cover image source: jakeshimabukuro
What comes to mind when you think of musical virtuosity? Child prodigies like Michael Jackson blowing our minds at age 5? Groundbreaking guitarists like Jimi Hendrix playing solos with his teeth? Incredibly influential classical musicians, like pianist, Franz Liszt, who we don't actually have any recordings of, but history holds in high regard? YouTube-famous instrumentalists like ukulelist Jake Shumabukuro playing absurdly intricate pieces and making it look effortless? Whatever comes to your mind, please share it!
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In this weekly series, folks can chime in and drop links to whatever it is they've been listening to recently + browse others suggestions.
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Alright, alright... let's see those suggestions! I'm interested to know who y'all think are musical virtuosos. Note: you can embed a link to your song using the following syntax {% embed https://... %}. This should work for most common platforms!
Really looking forward to listening to y'all's suggestions! 🎶
Oldest comments (18)
The topic of musical virtuosity is on my mind because last night I went to a concert featuring Cory Wong and Victor Wooten, 2 folks who I think of as musical virtuosos, particularly in the realm of funk.
Here's a video of them playing at Paisley Park (Prince's home studio) where Cory Wong has been a regular for the past year:
That sounds like an AMAZING show. I love Victor and Cory Wong is fantastic. I love it when he plays with Vulfpeck.
What was it like? How close did you get to the stage? I'd love to hear more about it.
It seriously was amazing. 🙌
They were playing with musicians from Prince's backing band... so everybody was just so on point.
I actually took my parents to the show and they're in their 70's haha, so instead of going to the front, we went up to the second level to try and get a little space. The sound was fantastic throughout the whole place and we had a pretty good view from where we were.
One of my favorite parts was when they all took out instruments that were carry-on size (could be brought on a plane) and busted out a version of Introducing the Fearless Flyers which I'm trying to upload to my Google Drive but am having trouble (EDIT: got it!). I also loved their take on
BennyVinny and the Jets, here's a shot of it. Unfortunately I didn't get any footage with Victor Wooten on stage... he came on a little bit later than the rest of the group, but he of course blew everyones' minds once he was on, haha!By the way, if you haven't yet listened to The Fearless Flyers (who also have both Cory Wong and Joe Dart of Vulfpeck fame), check'em out here!
I've been listening to this as It's upbeat and fun.
Haha, this is pretty fun! He's got some lofi vibes to him for sure.
I'm listening to some Kavinsky today.
Oooo aight! I hadn't listened to Kavinsky before... digging it!
The violinist Esther Abrami.
Esther Abrami | Violinist | Official Website
The Official Website of Violinist Esther Abrami.
Another virtuoso of both music and comedy, Victor Borge.
Børge Rosenbaum, known professionally as Victor Borge, was a Danish-American comedian, conductor, and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in both North America and Europe. His blend of music and comedy earned him the nicknames "The Clown Prince of Denmark", "The Unmelancholy Dane", and "The Great Dane".
Oh wow, I just looked him up here and I'm absolutely loving this! 😀 Dude is hilarious and so talented.
I'm not sure if they still have them available as part of Prime, but a while back Amazon had several of his old television specials included with Prime. PBS networks like to air them once in a while.
Some of his comedy is very physical. It's amazing he can play well while doing some of it. If you can find it, check out his Hungarian Rhapsody by Liszt that he does as a duet with a 2nd pianist on 1 piano. There are multiple versions of it from different points in his life, all incredible.
Falling in Reverse - Watch The World Burn. Nobody is doing music like FIR right now. Lyrically amazing, transitions from Rap to Metal are flawless and just amazing.
Oooo yeah, they got skills — that speed rapping is wild and you're right that the transition to rock is seamless! Also, the music video is badass too! 🔥
This may not a virtuoso related. I have been a fan of bass guitar instrument. I look up to some famous bassist like RHCP's Flea, Victor Wooten, Mr.Big's Billy Sheehan, Vulf's Joe Dart, Incubus' Ben Kenney, even Nolly Getgood from a prog-metal band Periphery.
A long-time ago I discovered Juliaplaysgroove YT channel and she bass-covered some songs. I have seen her improvement. She went from a good bass player into a wonderful one. Any recent songs she covered almost like the better version to me because she fills extra notes if necessary but still not over-filled.
I think the dualipa cover is the famous one of her for everyone to look up:
I bought a bass guitar a long time ago but didn't have much time to learn it. So I just dreaming to become as cool & enjoyable as her. 😄 I choose bass because I just want to enjoy music. not building a serious music career and persona with promising instrument like guitar, drum, piano.
Oooo hell yeah! That's right, you've told me that you're all about that bass, haha.
These are great suggetions and I think they fit well into the virtuosic category. Both of the bassists are awesome in their own unique ways. I really really enjoyed the Dua Lipa cover... it's just so much fun.
Also, I absolutely love the list of bassists that you go through in the beginning. I got a few suggestions for ya actually:
Pop Kreatif & Jazz
Ooooo there are some goodies in here! Really appreciate ya sharing, Imam! 🙌
Nice to be here in your amazing thread! 🌈🔥