Computer music takes a look at two contrasting drum software programs, Addictive Drums from XLN Audio and Jamstix 3 from Rayzoon.

Keiko Matsui is Japanese instrumentalist and composer whose music frequently brings together world, rock, jazz, classical and funk elements. She has just released her 22nd album and in this months Key People she talks about her spiritual approach to composing and performing.

The music world has lost another all-time great with the death of George Shearing in February. John Bates pays tribute to him and recalls a meeting with him some years ago with great affection.

Classnotes has a musical joke courtesy of Mozart and continuing from the George Shearing tribute, a look at the lock hands style of playing of which Shearing was a master.

With an 80s style synth pop piece for Sounds Original this is our April issue which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you soon.

The sad news came through at the end of January that John Barry had passed away.
His scores and compositions for the cinema stretch over fifty years winning him an unprecedented five Oscars and many other awards. Geoff Leonard and Pete Walker, authors of ‘John Barry-The Man With The Midas Touch’, have written a tribute to the great man that we’re proud to feature in this month’s issue. It covers his early days with the John Barry Seven, how he got into film music through his connection with Adam Faith and the stories behind some of the great scores he wrote. For those of you wanting more, the aforementioned book is heartily recommended featuring over 200 photographs and conversations with Barry.

Staying with the John Barry theme ‘Classnotes’ is devoted to his music from ‘Out of Africa’ and the James Bond films.

With a review of an innovative non-slip pedal mat plus news of up coming products from Roland and Nord as well as sound systems from Motion Sound, this then is the March issue of Keyboard Player which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you next time.

In Computer Music this month we look at two virtual instrument libraries from Sample Logic that give you some weird and wonderful sounds. First up, there is Cinematic Guitars which I guess is self-explanatory and although you can create these type of soundscapes for yourself this software takes out all the hard work. The same can also be said for Morphestra which as you’d expect morphs orchestral sounds in various ways. There is an awful lot in both these VSTi’s and for those so inclined many hours of fun to had.

Our Key Person this month is Gregg Rolie, a name perhaps not immediately recognised by some of you. Well if I say Santana and Journey I’m sure the lights will go on. Try putting on an early Santana album and listen to the distinctive sound of the B3 and also much of the vocals – well that’s Gregg Rolie, founder member of both aforementioned bands. He talks about those early days, including the highly amusing story of how he met Carlos Santana as well as his current projects which include a live album of Santana classics called ‘Rain Dance Live.’

With Classnotes going ragtime with Scott Joplin’s ‘The Entertainer’ this then is our February issue which we hope you will enjoy. See you next time!

Computer Music this month looks at Synthogy’s updated sample-based Ivory ll, Terratec’s DMX6Fire USB unit and Miroslav Philharmonik for Sibelius users.

In Key People we interview Barry Goldberg, a regular on the Chicago music scene since the early 60s, he played Hammond B3 with the Electric Flag and has played with Dylan, Hendrix, Mike Bloomfield and Steve Miller, sat-in with blues hero’s like Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters and is currently touring with the Chicago Blues Reunion. He is also working on a documentary film on the history of the Chicago blues scene entitled ‘White, Black and Blues’. For anyone with an interest in rock and blues history this is a fascinating read.

Classnotes celebrates the New Year, Viennese style, with Strauss’ ‘Blue Danube’ with examples for all three abilities. With a Sounds Original piece for keyboards, this then is our January issue which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you next time!

There are two programs dedicated to strings in this month’s Computer Music. Native Instruments bring us Session Strings and String Ensembles: Composer’s Dream from Miroslav Vitous, which although not cheap Andrew Gilbert believes it to be the most impressive strings only VSTi he’s used. We round things off with ‘Tonio’ the latest virtual singer from Zero-G in the Vocaloid collection.

We get festive in Classnotes this month with music from Tchaikovsky’s ‘Nutcracker’ for all three ability levels.

Key People features Tim Blake, who played synths with the classic Gong line-up of the early ‘70s but is probably best known for his work with Hawkwind. Now back with the band for a new album and UK tour, he talks here about his time with them in the ‘70s and ‘80s as well as his solo work and the fore-mentioned Gong.

