My heroes
(no particular order)
Otis Spann
- Pianist and Blues Singer (1930-1970) -
Perhaps this man was as close as anyone could ever get to the blues. Otis sang with soul and honesty. As theatrical as a Shakespeare's play, when he sang, he embodied the temperamental ambiguity that one ought to find in any decent blues recording and, at the same time, managed to always deliver brilliant playing. May he rest in peace.
Ian Mackaye
- Musician and DIY pioneer -
Besides being an awesome musician and songwriter, Mackaye was a rocker that actually used his brain. He co-founded his own record company at 18, learning how to make his own records and how to distribute them himself. His songs weren't limited to dizzy bashes of breakneck rock n' roll (like a lot of great punk music is), but he actually thought what he sung and amplified the idea that that punk was not only a fashion, but a point to share ideas. His contribution to independent music is beyond words, and so is the mark that his music left in my teenagehood.
Laura Nyro
- Singer/songwriter -
Nyro was one of the most intense songwriters of the 60s. At just 17, she already showed she could stand with the greats with a rather sophisticated songbook. His later works works (2 first LP's) were closer to portraits than long plays. By means of complex harmonization, soulful phrasing and erudite singing, she not only pushed soul music to new domains, but created almost perfect pictures of both youngfulness and adultness (Eli's and New York Tendarberry, respectively). His creativeness came from a place in his psique that was between joyful mania and despairing, juvenility and withering, love and spite. Thru continously changing tempos, keys and moodness on his songs, she was able to reach something never seen before in soul music: the musical description of a persona rather than a theme (that was, most of times, love). Much like C. Beefheart did with blues thru the grotesque, oblique and manic. Laura Nyro did with soul, destilling his own persona into his music.
Todd Rundgren
- Multi-Instrumentalist - Producer - Singer/songwriter - DIY pioneer -
Todd was a pretty multifacetic musician. He was an extraordinary tunesmith and really polished producer. He was one of the first musician to write, produce and record a full LP by himself alone. He also produced his own music videos, made the first rock record only using a human voice and continously developed his intelectual curiosity on his own (from programming to eastern philosophy).