OT - Korg All Stars playing Europa at Winter NAMM

Here is a video clip my wife Kerry took of the Korg All Stars playing Europa in the Korg Soundroom at Winter NAMM 2014.

The band members are Frank Gambale, Tom Coster ( on Korg Kronos ), Victor Wooten and Steve Smith. Of course Europa was composed by Tom Coster when he was playing in Santana. The Rhodes sound on the Kronos is impressive.

Can't find the one from 2009 Namm in the JazzKat booth.

It's the best live version of the tune I've ever heard. Sadly, the video quality sucks, but the rest is fabulous. Drummer is Bernard Purdee(SP?)...inventor of the Purdee shuffle, heard on so many Steely Dan songs.

R.

WOW ... thank you, Nigel ... that is SUCH a great tune ... but those chords aren't in the version I have ...

I saw Gato Barbieri in a jazz club outside of Boston a number of years ago and he played 2 notes on the sax and the crowd started applauding ... he stopped and said "No, not yet, but you have good ears..." ... they were the same 2 first notes as to Europa, but to a different tune ! ...

Super tune, super musicians, super gear ! Thanks for posting.

Yeah, masterful version that. Thanks for posting it, Nigel. Every time I hear Europa I immediately think of Gary Moore's version of Parisian Walkways, the Leonard Cohen tune.

If that's Bernard Purdie, he lost a LOT of weight and got the bleach job from Hell!

http://www.bernardpurdie.com/

I did a session job with him in NY back in the 80's. Awesome!

EDIT... I guess you are talking about another video! LOL

That's him! Sorry for the error in spelling. This is a guy I should know!

A young guitarist, Frankie Ciella(SP?)! from Jersey tore up the version I'm thinking of.

R.

BTW, were you talking about the Rhodes sound AFTER the intro, Nigel? That one at the start had Korg digital all over it!

It got better, but still not QUITE the real thing. For some of us, it's been so long since we played the real deal we are starting to get wowed by some things that aren't quite there...

I've got a set for my Kurzweil that also has the weird 'dunk' false hammer hits (sometimes the hammer sort of sticks to the tine on poorly maintained Rhodes's and makes a dull muted sound every now and again if hit really hard) and they programmed a slider to control how often it would happen, randomly! I love anal attention to detail, sometimes. The flaws in the original instrument are often what help us believe we are playing the real thing!

Google Europa Jazzkat amps to find the piece I'm talking about.


Russ

Here is Korg's video of the same lineup last year at WInter NAMM 2013

Really strong! Nigel, notice, Frank's guitar is a Carvin he's been endorsing for a few years.


Russ

Yes I had noticed he was using Carvin. They really are great guitars. I have been looking at them for sometime now and see one in my future.

The bass player in my band uses Carvin 4 string and 5 string basses. They really have a great sound and they feel fantastic. I love that you can customize all their guitars to personalize them completely.

I always enjoy looking through their catalog when it arrives in the mail.

I started buying Carvin in 1963, when my dad was stationed at a base in Victorville.

I have lap steels, fretted and fretless basses, including a neat double neck with both, a bunch of double-neck guitars, and I have been using Carvin amplification for going on 50 years./

Problem is, the instruments, while of great quality, are never going to appreciate, like most Gibsons and Fenders.


Great players, though.


Russ

Certainly if they are being bought mainly as an investment then that is important to note. But if an instrument is being acquired to make a musical statement then being a "Great player" is all that matters.

I also noticed that Joe Walsh uses Carvin guitars much of the time.

Now, Joe is a really underrated player. I've seen him on Daryl's House...he kicked A**!. Then, he was in the pit playing beautiful nylon string leads on a recent tribute to Paul McCartney. He was also playing with Paul on one of the evening show...unrecognized. Of course, Diana Krall was playing piano, so there were some pretty heavy players on that Gig.

BTW: Daryl's house is a real eye opener. I always thought that Hall and Oates were musical lightweights.

Hall evidently has his act together on several levels.

The show (Daryl's place) is really good!


Russ

(On the TV stuff with Paul, Joe was "stylin" in a tux!).

Nigel, Godin is the other brand that makes good players at reasonable prices. My patio guitar now is a Godin A6...piezo and humbucker...two outs...$699.00. And my "beater" jazz guitar is a 5th avenue. Rory Hoffman plays the same one (just way better than me).

The imported electric Guilds I just got are really nice, also.
I played a Starfire III in my college Rock and Roll days; then switched to the one you know and will own one day.

Guitars....man, I LOVE them!

Russ

At the Ventura County Fair Kerry and always go to hear the musical acts in the main stadium as they always have major artists play which make it a very cheap show for the price of the fair admittance.

The last one was a few months back and we saw Styx play who were very professional. The following night we saw Hall & Oates .... wow they really knocked it out of the park. They had the audience of all ages yelling for more. The backing band were outstanding and complimented the vocals to perfection but both Hall and Oates played very solid guitar performances to drive their songs. And they are one of those acts where every song is a hit.

I read an article recently about the TV show and their recent tours creating a fresh interest in them from younger audiences who weren't familiar with them before.