Well that’s almost another year gone, so I’ll wish all our readers and visitors to the website a very pleasant festive season with the hope that the New Year will bring us all a little peace and harmony. See you next time!

We are proud to be running an exclusive interview in this issue with jazz legend, Herbie Hancock. As a member of Miles Davis ‘second great quintet’ he helped redefine the jazz rhythm-section in the post-bop era of the early 60s and was one of the first keyboardists to embrace the synthesizer. Now aged 70 he’s certainly not opting for the easy life, in fact his latest recording ‘The Imagine Project’ which has the hugely ambitious aim of promoting peace through global collaboration takes John Lennon’s iconic song and uses it as a springboard for this admirable venture. It’s ironic to think that had he lived, John Lennon would also have been 70 this year. What a team they would have made.

The ever eclectic Classnotes takes us from Chopin to Monty Python via Herbie Hancock’s ‘Watermelon Man’. Hope you enjoy the issue – see you next time.

In Computer Music this month, Andrew Gilbert spends some quality time playing with the wide choice of solo sounds and preset ensembles on Garritan's latest virtual instrument libraries, JABB 3 (Jazz and Big Band) and COMB 2 (Concert and Marching Band), and checks out three new DVD tutorials for Cubase 5 from ASK Video.

Our Key Person this month is the wonderful Mose Allison. Now in his 82nd year the veteran jazz/blues singer and pianist is still playing live and loving it. He talks about his career and his first new album in twelve years and fascinating reading it is too.

Classnotes deconstructs Puccini’s Nessun Dorma, possibly his best known aria, thanks to Pavarotti and football. Unfortunately Puccini never heard this performed as it was part of an unfinished opera ‘Tunandot’. This and much more playing advice and musical exercises as per usual in this popular series.

Yamaha’s latest version of Tyros, cleverly named Tyros4, is about to hit the streets and we have details on what delights await the prospective buyer. We hope to have a full in-depth review in our November issue. That’s it for this month – see you next time.

A few weeks ago I was watching one of this year’s Promenade Concerts, broadcast from the Royal Albert Hall, and part of the programme was Dvorak’s ‘New World Symphony’ a particularly rousing rendition by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and I wondered if this inspired John Bates to devote this months Classnotes to the Largo movement from Dvorak’s ever popular work. John uses this sublime piece of music in all three sections of his feature concluding with his arrangement of the complete movement. He also includes a few facts that not many people know about Mr. Dvorak. Cracking stuff!

In Computer Music, Andrew Gilbert discovers value for money from the budget notation program Notion SLE at just under £68 and celebrates some superb sounds on the XpansionTank 2 multisamples, OmniSynth 2 and SymphonyStrings 2 for the SampleTank 2 workstation.

Derek Sherinian is the keyboardist with new ‘supergroup’ Back Country Communion and having played with Kiss, Dream Theatre, Billy Idol and Alice Cooper he certainly seems to live up to his reputation of being the man to call if you’re looking for a hard-rock keys man. He talks with Douglas McPherson about his career but plays down his wilder side having been dubbed by Alice Cooper as the ‘Caligula of Keyboards’.

This then is our September issue which we hope you will enjoy. See you next time!

Gary Wright is our key person this month. Best remembered for his seminal 1975 album ‘The Dream Weaver’ he is currently on tour with Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band and here talks about returning to his roots with his new album ‘Connected’

Finally in Classnotes this month we take the well known tune of ‘Early One Morning’ and rearrange it into a variety of styles and moods.

Anyway, better late than never, I hope you’ll agree, enjoy our July/August issue. See you next time.

Computer Music gets to grips with IK Multi-media’s ‘Amplitube 3’ a virtual guitar amp and FX modelling software and finds this incredibly versatile and wide-ranging software highly desirable. Congratulations to Andrew on this, his 100th article for Keyboard Player.

Both The Beatles ‘Abbey Road’ and Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’, two of the greatest albums of all time owe their sound and texture in some part to Alan Parsons, recording engineer on both recordings. In Key People this month he talks about his work with many famous artistes, his own creation, The Alan Parsons Project formed in 1976 and his current venture, a seven hour compilation series ‘The Art & Science of Sound Recording’.

