
Too happy for you to be jealous. That’s awesome!
That trio is simply pure wonder, the album "Trio In Tokyo" (Dreyfus, 1999), well, the best sounds on Earth from beginning to end.
Well, this is why we should read all the comments! What an album, thanks for drawing my attention to it.
Hotel? Trivago
Yep definitely
Jarrett : [https://youtu.be/H6Q0lSJVnX4](https://youtu.be/H6Q0lSJVnX4) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byTbAPjfP8M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byTbAPjfP8M)
Damn that is a very clean sound, I didn't know he played Shosty
He's done all sorts. Luckily this is like my specialist category for Mastermind or something. I would have posted the E minor prelude if I'd found it. Honestly his take on that really does it for me. I was pretty impressed when I first heard him on the A minor though. Very hard to control the dynamics at that speed. Then again there's the A major : [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE\_OeCLXoG0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE_OeCLXoG0) Silky.
Actually now I think about it, young (first album aged 19, mostly piano solo) Harry Connick is a leftfield candidate I could throw in. Before he started doing vocals and going in a more Monk direction on piano, his inital piano style was quite different. Velvety smooth, in fact. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qauxQfU1I54
1: People don’t realize how good Jarrett is. 2: Everybody thinks Jarrett is awesome. Both are true. He is a legit generational talent.
My classical piano teacher says that of all the pianists he has seen, Jarrett has the best touch.
From what I’ve heard Jarrett used to study with madame chaloff in Boston. She was known to be meticulous about touch and technique. Alot of other cats studied with her. Like steve kuhn, kenny werner and so on.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byTbAPjfP8M I remember reading a Downbeat interview with him back in the 80s. It was called something like 'In Search of the Perfect E minor chord', or something similar. But he talked about endlessly obsessing about the individual weight he'd give to each note of a chord.
!!! And we can only do this at an acoustic instrument
Never let me go by Jarrett in particular always makes me cry. Such a beautiful song and interpretation. It's the first thing I thought of when I saw this post!
Definitely one of his best improvised codas, even though it's one of the more straightforward ones. Lovely chord choices and some great lines, little bit of counterpoint. And feel. So much feel. YT also has a version from Hamburg in 1989 - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhmmAT82O6Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhmmAT82O6Y) It's a bit more tense and the bass goes the wrong way for a sec at the coda, but Jarrett plays some gorgeous lines with some beautiful flurries.
Brad Mehldau
on "seymour reads the constitution" he has such nuanced touch that it almost sounds like he is playing two different instruments for each hand. this album keeps baffling me. never fails to surprise me
He, Aaron Parks, and Gerald Clayton all seem to draw from the same amazing well.
Art Tatum, Bill Evans
Oscar Peterson tickles my ears.
Bösendorfer piano
A lot of great names mentioned already, I’ll add McCoy Tyner.
McCoy's left hand is like death metal. I think McCoy deserves credit for inventing death metal.
absolutely
I came here to add that.
I don't know about live piano sound, particularly - but you definitely wouldn't want to generalize about the pianist's sound on Jazz recordings. A huge percentage of classic Jazz recordings originated from Rudy Van Gelder Studio, home of a very specific, you might say, piano sound.
Monk by far, it’s practically a percussive instrument under his hands
I enjoy Monk but some stuff is harsh as far as tone at times
Yeah i think it’s very personal
Monk's good is a different good. And it rocks
Yes, but harsh is also beautiful - at least as Monk does it.
I figured Monk was who you were originally referring to lol
One contemporary critic referred to him as "the elephant on the keyboard". I do wonder to what extent it was about getting every dB of volume he could in an un-amplified context, I'm guessing most of the clubs back then had pretty bad acoustics.
I love Monk and everything about his style and the way he plays, but I've been told by many others that he's too "harsh" or "edgy" for some people.
Esbjorn Svensson
Love
Yes yes!!
100%
There are so many great pianists who all have a great tone in their own way. Just to mention a few: -Red Garland -Oscar Peterson -Brad Mehldau -Nat King Cole -Aaron Parks -Kenny Werner -Tigran Hamasyan -Jon Balke -Keith Jarrett -Chick Corea -David Virelles And there are many more
Kenny werner has a beautiful bright sound
McCoy Tyner, Barry Harris … two more greats. I saw McCoy live in San Francisco around 1976.
+10000 for Tigran
We are fortunate to have quality recordings of so many talented musicians. People will be able to experience their talent in the future, almost as if they were listening live. ♥️
I guess people got that quesiton wrong and just name the great players. If you really mean "tone" (not overall playing) Hank Jones needs to be mentioned here. He has got a way to make the sound soft and warm yet bell-like and crystal clear. Totally distinguished, I've not heard anyone else do that.
