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music bio shows studio links b3 page discography heroes contact resume solo/trio

Unsung Hero Page:

Ok, I too hate websites that think the world really cares what some ham n egg' r (like me) likes and dislikes. But consider this more of a thank you to some wonderful inspirational musicians (who I incidentally think haven't gotten enough kudos in their lifetime)

In no particular order or reason here goes:

Ramsey Lewis: My all time favorite piano player with chops and soul for days. Most folks think "Hang on Sloopy" or " In Crowd" was the only thing Ramsey had going. Trust me, he's a jazz (and classical) monster who can give Herbie and Chic a run for the money. Plus his Rhodes playing was perfect. Unlike a lot of jazz guys who did the Rhodes as a gimmick he swung on it big time. We got to work with Mr. Lewis in Hawaii a couple years ago and he was having a bad night with a crappy piano and sound issues. After his abbreviated set he bolted off the stage and headed out the door, I still regret not chasing him down for an autograph. It was indeed "Sloppy" that got me hooked on him. As a big mouth kid, I learned that record note for note, only to find my Mom's piano was tuned a 1/2 step off.

Ray Bryant: a players player. Oh Man what a player. Another one of those guys you first think is just about funky soul piano. He Started with Miles and Dizzy and could bop with the best of 'em. The jewels are in the subtleties of his playing. Plus Ray's use of dynamics is wonderful. The lines he plays are just so singing and memorable. To me he is the textbook piano trio sound I aspire to . . Like Ramsey he's got the perfect balance of swing-soul and jazz. He just gets better and better with age. He still gigs; So next time I get home to NY I'm going to find him and kiss his ring. His nephew is the equally awe inspiring Tonight Show guitarist: Kevin Eubanks.

Herbie Hancock: What's to say. If I could play as well as one of Herbie's fingers I'd be a happy man. . I know Herbie is way beyond his early stuff, but Watermelon Man still kills me. Probably cause it's got that Ramsey vibe. When I want modal, Maiden voyage is it. When I think Jazz funk- Headhunters. One of my favorite lesser known Herbie records is Sunlight- he "sings" vocoder on it, but it's also got some really funky stuff. Even when he's doing infomercials for Bose I can't stop listening to that touch.

Groove Holmes: When folks think Jazz B3 organ they naturally think Jimmy Smith, who I love, respect, and would quake in his presence. But Groove Holmes always had this funky greasy vibe (and killer chops) that just spoke right to me. Still to this day. And his organ tone was just incredible., even if wasn't always a B3. He'd never let you lose the melody but he'd put that unmistakable touch on it and make it his.

Nicky Hopkins: Nicky made it cool to be a keyboard player, and his melodic ideas and hooks always inspired me. He just always seemed to find the perfect part. One of Rock's great losses. I still look to his style for inspiration. Favorite example: She's a rainbow- Rolling Stones. That "ye old English compressed piano" sound and his super tasty part just mesmerize me.

Joe Sample: Crusaders and solo. Another guy I could listen to all day. And a killer writer too. When I think Funky Rhodes it's Joe. But his later stuff on Acoustic is flawless. His piano touch can speak volumes with just one note. Plus any of his sideman work is priceless. I can probably live without hearing "Street Life" ever again, but give me any funky instrumental Crusaders, or Carmel and I'm there.

Bob James: Another Rhodes hero, but his Acoustic style is near and dear to me too. Another wonderful composer. His Rhodes tone is the quintessential electric piano sound for me. Most folks might know one of Bob's more popular tunes: Angela (theme from "Taxi"), but he's got an incredible catalog of stuff any of which is great. It makes me miss CTI records, speaking of which my next guy:

Deodato : a Brazilian with a hard case of funk. Killer arranger and pretty hot Rhodes player. I remember taping his version of 2001 off my Am transistor radio (see kids this was downloading- doh! I'm old) and listening to it over and over again till my disgusted big brother {see below} took the tape out and destroyed it.

Rich Corso/Dianne Corso : As a guitarist My brother never aspired to be a full time musician, as his calling was baseball. But he turned me on to some wonderful albums, whether he knew it or not- I snuck a lot of them from him when he wasn't looking. We used to jam to John Mayall blues albums- Rich would play electric guitar while I noodled on my Wurli. Got to love those Mayall albums for listing the keys. It was the Jamey Arbesold of blues. Early on, My dear sister Diane gets credit . Her 45's were never safe as I was constantly rummaging through and digging out her Motown and Beatles. More importantly, She had lots of non- mainstream stuff that was wonderful- including the ditty below.

"Little" Frank Rodriguez: Huh? Who?: One number One word: 96 TEARS. The band: ? and the Mysterians. Ok maybe myself and the band Smash Mouth are the only people in the world who know who this guy is. I loved this record as a kid. (and I still T-off every band I've ever played in by playing the line at the most in- opportune moments. Next to Louie Louie, it's still one of the most coolest recognizable keyboard licks in the world. From the sound of it, I think he played a Farfisa. Or as I call it a farcheeza. My first organ was some awful no- name Italian Farfisa knock-off I paid $35.00 for .(see the B3 page for a picture) Guess what the first thing I played on it was? It was actually the only thing that sounded good on it. Regardless, I bought a mint Vox Jaguar a few years ago and once a year I fire it up and play 96 tears just to pay tribute. .