With tuition book reviews and Mozart and Scott Joplin the features in Classnotes this issue, we hope you’ll enjoy the June edition of Keyboard Player. See you soon!

Computer Music samples the latest updates to Modartt’s virtual piano, Pianoteq 3.6 and GSi’s virtual drawbar organ, VB3. Then a full review of IK Multimedia’s retro VSTi, Sampletron and a look at Xpansion Tank 2 sound libraries.

The Key People feature this month is David Bryan, keyboardist with Bon Jovi. He talks about how he came to join the band, the current Bon Jovi ‘The Circle’ world tour and his work in bringing the joys of making music to young people.

Classnotes offers music from Brooker T and Prokofief with sheet-music from ‘Peter and the Wolf’ and there is news of a new gigging combo keyboard from Roland.
This then is our May issue which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you soon.

Another sample library is checked out in Computer Music this month in the shape of The Grand Piano Collection from Ultimate SoundBank which impresses Andrew Gilbert. Also we have the latest instalment of the Mantovani Project which includes an arrangement of ‘Charmaine’.

Brian Leiser better known as ‘Fast’ is the keyboard player with New York’s Hip-Hop come Jazz-Rock band Fun Lovin’ Criminals. In Key People this month, he talks about the band’s new CD, their current tour and why he now lives in the UK.

Classnotes is in fun-mode this issue with versions of Offenbach’s ‘Can-Can’ and the boogie-woogie piano favourite ‘Nut Rocker’ and to calm things down a little there’s a slow blues number featured in Sounds Original.

With news of a new HP series of pianos from Roland, this then is our April issue which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you next time.

In Computer Music this month we look at Spectrasonics Trilion ‘Total Bass Module’ which amalgamates a vast range of bass sounds into one virtual instrument. Andrew Gilbert is highly impressed with this module and believes it out on its own at the present time.

Tom Petty’s keyboard player, Benmont Tench is this months Key People interview and he gives a fascinating insight into life over the past 30 years with one of rock’s most enduring bands as well as the many names he has worked with as a session musician.

With a bumper Classnotes this month including sheet music for Handel’s ‘Arrival of the Queen of Sheba’ plus news on Yamaha’s forthcoming CP1 stage piano, this then is Keyboard Player for March 2010 which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you next time.

Two contrasting virtual instruments are featured in Computer Music this month with Zero-G’s Vocaloid 2 Prima which is based on the vocal characteristics of a operatic diva. The other featured software is the self-explanatory Chris Heins Horns Vol. 3 Muted Brass. Elsewhere there is more experimenting with the Mantovani project using Garritan GPO for string ensemble sounds.

A few years back we interviewed the then up and coming jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara. Since then she has become not only Japan’s best known keyboardist but is gathering a formidable international reputation and plays and records with top jazz artistes such as Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White. Prior to a recent London concert John Bates spoke to her about a new solo album and concert series.

With news on the new Yamaha CVP series and the usual tuition and music features, this then is our February issue which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you next time.

Sweden’s top rock band, Europe, have been going for 25 years and Mic Michaeli, keyboard player and founder member talks to us about the groups new album and forthcoming UK tour.
Keeping with the piano theme this issue, Classnotes features Chopin as well as items on advanced jazz chords and some Elizabethan style music.
This then is our January 2010 issue which we hope you’ll enjoy.

In Computer Music this month Andrew Gilbert rejuvenates his guitar skills with Overlaud’s budget amp simulator TH1 Triode, checks out the Sibelius 6.1 update and reviews a book on sound mixing.
In Key People, Douglas McPherson talks to Britain’s versatile and energetic jazz pianist and vocalist Jamie Cullum who is more than happy to talk about his keyboard collection, wide-ranging musical tastes and his desire to integrate the pop and rock world with the spirit of jazz and improvisation.
In Classnotes John Bates acknowledges that the festive season is almost upon us with two helpings of Prokofiev’s ‘Troika’ and elsewhere Antonio Vivaldi’s guitar concerto is featured.
This then is our December issue. Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year. See you soon.