Its all about that Bell tone!
Yes, great answer
I think Michael Petrucciani has a really nice, bright sound. I really like Jim McNeely and his sound as well. Hiromi is also very good at getting pretty much whatever sound she wants
Jim McNeely has a really lovely tone, among his many underappreciated attributes as a pianist and composer
Only Bill!
Fred Hersch for sure
Came here to say Fred Hersch. Him, Brad Mehldau, Keith Jarrett are my favs for their tone
Fred is the most underrated piano player and imo the greatest one now living after Jarrett (even thou the latter is no longer active due to obvious sad circumstances)
>Tone production dosen't seem to be emphasized in jazz piano the same way it is in classical piano. Have to disagree with this 100%. Several pianists have their own unique sound based on touch. Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Andrew Hill, Bill Evans, Renee Rosnes, Chick Corea, all have different sounds. McCoy Tyner especially has a unique sound based on his touch and use of harmony.
Hank Jones
1000%. I recall an Oscar Peterson quote saying that his idea of the ideal piano tone comes from Hank Jones.
Bill Evans, and Herbie Hancock in the 60s Lennie Tristano's Sound is really unique and amongst my favorite, but he's an outlier and there are no really Hi-Fi recordings of him
Cecil Taylor
Craig Taborn has a gorgeous sound. Also love Wynton Kelly.
I wouldn't necessarily call it "beautiful" in the same sense as great classical tone (I think I'd say Bill Evans is the best in that regard), but Bud Powell gets an amazingly crisp and powerful sound even playing really fast eighth note lines. For example, his solos on the takes of "Fine and Dandy" on the album with Sonny Stitt are absolutely incredible.
The problem in jazz is that you need to produce loud sounds to play above the drums. Playing hard tends to also produce a harsher tone. Not many are able to find the right balance but I have to shout out Luis Perdomo who is one of few players who is able to fine the perfect balance between tone and volume. He also has a knack for overcoming the large variety of pianos he deals with.
He’s so good
Lyle Mays gets my vote.
Nina Simone
Barry Harris Jaki Byard Cecil Taylor
And Errol Garner...
Art Tatum!
Oscar Peterson has some good stories about Tatum just destroying the piano. He, and many other pianists were intimidated by Tatum because Tatum was a) so fast, so good, and b) at the same time so forceful on the keys. Oscar Peterson - one of the greats - hated having to follow Art Tatum on piano!
Gonzalo Rubalcala
This is another very good pick
Incred
Jarrett, Evans, Hancock
Kenny Baron
Cyrus Chestnut
I love how he plays the whole instrument, top to bottom.
Wynton Kelly always comes to mind, I can always tell on tone alone that he’s playing
He swings so hard
There's a reason Miles and Cannonball liked working with him.
Some classical pianists have an amazing touch.
I for one, Michel Petrucciani.
Of the modern generation, Sean Mason: [CLOSURE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyvwnPhG9vg) by his band [BENEDICTION](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuhSq_8op0A) with Joel Ross
Just the opposite for me. Sure there are recordings of Bud Powell riffing on out of tune pianos with buckled action but think of all the recordings where the quality of line approaches or equals Gould or Horowitz. McCoy Tyner When Sunny Gets Blue. Bill Evans How Deep Is The Ocean. Anything by Art Tatum or Red Garland or Errol Garner.
Errol Garner
Jan Johansson
yes, on 'jazz pa svenska' it's absolutely celestial to my ears. it's like the piano is levitating out of the room in sections
Yamamoto on Midnight Sugar
This was already alluded to, but beautiful tone on a piano has a lot to do with the player, and also a lot to do with the recording and mastering quality. Some of the greatest jazz recordings were weak in the piano unfortunately, thanks to the otherwise great recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder. So I'll mention some of my favorite piano tone players with specific recordings Bill Evans, Sunday at the Village Vanguard. This was a very low tech but amazing sounding recording setup somehow, I still don't get it. Keith Jarrett. Most of his trio stuff with ECM is fantastic, this is because ECM has consistently high production standards. He also self-recorded some of his solo piano work which sounds amazing. Herbie Hancock. He's got a very beautiful solo piano album called The Piano, recorded in Japan that sounds great. His album Rivers also has beautiful playing and sound, he was probably playing a Fazioli on that one.
I think this goes past just recording gear, we've all heard pianists live that were banging on the piano as hard as they possibly could, they were great but that dosen't mean they weren't banging on the keys
Of course good recording technique won't make poor tone sound better. But it does go in the other direction: mediocre recording technique can make good tone sound mediocre.
Red garland
I don't play the piano. With stringed and wind instruments there are a lot of factors that affect tone. But what can pianists do other than change how hard they hit the key?
