edit: On second thought, someone's going to argue you have to play out to be a great musician, otherwise you're missing that perspective and not complete. For pure technique, I stand by my guess. There's no real answer here, of course. This is gonna be one of them "opinions are like @$$holes" threads.

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"It's gettin' hard to find a place to play my guitar,
And they're tryin' to put an end to guys like me"

The Georgia Steel Guitar Association: we steel got them Georgia Peaches

[This message was edited by Chris Lasher on 25 January 2005 at 05:31 PM.]

Drew

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Gazornktron T-16 w/ FranistatSUX2000 mod

If you only take under consideration his prowess on the pipe organ then this still could hold true. His sons said after his death that his organ compositions were not really a true representation of how formidable his talents were when he played concerts live. His organ concerts often lasted for hours and would include hour+ long improvisations on whatever theme he had in front of him at the moment.

If you have ever studied his compositions, his life and his effect on musicicians for the last couple of hundred years after his death then you might agree that Bach may very well be the greatest master of music.

It's in the book.

Or Buck Owens, cause I like all the sparkles he wore on his clothes.

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JUST 'CAUSE I STEEL, DON'T MAKE ME A THIEF www.geocities.com/squire592001/jason.html

[This message was edited by John P.Phillips on 25 January 2005 at 09:20 PM.]

....and then Meatloaf!

Bach invented boogie woogie, the classic blues / rock bass line,
and completed the cycle of the musical form of his time.
If instruments had developed far enough, he would have gone farther.

Motzart had some what more more advanced instruments,
but died too young to really have surpassed Bach in output.
But he went much farther in structure, and set new organizational forms,
plus was a serious improvisor as was Bach.

Franz Liszt was the 1st widely aclaimed "International Music Star", at a time when only news papers, printed materials and live concerts were the only way to be known.

He had the benifit of a true advance in the piano.
The Erhardt action allowed him to move to new levels of technique,
so he could also in his writing.
He gigged with 4-5 pianos, because he broke 5-10 strings per performance... a real dynamic player!

He then retired from performance at age 35, and he became
a full time composer and teacher, and pushed the enevelope even more.
His Trancendental Etudes are only for the most advanced pianists, and his orchestral colorations set the stage for many modern composers.

The beboppers like Miles, Coletrain and Parker, did move theory ahead,
but not as much as the 3 above.
These guys were serious small form composers and improvisers, but not on the orchestral scale. They hired arrangers to do their larger orchestrations.

Bach, Motzart and Liszt did it all themselves, and were serious ear improvisors to boot.
I have no doubts sitting them at a piano with any bebopers,
these cats could have played right along, ears WIDE open.

[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 26 January 2005 at 12:42 AM.]

HA!!

I heard the news channel refer to him as a "Musician" the other day and almost threw up.

Paul Mc Cartney is a good choice.

1) THE classic rock and roll voice for the last 40 years.
2) His innovative bass playing shaped rock bass and changed the way bass and bassists are viewed by musicians and the public.
3) A DARN good guitar player.
4) Functioned as the musical director of the Beatles. Called the shots onstage, counted the tunes, rehearsed the band.
5) Wrote a catalog of tunes (with and without Lennon) that will stand up against anyone's songs...(sure, he wrote some trite stuff, too... but think about "Yesterday", "The Long and Winding Road" "Let Me Roll It", "Hello Goodbye", "Penny Lane," (George Martin credits Paul for that piccolo trpt. solo), "My Love", etc., etc. I could go on and on.
6) The quintessential live performer. No one better. He loves to entertain.
7) He's even written some symphonic music. It hasn't been well-received by the critics, but the fact that he had the guts to try (with no formal education) says a lot.
8) He even had the good sense to use pedal steel on some tracks.

McCartney certainly stands on the shoulders of Bach, Mozart, Louis Armstrong and all the other greats (as we all do)... but history will remember him as (at least) equal to them. At any rate, he's at the top of my list.

Rick

[This message was edited by Rick McDuffie on 26 January 2005 at 08:12 AM.]

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If you play 'em, play 'em good!
If you build 'em, build 'em good!

[This message was edited by Bobby Bowman on 26 January 2005 at 08:25 AM.]