Earlier this year Rick Wakeman realised an ambition by performing The Six Wives Of Henry Vlll, his first solo album at Hampton Court Palace. Back in 1973 the idea of a rock musician performing at such an historic venue was unthinkable but in 2009 he was welcomed with open arms – how things change. Douglas McPherson spoke to him about the gig and his plans for revisiting some of his other classic albums from the 70s and giving them similar treatment. Anyone up for a trip to the centre of the earth?
Rick Wakeman also gets a name check in Classnotes this month with his role in helping to make Cat Steven’s classic ‘Morning Has Broken’ such a massive hit. We also have the sheet music in this issue.
That’s our November issue then which we hope you will enjoy – see you next time.

Two software items dominate Computer Music this month. The Vienna Imperial which replicates the superb tones of the Bosendorfer 290 grand piano and the ‘pop starlet’ singer that is the Vocaloid Sonika from Zero-G. There is also a review of the Cubase 5 tutorial DVD from ASKVideo.

Key People has an interview with singer, songwriter and keyboardist Nerina Pallot who tasted chart success a few years ago and is now back with a new CD after taking time off to complete her education.

Another eclectic mix of musical styles in Classnotes ranging from Beethoven to Hip-hop plus the usual music and news features, this then is our October issue which we hope you will enjoy. See you next time.

Twenty five years after they sprang to fame Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha are back making records and performing to packed-houses. Keyboardist Magne Furuholmen talks about the bands past glories and the direction he hopes the band will be taking in the future.

With the usual diverse mix of music and tuition in Classnotes plus a lively ‘House/Dance’ style composition ‘Summer Daze’ this then is our September issue that we hope you’ll enjoy. See you next month.

 

Although born in Kent, the garden of England, Jon Cleary has spent most of his life in New Orleans and as a highly regarded blues pianist has worked with many top artistes including B.B. King, Taj Mahal, John Scofield and Bonnie Rait. In Key People he talks about the people he’s worked with, his solo work and how the hurricane affected him.

Classnotes reaches part 50 this month and there is news of an Organ conversion system for the Yamaha Tyros. We hope you’ll enjoy this issue. See you next time.

Hello and welcome to the July issue of Keyboard Player which is now available to purchase and download.

The second London International Music Show was held recently at London’s Docklands ExCel Centre and John Bates went along to check out the new keyboards at the show, some making their debut appearance. Yamaha, Roland, Casio and Clavia are featured in this show overview.

Mention the name Mike Batt and those furry eco-warriors turned pop stars, The Wombles probably spring to mind. However this multi-talented songwriter, pianist, producer, arranger and record company boss has in his time been behind many hit records including Art Garfunkel’s ‘Bright Eyes’ as well as launching Vanessa Mae’s career and discovering Katie Melua. In Key People this month he talks about his 40 years in the business.
With the Classnotes tuition series featuring music by Bach, Chopin and The Funk Brothers plus the usual music piece, this then is our July 2009 issue which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you next time.

Ruthie Foster may not yet be a household name, but this Texas born singer, guitarist and keyboard player has an amazing voice and is equally at home singing blues, soul or folk. She talks about her life and music in this issue and can be seen performing in London and Dublin in early July. Try and catch her and check out her CDs.

With the usual tuition and music features, this then is our June issue which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you next time.

Andrew Gilbert takes a break from ‘Computer Music’ this month to present one of his occasional Making The Grade articles. In this article he examines several new publications from experienced music teachers and performers offering sound playing advice and practice pieces for budding keyboardists. There is also a 3 page music arrangement taken from one of the books under review.
Charles Gillingham, keyboardist with one of the most successful US bands of the past couple of decades, ‘Counting Crows’ talks about the bands upcoming UK tour and discusses his love of the accordion and the mellotron.
With Classnotes tuition feature and the usual news features this then is our May issue in which we hope you’ll find much to enjoy. See you next time.

Keith Jarrett is without doubt one the greatest pianists of all-time. Although his talent was considered extraordinary when he came on the jazz scene in the early 60s it wasn’t until the 70s when he started improvising entire concerts, spontaneously composing fully-formed pieces of music, which unlike most ‘free jazz’ were both accessible and melodic. Check out the 1975 ‘Koln Concert’, his best-selling solo piano work. In this month’s Rhythm Kings we look at the music of Jarrett, both solo and the European Group as well as the highly acclaimed Standards Trio.

