The CNN intertainment segment featured an Artist named Mike Phillips who is a Jazz musician. Did anybody happen to catch the segment? If not let me fill you in... Mike Phillips is a new Jazz musician who just debuted his first CD called "You Have Reached Mike Phillips". It debuted at #4 on the Jazz Chart! He plays the Sax and of course he is the star but his band consisted of a Drummer and a Keyboardist. Guess what kind of keyboard the Keyboardist was playing? No, it was not an Arranger BUT it was a Roland XP-30. Okay so what is the correlation you say? Well, remember that the CD "Debuted" at #4 on the 'Jazz Billboard Charts' and the Keyboardist was playing a 4 year old "technology wise" Synthesizer. I mean the XP-30 is near the bottom of the rung of the XP series right? And hear was this HOT Jazz band using it during their live perfomance.

I have played the XP-80 and didn't think it was all that great sounding. The XP's use an older technology sound engine which can't stand up to the sounds of the newer keyboards IMHO. Well, I just wanted to say that if their band uses an XP-30 and their CD debuts at #4 it gives me inspiration that not only are our keyboards surely not "Toys" as some would suggest, but they are more than Professionally capable and qualified to be used in the same professional manner with the same or "better" results as a Top Billboard Jazz or any other kind of band.

Best regards to all,
Mike