Guys, can't we put this issue to bed once and for all? I have been a professional performer all my life and I've worked in basically 3 different formats. I started playing in bands as a teenager and I love the band format. It's great to get to play with really talented players. Then I went to the OMB format. At first, I did it with B 3, and a drum machine. Later I went to keyboard bass, right hand keyboard and a drum machine. All the while I was doing this I also played lots of solo grand piano gigs. I am a trained pianist and I've always loveed playing solo piano. When arrangers came along I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Now I could bring the whole band with me and still play and sing til my heart was content. I still do a full series of arranger gigs and piano concerts and I must tell you that I get tremendous satisfacion out of both. The OMB shows are for audiences that want lively, dancable music. The piano concerts are a more serious listening time. I will share with you a compliment I got recently at a venue where I usually do OMB shows and dances. I did my first piano concert and afterwards a resident came up to me and said: Joe you are a great entertainer and we always love it when you come here. But tonight you showed us a different man. Tonight, you were an artist. As I said before, there is room for both. People want to be entertained. It is our job to do just that. It's our heart that is important, not our methodology.

Keep playing,

Joe