Key People interviews American blues-rock-singer-pianist, Beth Hart and with the regular music and tuition features, this then is our March issue which we hope you enjoy. See you next time.

Computer Music reviews the Garritan Steinway grand piano and the Rob Papen RG rhythm guitar synth virtual instruments and Andrew Gilbert enjoys both products.
With the usual Classnotes and music features, this then is our February 2009 issue which we hope you enjoy. See you next month.

Computer music this month looks at two new budget virtual instruments and three new sets of digital effects from Genuine Soundware.
This issues Key People has an interview with singer-songwriter, Tori Amos who talks about her 20 years in the business and the battles she has had to secure creative freedom. We also review her new DVD which features early performances at the ‘Montreux Jazz Festival’ from 1991 and 1993.
With the usual tuition and music features, this then is our January 2009 issue which we hope you enjoy.Best wishes for the New Year. See you then!

Pink Floyd were both critically and commercially one the top groups of all time. Sadly, founder member and keyboardist Richard Wright passed away in September. In this issue we present a special tribute to one of popular music’s most overlooked and seemingly invisible keyboard players. In the first part, John Bates looks at his life and career paying particular attention to the role he played with Pink Floyd both as a composer and arranger as well as his role in developing the ‘Floyd Sound’. In the second part we publish for the first time an interview he gave to our US writer, Steven Rosen, in which he talks at length about his solo album ‘Broken China’ and the legendary ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’.
Another legendary band, ‘Tangerine Dream’ celebrated their 40th anniversary with a concert in London recently. Mark Jenkins went along to cover the show for us.
With Pink Floyd making an appearance in ‘Classnotes’ this month plus the usual music features, this then is our December issue. I note from the TV commercials and shop displays, that Christmas is almost upon us again, so seasons greetings to all our readers. See you next time.

In Computer Music this month, our new contributor Tony Cliff tries out the virtual drum-kit Superior Drummer S2.0 and samples some of the professional MIDI beats from Groove Monkee.
The meeting of Mike Oldfield and Richard Branson in 1972 and the subsequent release on Virgin Records of ‘Tubular Bells’ undoubtedly changed both men’s lives and revolutionized the whole concept of non-vocal pop music. In this issue Mike Oldfield talks to Mark Jenkins about his recent collaboration with Karl Jenkins on the album ‘Music Of The Spheres.
With the success of the film ‘Mama Mia’ it’s probably fair to say that Abba’s music is more popular than it’s ever been. Founder member, keyboardist and composer, Benny Andersson is the subject of Rhythm Kings this month. In fact with Classnotes and two music pieces we have 20 pages of music and tuition this month.
With news of six new keyboards coming from Casio, this is our November issue which we hope you will enjoy. See you next time.

Behind every superstar there are musicians who play and appear with them all the time but remain basically anonymous. Yves Frulla has been playing keyboards on stage and in the studio with Celine Dion for some 20 years. He talks with Douglas McPherson about his time with her plus his fascination with technology and the equipment he uses.

With news of two new additions to Roland’s Atelier organ range plus the 40th edition of Classnotes and another piano piece, this then is our October 2008 issue which we hope you enjoy. See you next time.

In Computer Music this issue, Andrew Gilbert gets his hands on the new KX series of controller keyboards from Yamaha. There are four models to choose from and Andrew concentrates on the KX25. He also looks at BASIS, a new virtual bass guitar program from Vir2.
Gary Numan talks about his 30 years in the music business in Key People and there is a new piano music feature as well as the usual Classnotes, Reviews and News.
Look out next month for the first of two in-depth reviews of Yamaha’s Tyros3.
See you then!

Forty years ago in 1968 while students in Paris were trying to start a second French Revolution, David Vorhaus was forming the legendary electronic group White Noise with BBC Radiophonic Workshop musicians, Brian Hodgson and Delia Derbyshire; and The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown’ was setting the world alight (sometimes literally) with their smash-hit ‘Fire’. A 2008 version of White Noise (including our own Mark Jenkins) and a slightly older but no less crazy Arthur Brown were part of the line-up of Paris Mai ’68 40 Ans, a festival celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the student uprisings. Apart from performing, Mark took time to report on this event talking to some of the artistes, in particular an amazing Czech keyboardist, Lucie Rejchrtova who plays with London based group Instant Flight who also acted as Arthur Brown’s backing group.