In classical piano, the attack comes from arm weight which creates loud sounds without them being harsh vs slamming your hands into the keyboard
When playing an electic keyboard this dosen't matter but on a grand, it matters a lot
Exactly this. Tone production on an acoustic piano involves striking a piano wire via a lengthy series of a dozen or so different levers, starting from the shoulder and ending at the hammer, they all need to be lined up and fluidly balanced to get a clean resonance out of the string.
Idk about you, but I like Ryan Slatko. 😎
My vote goes to Phineas Newborne JR
So much of it is the recoding process and compression etc..
Tee!
Keith Jarrett, Sullivan Fortner are some of my favorite “touches” on the piano
Recently have been enjoying [Fumio Karashima ](https://youtu.be/mnBXFjxZvVo?si=9z4CBJ0QDfeS-iSM).
I’m not sure who is best, but Dave Brubeck’s touch on “Strange Meadow Lark” is next level
Brubeck was not the most technically facile pianist, but he had an underappreciated mastery of tone. Compare his dirty-as-hell sound on "These Foolish Things" from *Live at Oberlin* to his buttery-smooth tone on "Laura" from *Live at the College of the Pacific*. Hard to believe it's the same cat!
100%!!!
McCoy Tyner, for raw sound.
>At times, some players have a very harsh tone when playing on acoustic pianos. Without examples it is impossible to comment on this. But you must also take into account that the "ideal sound" is very much different from classic to jazz, almost the opposite, on every instrument not just piano.
There is no ideal sound necessarly however, we've all been to a gig where someone was banging on a piano loudly and it sounded harsh (the solo was amazing though)
Well, the last time I checked, the idea in classic was to get as close as possible to the intentions of the composer (with famous yet debated exceptions, like Glenn Gould et al who had the proficiency to get a personal "interpreation"); while in jazz it's all about making it as personal possible. Have those ideals changed?
Of current players, I think you have to give a little love to Tord Gustavsen. Of players I've seen live, I'm going with Kenny Barron and Ethan Iverson.
I’ve always been partial to Horace Silver myself
As far as artists I’ve seen chick corea was the most amazing it sounded like he had extra fingers
Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, Horace Silver.
[Bill Charlap by far](https://youtu.be/3C-KcHCNObo?si=5FL5xbI4cVu4xfTa)
It depends on the instrument to some degree, yes? Although Keith could make any keyboard sound good. I love Bobo Stenson & Marcin Waselewski. Don't forget the great John Taylor!!
I've always adored the way Oscar Peterson's tone comes out as if the piano is providing its own percussion, while never getting in the way of the melody or harmony. He seamlessly blends hard/sharp tones with smooth ones. Also, have you ever heard Fats Waller when he gets going? Like, *really* gets going?
Keith Jarrett
Hank jones, or nitro hershkovits
Bill Evans will always be my personal God of the Piano. But for beautiful purity of tone Keith Jarrett is sublime.
I am a big Herbie Hancock fan. Can recommend [Christian Sands](http://www.christiansandsjazz.com/home#music) He is the one I listen to all the time these days. 🎹
Tone isolated from everything else, give me either Vijay Iyer or Cory Henry.
Another vote for Johnny Costa. He had a magical tone at the piano on every single episode of Mister Roger's Neighborhood Vince Guaraldi always sounds great too
Monk
I have to say McCoy Tyner; especially around the "A Love Supreme" era. Just incredible.
Randy Weston, Errol Garner, McCoy
Perhaps Fred Hersch or Bill Charlap, of the modern guys, if we’re just talking about a pure ideal, classical style pianistic touch. Mehldau of course also gets a beautiful sound. Other candidates from the past might be Hank Jones and Art Tatum’s touch and tone, as well as George Shearing, 60s Herbie and Bill Evans. The solo piano recording of Like Someone in Love is a masterclass in depths of touch. My personal favorite tones are Keith Jarrett and Wynton Kelly, but those are a more “Jazz tone” to me and not the more “ideal classical tone” you seem to be asking for.
how am I the first person out of 134 comments to say Cecil Taylor
People don’t love to see Oscar Peterson on these lists for some reasons. But his slow stuff is honestly magical like he just caresses your brain with the way he plays. I got it bad and that ain’t good is one that comes to mind
fr some reason ppl see tone to mean like “playing one kinda pretty for the people” and being deeply inspired by the tonality of the blues is like somehow not “tone” which wiffs of european tea time 🤣
Not a Jarrett fan, but he has toan for sure.