The "Funk Brothers": Motown Keyboard players Joe Hunter and Johnny Griffith, vibes player Jack Ashford. I was so happy that these guys are finally getting their due. It was always hard to know who did what on those classic Gordy grooves, and tunes like "Reach out I'll be there" and any of those Supremes tunes had such smoky memorable parts. They still bring a shiver up my spine. To me, Asford's vibes in particular were the "glue" in those timeless tracks. Anytime I hear a Supremes track those his vibe playing time travels me back to 1965.

Mike Finnegan: Probably best known for his work with Crosby Stills and Nash. It's ironic that I had been a long time fan of Mike- I had some mighty big shoes to fill following him in the Dave Mason band. I was lucky to fill a toe. Mike is a consummate B3 player, as well as pianist. Plus he's a damned fine blues singer. One of my back- burner projects is to get a web page up to give the guy his due. Pull up any blues/rock CD in your collection and Mike is probably on it.

Ken Hensley: Uriah Heap 70's art/prog rockers. For some they weren't as "deep" as Yes. I wore the Demons and Wizards album out. Ok I was 15 yrs old but whoa... Ken had the typical distorted B3 tone, but his parts were always tasty and memorable. And it started my lust for the king of all organs.

Greg Rolie: Another unsung monster, In Santana he always came up with innovative and just plain cool organ lines. Not to mention totally inventing the Latin Rock sound. Incredible singing voice and that dirty Rolie B3 percussion sound still makes me smile. Whenever I feel like doing "Organ homework" Rolie is the first place I look. ( I skipped Greg's whole Journey thing, but I really love later keyboardist Jonathan Cain's solo jazz stuff. ) The way Rolie interacts with Carlos should be textbook teaching on how guitar players and keyboard players should work together. Greg needs a web page too!!

Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper: These guys had a live album in the 70's (the Live Adventures Of Michael Bloomfield & Al Kooper) that had a little bit of everybody and everything on it. For some reason I really groked this thing. Kooper's organ tone (which he admits he found accidentally) on any early electric Dylan track is like butter. Plus his early work with Blood Sweat and Tears is monumental to say the least. Add that to being a top notch producer (Lynyrd Skynyrd), and the best sense of humor in the biz. Kooper's Backstage Passes & Backstabbing' Bastards, and The Real Frank Zappa book are two books I think should be required reading for any musician.

Peter Nero: My ever supportive Dad thrust a Peter Nero album on me when I was in my early teens and I wanted nothing to do with it- it was the epitome of "square piano" to me. A little time passed and I gave it another listen and it took me in. Peter had a touch and way of singing the melody that was just incredible. He could swing hard in a very accessible way. His version of Don't get around much anymore is righteous. Plus he did this thing every now and then of playing the melody in the bass register that was totally cool.

Dave Brubeck: Technically, Dave is so out of my reach it's pathetic. Besides being innovative, he could still swing (in five-four no less) and come up with very catchy compositions to boot. I remember first digging Time Out from my Father's record collection because of the cover. I'll never forget how mesmerized I was the first time I heard it. From the very first note the mood it creates still does it to me to this day. It is a desert island recording for me.

Speaking of Desert Island albums: Like the rest of the world, my other most favorite Jazz record would have to be Miles Davis: Kind of Blue. I can never spend nearly enough time studying Bill Evans, or Wynton Kelly, who played piano on it. When CD's came out, it was the first thing I bought. That record has a vibe that just is too perfect. Both guys had brilliant ideas, brilliant touch, and incredible solos. I was recently pleasantly surprised to find out that Evans did a bunch of records on Fender Rhodes, I'll be hunting those and more of Wynton's stuff down very soon.

and Speaking of Fender Rhodes: Harold Rhodes deserves the most reverent mention. Harold not only invented one of my all time favorite instruments he was an incredible Human being. In a story you just have to read to understand, the Rhodes piano was born from Harolds' quest to build a better piano to help recovering wounded soldiers. The more I've learned over the years about him and his life, the more respect I have every time I play that incredible instrument. Do yourself a favor and visit the link to learn more about this incredible man. My short paragraph can hardly do him justice. My parents bought me a Wurlitzer electric piano for my high school graduation. I still have and love my Wurli, but I always lusted after that sound- the Rhodes sound. Looking back it was probably better I had the Wurli because I was doing so much rock and roll back then. Fast forward to now, and I'm the proud owner of two Rhodes pianos: a 1973 mark I and a later 1983 mark II prototype. Some people buy sports cars when they turn 40- I went for the electric pianos I couldn't afford in the day. Hot Synths and Audio toys may come and go but give me a real Piano, a Rhodes, and a B3 and I'm in Heaven. (and if they can let me bring the Wurli along, I'm standing next to God).

Charles Corso. My late Dad was an avid Jazz fan with a pretty neat record collection. He was incredibly supportive, and always tried come to my gigs (even the lousy ones). Not a musician himself, he was a commercial artist. . Although he was pretty humble about it, in my obviously jaded opinion he created somewhat of a pop period icon with the Everyready Cat battery logo used in the 50's and 60's and today. . I'm working on getting Union Carbide's permission to post a page with the logo and some other trivia behind it. My Dad also did tons of Reader's Digest and New Yorker illustrations and cartoons that I'm trying to get online too.

Tina : : Ok, she's my significant other. She used to be my piano student, and was doing great till I fell in love her. . She continues to inspire me. She has a heart as big as the grand canyon and for some reason hasn't dumped my sorry butt yet. I'd be lost without her.

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Artist Photos: Tina Dees // Studio photos: Jason Fulton // WebConcept: .Tyler McGraw //