Jazz pianist, improviser and composer, Bill Evans is the subject of the latest Rhythm King’s feature and American country and western singer/pianist Phil Vassar talks to Douglas McPherson about his plans to make a mark in the UK.

With the usual tuition and music features plus reviews on CDs from Dutch instrumental record label Groove Unlimited, this then is our August issue. See you next time.

Another of the great jazz and blues organists, Jimmy McGriff has sadly passed away and John Bates pays tribute to him in this issue
Ron Mael, keyboard player of the brotherly duo Sparks talks about their highly ambitious series of gigs, playing each of their 21 albums over 21 shows at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London.
With a special feature on how to avoid keyboard-related back pain and our usual tuition and music features, this then is our July 2008 issue. See you next time.

Welcome to the June issue of Keyboard Player which is now ready to download and purchase. It doesn’t seem possible we’re halfway through the year already but we’ve reached that time of year when new instruments are a bit thin on the ground – most of the stuff shown at NAMM and Frankfurt starts to come through late Summer, early Autumn.
However Yamaha are launching some new keyboards and digital pianos during the next month and there is news of these including the CLP-380 Clavinova of which Yamaha are making ‘best ever’ claims. Expect in-depth reviews on this and the other models in future issues.

Computer Music this month starts a two part feature on digital recording and Andrew Gilbert looks at two models from Boss – the Micro BR and the BR-600. This is an essential feature for musicians looking for affordable multi-track digital recorder options.

With the digital age providing musicians with so many options these days it is hardly surprising that re-inventing past glories is an attractive proposition, often reaching a new audience as well as keeping existing fans happy. So it is with Jean Michel Jarre’s Oxygene whose 30th Anniversary has been marked with a complete new studio recording, a multi-musician live DVD performance and a series of concerts in Paris which has been followed this Spring by a full European tour. In Key People, this issue, Mark Jenkins covers the concert, Jarre’s career and Oxygene’s continuing popularity.
With the usual music and tuition, this is our June issue which we hope you will enjoy.
No update on the new website other than it progresses well but might be another month or so before we’re up and running. See you soon.

VSTi packages bearing famous names appear to be the ‘in thing’. A couple of months ago we had Miles Davis lending his name to Miles’tone then last month it was Ray Charles and now it is The Beatles in the shape of EastWest’s Fab Four. Mark Jenkins reviews this and three other new VSTi packages – Gypsy, Voices of Passion and Ministry of Rock – in this month’s Computer Music.

Jazz pianist and soundtrack composer, Dave Grusin is the subject of Rhythm Kings in this issue and Key People has an interview with 80s synth-pop pioneers, Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey better known as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Recently reformed and with a new CD and DVD recently released, they talk to Douglas McPherson.

With the usual music and tuition features, this then is our May 2008 issue which we hope you will enjoy.
As mentioned last month we will soon be re-launching our website. Amongst other things, we plan to include MP3 and video samples of products reviewed as well as tuition and demonstration features. The idea is to build up a mass of freely accessible items to make the Keyboard Player website the number one port-of-call for all things keyboard related. We should be up and running within the next month or so.
See you next time.

On the software front the ever-popular Band-In-A-Box gets its annual makeover and as the last edition Andrew Gilbert reviewed was 2006 you get the ins and outs of both 2007 and 2008 editions which Andrew thinks are now more powerful and easier to use. Either edition is highly recommended. Last month we had Miles Davis lending his name to some software – this month sees Ray Charles name being added to a Fender Rhodes 73 VSTi aptly named MrRay73. Again, recommended especially with a price tag of 49 Euros.

This months Key Person is Don Airey who has played keyboards for Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull, Judas Priest and, even Andrew Lloyd Weber, amongst others but currently is full time with Deep Purple.

With news of some new Roland pianos plus the usual tuition and music, this then is our April 2008 issue which we hope you enjoy.
Look out next month for news of our new expanded all-singing, all-dancing website which we hope to launch in a couple of months time. See you next time.

