José, I am afraid that all these electronic keyboards have limitations; you know already about Ketron (the SD1 is more or less like the X4). On the 9000 pro I am currently using the fingered pro advanced mode, which requires that you play at least three notes to trigger a chord. This way I can play little fills with my left hand without affecting the chord the arranger is playing:; however, the chord recognition is sometimes less than perfect; for example, in my last song (Desafinado) there is a chord progression (Am7-D7b9) that I usually voice

A-C-E-G
A-C-Eb-F#,

but the 9000 pro recognizes the second chord as Adim7 and this drives me crazy. I have tried different voicings, but the only way to have the right chord is to press five notes (A-C-D-Eb-F# !)
You are right that adding a little comping with the left hand spices the song a lot, but comping behind a song is an art in itself: choising the right sound (that does not interfere with the flow of the song) and -most important- do not overdo. I remember reading an interview with Joes Pass about his work with Ella Fitzgerald; he said that the most important thing, when you comp behind a singer, is not to get in his/her way. Like you wrote about Desafinado, you have to wait and fill those empty spaces.



[This message has been edited by Dreamer (edited 03-09-2003).]