Jazz pianist with amazing left hands.

[Hardbopjazz]

I've been listening to Randy Weston's new release, "Sound." What an amazing left hand he has when playing piano. 

Can you think of other pianists with amazing left hands? 

[JSngry]

 

It's kind of like marveling about a bassist who bows as good as they pluck...shouldn't be as "exceptional" as it is, really. And once upon a time, wasn't.

For me, a left hand can act independently of the right one, that type of independence between limbs, , that's really going there.

 

If you want to hear the connection between Cecil Taylor and Horace Silver, it's the left hand.

[felser]

[Quasimado]

Q.

[HutchFan]

James P. Johnson

Richie Beirach

[BillF]

Albert Ammons

Meade Lux Lewis

Pete Johnson

[Joe]

Horace Silver.

 

[paul secor]

36 minutes ago, Joe said:

Horace Silver.

 

Man, with those long fingers, it's not hard to see at least part of the reason why he became a pianist.

[Stonewall15]

Eddie Costa and Carl Perkins.

[Dan Gould]

15 hours ago, JSngry said:

 

 

 

 

Considering how he was inspired by boogie-woogie artists I think Gene Harris fits in here.

[clifford_thornton]

Matthew Shipp and Mal Waldron

[BillF]

27 minutes ago, Stonewall15 said:

Eddie Costa and Carl Perkins.

Carl Perkins - a left hand with a difference!

 

[jlhoots]

Myra Melford

[CJ Shearn]

4 hours ago, Joe said:

Horace Silver.

 

Absolutely, and Herbie Hancock has a great left hand.  A Snarky Puppy video just came up on my YT on autoplay, and the keyboardist there has a strong left hand as well.

[Mark Stryker]

Sort of depends on your definition of "amazing." Pianists with extensive classical training tend to have active and independent left hands with more facility and the ability to play counterpoint. Tatum, Roland Hanna and Brad Mehldau come to mind. That's a very different notion of "amazing" than, say Silver or Weston, whose distinctive left hands are used in the service of their own (sometimes idiosyncratic) sound world. One's not better than the other, but we're talking about difference roots and different aesthetics. I mean, Tommy Flanagan had an amazing way of orchestrating details on the piano that brought his  left hand into full play, even though he was "right-handed" pianist in terms of letting this right hand carry the melody ala Bud. 

Complicated question.

Edited February 26, 2018 by Mark Stryker

[Big Beat Steve]

27 minutes ago, Mark Stryker said:

Sort of depends on your definition of "amazing." Pianists with extensive classical training tend to have active and independent left hands with more facility and the ability to play counterpoint. Tatum, Roland Hanna and Brad Mehldau come to mind. That's a very difference notion of "amazing" than, say Silver or Weston who have distinctive left hands and use them in the service of their own (sometimes idiosyncratic) sound world. One's not better than the other, but we're talking about difference roots and different aesthetics. I mean, Tommy Flanagan had an amazing way of orchestrating details on the piano that brought his  left hand into full play, even though he was "right-handed" pianist in terms of letting this right hand carry the melody ala Bud. 

Complicated question.

Maybe the intention of the thread starter just was to highlight the opposite of those who might have been asked by Lester Young where their "left people" were (as the anecdote goes).

Edited February 26, 2018 by Big Beat Steve

[paul secor]

12 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said:

Maybe the intention of the thread starter just was to highlight the opposite of those who might have been asked by Lester Young where their "left people" were (as the anecdote goes).

I don't know what the intention of the thread starter was, but I had the feeling that sooner or later every pianist in jazz history would be mentioned.

[Ted O'Reilly]

Of course, "stride" players have powerful left hands...Donald Lambert, Dick Wellstood, Ralph Sutton, Don Ewell, Dick Hyman, etc.; even the elegant Claude Hopkins and to a certain extent Teddy Wilson.

[Cyril]

Fred Hersch, Phineas Newborn jr.

and

 

 

Edited February 27, 2018 by Cyril

[CJ Shearn]

20 hours ago, Mark Stryker said:

Sort of depends on your definition of "amazing." Pianists with extensive classical training tend to have active and independent left hands with more facility and the ability to play counterpoint. Tatum, Roland Hanna and Brad Mehldau come to mind. That's a very different notion of "amazing" than, say Silver or Weston, whose distinctive left hands are used in the service of their own (sometimes idiosyncratic) sound world. One's not better than the other, but we're talking about difference roots and different aesthetics. I mean, Tommy Flanagan had an amazing way of orchestrating details on the piano that brought his  left hand into full play, even though he was "right-handed" pianist in terms of letting this right hand carry the melody ala Bud. 

Complicated question.

Great point.  Mehldau has one of the most astonishing left hands I've ever heard, particularly on "Live in Tokyo" or "10 Years Solo Live" and that's a very different way of using it than Horace Silver.  When I think of a great left hand I'm thinking about the ability to frame the harmony, or create a strong percussive accent.

[Rooster_Ties]

On 2/26/2018 at 0:41 PM, Mark Stryker said:

Pianists with extensive classical training tend to have active and independent left hands with more facility and the ability to play counterpoint.

In that regard, Helen Sung comes to mind -- who started as a classical player, and got her undergrad and master's degrees (both of them) in classical piano performance at UT Austin.

I think Jason Moran has also had some and maybe a fair bit of classical training, and I think his hand-independence is a big feature in his playing (though in quite a different way than Sung's).

For my money, Mehldau, Moran, and Sung may be among the very best and/or most interesting jazz pianists of their generation.  I've heard Helen live 2-3 times back in Kansas City (couple times as a 'sideman' - including one time backing Greg Tardy) -- and twice here in DC (incl. once with Gary Thomas in her band!) -- and she's always amazing.

Where does Vijay Iyer fit into this topic?  (I must confess, though I've seen his trio live once here in DC a few years ago, I really don't know his music.)  My sense is that he's not as technically adept, however amazing he may be in other areas of his skill-set (including playing, though more from the "Andrew Hill" school maybe).

I know Moran also comes out of that Hill-school too (very much so), but I think Moran's technical fluidity and pure 'skills' are (maybe much?) stronger than Hill's.  Which is to say that Hill did a LOT of independent-handed stuff, but not as 'adeptly' as those with more formal training.

Moran also studied with Jaki Byard - where does he fit into all this??

Edited February 28, 2018 by Rooster_Ties

[jlhoots]

Marilyn Crispell

[JSngry]

 

Oops, not jazz. Nevertheless...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk_yNa0KPEM