You may remember last month in our interview with jazz pianist Geoff Eales he particularly mentioned Oscar Peterson as probably the greatest influence on his own playing. Who better then to write us a personal tribute to the great man, who sadly passed away in December last year. It is fascinating to hear a musician explaining what it is that makes someone like Peterson so great – something not always easy to put into words. Geoff doesn’t shy away from answering the few (and there were only a few) detractors of Peterson’s playing and style. A good read.

Joe Jackson is not an artiste easily defined. Over the last 30 years he has dabbled in most musical genres including punk, pop, jazz and classical. On the eve of his European tour and the release of a new album ‘Rain’, Jackson talks to Douglas McPherson about his career and music.

There are not many musicians who get a piece of software named after them but then Miles Davis was unique. Soundfonts have come up with Miles’tone, a virtual trumpet. Now although the references to Miles Davis are obvious, there are no samples inside (as the packaging clearly states) which means the sounds are fully modelled and a modelled trumpet is rather complex and requires patience. Andrew Gilbert goes into this software in some detail with advice on getting the best from what he feels is a worthwhile addition to your VSTi library. Also check out the review of LinPlug’s Alpha 3 analogue synth VSTi which completes this months Computer Music.

With the usual tuition and music, this then is our March 2008 issue which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you next time.

News came through over the Christmas period of the sad passing of Oscar Peterson one of jazz pianos greatest virtuosos. We’ll be featuring a tribute to him, hopefully in the next issue.
Talking of Jazz Piano Legends, that is the title of a new CD by British jazz pianist Geoff Eales. He is the feature of Key People this month and talks about his journey from session man to one of the country’s leading jazz improvisers.
With the usual music and tuition features, this is our February issue which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you next time.

With news of two new Casio Privia pianos, how to get a free Garritan album download. Jools Holland’s autobiography reviewed plus the usual music and tuition, this is our January 2008 issue which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you next month.

Donny Osmond is perhaps best remembered as the teeny-bop idol from The Osmonds pop band. What is less well known is his long-standing love affair with music technology. He talks about how he first embraced new technology in the early days with the band on tour and brings us up to date with his hi-tech computer system in use today. He’s the subject of Key People this month.
With the usual news, reviews and tuition features, this then is our December issue.
All of us at Keyboard Player send our best wishes for the festive season to all our readers and subscribers throughout the world and everyone who has visited the Keyboard Player website during the past year. Thanks for your support. See you next time.

Last month we heard the sad news of Joe Zawinul passing away. In tribute to the great man we’re publishing a 6 page feature on his life and music. From the early years with Cannonball Adderley, the landmark jazz-rock albums with Miles Davis, and the creation of Weather Report with Wayne Shorter, without doubt the most influential jazz fusion band, through to the more recent work with the Joe Zawinul Syndicate, Joe’s influence on jazz music over the last forty plus years has been immense. He’ll be greatly missed.
Mike Oldfield fans may be interested to know that we review his autobiography as well as his new CD in our review section.
With news of an impressive new flagship pro keyboard from Korg, the Pa1XPro plus the usual music and tuition features, this then is the November issue of Keyboard Player which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you next time.

80s techno-pop pioneer Thomas Dolby is the subject of this month’s Key People. He’s about to launch a UK tour and talks about his career, electronic music today and his success in recent years with ringtones.
Everyone recognises the theme from ‘Mission Impossible’ but do you know who composed it? Argentinean composer, conductor and pianist Lalo Schifrin has composed over 150 scores including ‘Bullitt’, ‘Dirty Harry’ ‘Rush Hour’ as well as the aforementioned ‘Mission Impossible’. He is this month’s subject in Rhythm Kings and it is his rhythms, which have been an inspiration to many young musicians in recent years that are looked at in this feature.
Just as we were finalising this issue the sad news came in that legendary jazz keyboardist Joe Zawinul had passed away. We’ll have a full profile on Joe’s life and music in the November issue.
With the usual music and tuition features, this then is our October issue which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you next time.

