Piano on vinyl - the best

Ray Brown - Soular Energy

Wolfgang Dauner, "Tribute to the Past - solo piano", HGBS 20012LP: 750 signed copies on vinyl, hurry.
http://www.dauner-around.com/shop-lp.htm
(sorry in German only, anyway, click the icons to sample the music)

Nojima plays Liszt and Nojima plays Ravel on Reference Recordings. Breathtakingly Life-Like in every way and superb playing too. It firmly breaks J. Gordon Holt's rule regarding recorded music.

Professor Longhair

Thanks, I've tried everything and now look to SACD/CDs of piano works. My system is Vandersteen 3a Sigs, VPI Scout 9" arm and Dyna XX2, weighted at a little over 2.2 grams. I've experimented with many different speaker placements, but have stuck to placement formula provided by company, no change though.

An example you might be familiar with is Rubinstein's Chopin PC #1, towards the end of side one on Lp the piano sometimes loses its pearly quality and gets a slight, "dirty" sound...but so does the SACD reincarnation!

I also get it during the "gallop" back to the final "big theme" in the third mov't of the Ashkenazy Rachmaninoff 2nd PC. Not on the CD though.... One Lp that is fabulous and--for all intents and purposes--**should** distort (but doesn't is the RCA Prokofieff PC #2 with Liebowitz/PCO. Wow.

Jdaniel, I don't have problems with smearing or lack of focus (at least none that bother me), but I would agree that piano is difficult for LPs for another reason. Even a slightly off-center LP can have noticeable change in pitch, and this bothers me more with piano than most other instruments. For example, on the Satie box set I mentioned, two of the three LPs are very slightly off-center. It's not a big deal, but enough that I end up playing the 3rd LP more often.

Dave

Jdaniel, a little congestion in the upper bass/lower midrange, maybe? In my rig, I found it (at least I think I did-still experimenting) to be my speaker placement. I moved them a bit futher apart and thing I'm getting there.

While I love vinyl, I've had such a hard time with piano. Does anyone else occasionally encounter a loss of crystalline clarity in certain passages? Not distortion or inner groove damage, but just a "smearing" or slight lack of focus?

I have been listening this morning to one of my all-time favorites----a box set of Satie piano works performed by Frank Glazer on Vox.

Dave

Dave Brubeck .... "Together Again for the First Time."
The sixteen minute live version of "Take Five" with Gerry Mulligan, Paul Desmond, and the boys is amazingly well done.

Agree with the Bill Evans on Riverside suggestion, both Waltz for Debby and Sunday at the Village Vanguard. Another great jazz pianist that can be heard on many great sounding Verve or Pablo recordings is of course Oscar Peterson.

If you are a classical piano fan at all, then try Alfred Brendel, who made many recordings for the Philips label.

Perhaps my most impressive piano recording (and mastering) on vinyl would be Paul Jacob's Debussy cycle on Nonesuch.

Other than that, I've been pretty disappointed with solo piano on vinyl--inner groove distortion on used Lp's and/or mis-tracking....

Mikelavigne, great suggestion with the Liszt. Anyone have Chopin and Rachmaninoff suggestions?

Oh, now we're pushing into another universe of music, Mike! I agree with the Nojima/Reference Recordings recommendation for those looking for classical music. And there's lots more beyond this...
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Nojima Plays Listz, Reference Recordings, 33rpm Lp, is a true to life piano recording. i've been lately using it as an reference for how a reproduced piano can sound.

first of all, the performance is excellent (not all Reference Recordings are that way). the scale of the piano, and the energy it projects are very life like. you get the tone and deep bass energy along with the microdynamics. the detail and drama come thru unfettered.

The Tape Project will be releasing the 15ips 1/4" master dub of it soon. i can't wait.

Oscar Peterson is hard to beat

I like and have most of the above, agree with the posters. Eddie Higgins on the Venus label is also very good. George Winston on Windham hill is also ok...

The Acoustic Sounds Bill Evans 45rpm box set is killer good. Among my best vinyl recordings

Tommy Flanagan's trio works deserve a listen. Long associated as Ella Fitzgerald's pianist for two stints, his lyricalism and tone is gorgeous. If you look carefully you see his name on lots of people's records - Coltrane, Hubbard, Burrell - a piano player's player.

Ahmad Jamal is another great piano player.

Like the recommendations of many, you can't go wrong with Bill Evans who practically invented the piano trio format.

McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, and Oscar Peterson are names you might want to keep an ear open for.

Keith Jarrett was my first intro to jazz piano but as I listened to more jazz, I discovered (and so will you) there are plenty more who are much better and have their own chapters in the Jazz Canon.

Enjoy the discovering which is half the fun of this hobby.

Solo Monk album looks promising.

add hank jones(the great jazz trio) and the bill evans trio to your list.

Here are some pianist to explore given what you've listed above:

Horace Parlan, Speakin' My Piece, Blue Note 84043 -45rpm Music Matters reissue

Bill Evans, Waltz for Debbie, Riverside, and then just about anything else.

Count Basie, 88 Basie Street

Dave Brubeck, Time Out

Thelonius Monk, Monks Music or Brilliant Corners

Fats Waller
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