Great bands with great instrumentalists | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Great bands with great instrumentalists

Led Zeppelin are another power trio plus one, and every one of them was among the best. This cut also showcases John Paul Jones's keyboards. This song sometimes ran over 20 minutes in shows, with Jones riffing on the piano in the middle.


No music expert but Jimmy Page is an absolute virtuoso musician to me. By that measure I think he edges out other guitar players. Fast or slow, hard or delicate he could do it all. As much as I love Garcia, Trucks, Hendrix it just feels different.
 
Possibly the greatest jazz trio in history.
The incomparable Oscar Peterson on piano. Barney Kessel on guitar and Niels-Henning Orsted Pederson on bass.
Mind boggling piano playing.

Love Oscar Peterson. Fantastic. Also had the privilege of somehow buying front row tickets to see Michel Petrucciani at the Montreal Jazz Fest some 25 years ago. Most incredible playing I've ever witnessed close up. We were angled perfectly behind him as he walked with crutches to the stage, lifted himself to the bench, spread his arms like a condor and launched into the jazz stratosphere. Still gives me chills.
 
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In terms of sheer artistry on a breathtaking variety of instrument, Gentle Giant are at the top of my list. This one has each of them switch instruments a couple of times.

 
In Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, and Tony Levin, King Crimson has three great strings players. Add in Bill Bruford banging things and they make one hugely artistic band. Here’s my favorite piece of theirs — I can’t find the quartet version; they have a second Stick player and a second percussionist here.

 
Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band - Clarence Clemons, Steve Van Zant, and the rest. In this video they get to individually show of their chops. Amazing to watch them put a song together.


I was at this show in Germany. However, if you ever want to see a background band for Bruce Springsteen really show their talents from an instrumental standpoint search for any song from the Seeger sessions band tour.

 
Chicago had great horn players as well as an awesome lead guitarist. One of the best live performances.


Terry Kath was an amazing guitarist ... and he kept getting better. His accidental death at such a young age was a true tragedy.
 
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Genesis featuring Phil Collins. Sorry you have to wait over 5:30 for the drum kick-in. Still a great song.

 
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Amazing instrumentation on this one - Stevie Winwood's Traffic doing 40,000 Headmen live:

 
However, for my tastes, if you’re going to have an instrumental laden jam band, I would go with the great band - Railroad Earth.



 
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I sense a drift from the original topic
I guess I am guilty in that I misunderstood the purpose of this thread. Sorry.
Were you seeking examples such as G. E. Smith who was a great guitar player behind Hall and Oates? He was also the SNL bandleader for it seems forever, playing behind many guest vocalists, and I believe has played lead guitar for some vocalists R&R HOF induction sets.
 
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