Keyboard Player contributor and musician, Mark Jenkins has organised a concert series in London this Autumn under the title ‘Music for the 3rd Millenium’. One of the highlights will be a performance of ‘An Electric Storm’ by The White Noise. This is being performed live for the first time since this legendary electric music project, born at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, first produced the album in 1968. Included in the original line-up was the late Delia Derbyshire, creator of the Doctor Who theme and David Vorhaus who effectively is White Noise today. Check out this and other concerts in this issue or go to www.myspace.com/musicforthe3rdmillennium
There is a feature looking at Music in the Movies – in terms of DVD extras, and Classnotes looks at Elgar for beginners, chord progressions for the intermediates and funk on the Hohner Clavinet for more advanced players in our tuition series.
I hope you enjoy this issue – see you next time.

Not a lot on the software front this month with quite a few items awaiting arrival, so Computer Music reviews a new digital sheet music system called MusicPad Pro. We also look at The Fast Guide To Cubase 4.
Mark Jenkins examines the new phenomena of musicians who have succumbed to ‘the lure of the laptop’ ie music that is composed, mixed, equalised, mastered and burned entirely on a laptop. There are reviews of CDs by Mike Oldfield, Enigma, Tangerine Dream and Jean Michel Jarre who’ve all taken this course.
With Classnotes of special interest to ragtime fans, plus the usual musical selections, this the is our August issue. See you next time.

Hammond have at last launched their modular drawbar and controller, the XM-2 and XM-2C. John Bates puts them through their paces and finds much to admire in terms of sounds, versatility, portability and price.
In Key People this month, we talk to Mike Smith who was lead singer and keyboardist with the 60s pop band The Dave Clark 5. They had some massive hits covering R&B artistes like The Contours (Do You Love Me) and The Isley Brothers (Twist and Shout) and were, for a while, nearly as big as The Beatles. When the band split up he turned to studio work but decided to return to the road in 2003. Then a tragic accident changed his life completely.
One of the finest jazz pianists of all time, Oscar Peterson is the subject of Rhythm Kings this issue and Classnotes reaches part 25. We have a special offer for those wanting to get earlier parts of the series.
This is our July issue which we hope you’ll enjoy.

Andrew Gilbert takes on the new Yamaha pianos, and starts with three ‘straight’ (ie no rhythms etc) pianos, the Modus H01, YDP-S30 and the NP30/30S which range in price from a whopping £5,000 to a modest £199. With other Yamaha piano reviews coming up including a major top range CVP model there would seem to be plenty of choice this summer for those looking to buy a piano.
Talking of pianos, one of the world’s leading piano manufacturers, Kawai, celebrates their 80th anniversary this year. We look at the history of the company that arguably makes the finest acoustic piano in the world today but uses their experience to bring us excellent digital models as well. They too are launching some new products which we will be looking at over the coming months.

Mark Jenkins looks at two of the latest methods of getting music recorded directly onto your computer. IKM’s Stealth Plug for guitarists and the more complex and versatile Audio Kontrol 1 from Native Instruments (pictured right). Mark also inspects the K61P MIDI controller studio keyboard from Korg.
Classic Keyboards this month looks at the iconic Vox Continental much loved by bands in the 60s and can be heard to great effect on The Doors first two albums. But it is probably best remembered for the sublime Alan Price solo on The Animals House of the Rising Sun.

Welcome to the April issue of Keyboard Player which is now available to purchase and download.
Another month, another ‘designer’ digital piano – well it seems to have been like that just lately. This month it is the turn of Casio, in the shape of the PX-800 (pictured right) which at less than £1,000 lives up to Casio’s reputation of giving value for money. They also seem to have got the style and substance right as Andrew Gilbert opines in his in-depth review in this issue.

On the software front, Native Instruments offer up three new packages in the shape of FM8, Absynth 4 and Massive, the first two being major revisions with the third brand new. Mark Jenkins gives us his thoughts on all three in this issue.
More software reviewed in Computer Music. Andrew Gilbert looks at Linplug’s Organ 3 and 4Front Technologies TruePianos.
Rhythm Kings this month features that colossus of American music, Randy Newman. His music from the 1970s to the late 90s is covered this month from albums such as ‘Little Criminals’, ‘Sail Away’ and ‘Bad Love’.