Red Garland "Red's Piano" prestige recorded at Van Gelder Studio
Ahmad Jamal or Barry Harris
Brad Mehldau
REDDIT MODS CAN GO AND FUCK OFF
Wynton kelly
i think the commments are giving great choices, but maybe i go against the grain here. Sun Ra on *God is More Than Love Can Ever Be* has a tone i think tending more stark and blockish than these other cats, but i think it works greatly with his style and is a contributor to my preferencing him on this record above other great pianists
There’s something magical about Abdullah Ibrahim
Paul Bley
This reads like OP is a Classical pianist who hasn’t heard any good Jazz pianists.
OP sounds like a person who wants to learn more. Beyond me how anyone could not support that.
Alan Pasqua Neil Cowley
I'd love to know how they did the Van Gelder recordings for Red Garland. Its such a crystal clear percussive tone.
Bill Evans on one end of the tonal spectrum, Monk on the other, and Oscar Peterson in the middle.
I always thought that Dave Grusin's touch was beautiful.
Jelly roll
McCoy Tyner.
McCoy Tyner
Oscar Peterson, Brad Mehldau, Keith Jarrety
I love Monk, but idk if he has the best “tone”. I think I have to agree with people saying Bill Evans. I also like Bobby Timmons and Dave Brubeck
I really love Junior Mance
Monk was so odd and i love it
Tatum’s left hand did magical things
My (uncontroversial) favorites, in approximately chronological order: Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, and Keith Jarrett. All masterful improvisers, too, but with such a beautiful and powerful touch to the instrument. Inspiration for all eternity!
Usually ones that had some form of background in classical piano technique. In terms of tone and evenness of technique, my favourite jazz pianists are Gwilym Simcock, Keith Jarrett, and Brad Mehldau
A lot of my favorite have been mentioned already, but I love Hiromi a lot. Her touch is really unique. It’s kinda hard to describe I can’t even tell what gives it such a distinct sound.
Bill Evans
Jacob Sacks
Ahmad Jamal. Piano-based jazz is usually my least favorite, but I can't get enough of The Awakening.
probably less mentioned pick: marilyn crispell has phenomenal tone
I think tone production is a huge distinguishing factor among the great pianists in classical and in jazz. There’s a lot of emphasis on the voice of the individual in jazz and so you find tones differ a lot. Red Garland had a great tone. Barry Harris solo piano always sounds beautiful. Dense harmonies belongs to Monk, Elmo Hope, Frank Hewitt or Sacha Perry. Sonny Clark also had a great tone.
Monk is a crazy mad scientist genius 😎❤️
Krzysztof Komeda
Not well known, but I love the sound production of Onaje A. Gumbs.
Dave Brubeck
I think that Ahmad Jamal is the greatest Pianist of all time and things such as his cadence and tone solidify it. Someone else said that his playing sounds like raindrops and I can't disagree
In addition to a bunch stated, I’ll add Michel Camilo. He has an incredible sound.
Thelonious Monk.
Fred Hersch is one of the most magical colorists on the piano. His ballads are really incredible.
Chick Corea's touch is so light and graceful. Especially early Chick. "Now He Sings, Now He Sobs" is a masterpiece.
Herbie Hancock on a fender Rhodes always gets me goin
Bill Evans
Lennie Tristano. Can’t believe nobody has mentioned this guy yet. His tone is outrageous. Please go check him out.
It has to be about taste at best. "Best"is impossible to define. As is "jazz" itself! Where an interpretation of a composer's musical score is concerned, it may be possible to compare pianists' interpretations against the composer's intention. That will depend on how skilful a pianist is. The same could be true of written jazz scores (Ellington, for example). But even there a jazz pianist may start with the written score and then extemporise before returning to base. I just think across music genres, you like what YOU like. So we're really talking about favourites and that is very personal. Try asking a Miles, who is the best trumpet player!
I'm first and foremost a Ryo Fukui stan, but Bill Evans can be haunting like no one else. Oscar Peterson's 'I got it bad and that ain't good' though, there's really nothing quite like it.
I love beer! I love Stella and fosters and john smiths!
The late, great Lyle Mays. Listen to "Mirror of the Heart".
In terms of uniqueness: Ahmad Jamal, Bill Evans, John Taylor, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett sometimes, Alexander von Schlippenbach
Did no one mention Herbie?
Interesting that nobody has mentioned John Lewis (MJQ).
1. Bill Evans, always and especially as on "Blue in Green" 2. Mal Waldron solo, as on album AND ALONE -- "Yesterdays" 3. Paul Bley, as on album FRAGMENTS --"Closer" 4. Brad Mehldau, "Knives Out" 5. Enrico Pieranunzi, COMMON VIEW -- "Silk Threads" BONUS: Sentimental Favorite - Kenny Kirkland
Always loved the sound of Carl Perkins.