Your best musician?

[steelyman]

i was hanging around with friends on vacation this summer, and this came up.

Who's yours? You can't name two and wiggle out of it. I'll tell you mine at Christmas.

 

[LOL!]

So many to choose from. I'll pick Steve Winwood.

 

[robnplunder]

Bob Dylan

 

[Beststash]

Neil Young

 

[Sarah in SC]

James Taylor

 

[REWahoo]

You said musician, not singer/songwriter, so: Urbie Green

 

[Buckeye]

James Taylor

We recently watched the 90-minute PBS show featuring Carole King and James Taylor. Wonderful show!

I have a new appreciation for Carole King.

 

[steelyman]

You said musician, not singer/songwriter, so: Urbie Green

Oh. I didn't intend to be restrictive. But I do that all the time, post and then go "Doh! Why did I say that?"

I'll tell you what the others I was with said. One said Dylan, another said Bill Evans, another said Beethoven. This was one of those discussions after the sun goes down, at the dinner table in June.

 

[cj]

We saw James Taylor at a concert, live with the Baltimore Symphony. Oh, my! He was amazing! He sang old favorites of course, but did some Gershwin and other stuff. The best concert I ever attended.

 

[DayDreaming]

Such a tough question, there are so many amazing musicians, each brilliant in their own unique way. My current favorite / best:

Zoe Keating

 

[Mr. Paul]

Who's yours? You can't name two and wiggle out of it. I'll tell you mine at Christmas.

You are pretty optimistic about how long this thread is going to last

 

[Mr. Paul]

Such a tough question, there are so many amazing musicians, each brilliant in their own unique way. My current favorite / best:

Zoe Keating

Not something I would have picked out on my own but this is wonderfully unique. Very nice.

 

[marko]

Different from songwriters and performers, right?

For a musician of absolute musical ability: Eddie Van Halen.

 

[Nodak]

Roy Buchanan

 

[Meadbh]

Dame Evelyn Glennie

 

[brett]

Sir Elton John

 

[martyb]

I like Dan Tyminski, among others.

Crossroads - I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow - YouTube

 

[Payin-the-Toll]

Johnny Winter (I was raised on Rock & Roll, but the Blues kept getting in the way!)

 

[chilkoot]

Among those currently active: Lyle Lovett.

 

[steelyman]

You are pretty optimistic about how long this thread is going to last

Well, if I last till Christmas, it'll last that long 'cause I'll post.

Great names so far!

 

[marko]

Let's be sure that we're offering "best" musician instead of "favorite" musician.

To me, best refers to someone who is blow-away skilled at playing, singing or writing music. I have lots of favorites who would hardly be considered skillful musicians.

 

[steelyman]

Let's be sure that we're offering "best" musician instead of "favorite" musician. To me, best refers to someone who is blow-away skilled at playing, singing or writing music. I have lots of favorites who would hardly be considered skillful musicians.

A little more context: our discussion last summer was fun and it was the old "if you were stranded on an island and could only have one artist's music with you (recorded or sheet), who would you choose?". So it's pretty wide open.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Ah, then my clarification is that I consider JT to be among the best songwriters ever.
I am not a musician myself, so I cannot as accurately judge skills at the guitar, or piano, or drums. But words, yeah, I can do those.

Who have I been listening to all day? Ryan Adams. Fire & Ashes from 2011. I'm thinking he's awfully good on those cool vintage guitars, too. Whew.

 

[Kimo]

I would have to include Paul McCartney for many reasons/ability.

 

[HFWR]

Well, if I'm forced to only listen to one, I'll pick the Rolling Stones, if only for the sheer size of their catalog!

As for versatility, i.e. songwriting, composition, virtuosity, etc., it's a tie between Hendrix, McCartney, Winwood, and Stephen Stills, all of whom have released albums completely written, played, and sung by themselves. Throw in a Joni Mitchell and a Diana Krall for good measure.

And then there's Frank Zappa...