A Tribute to Keith Emerson from The Bob Moog Foundation

A Tribute: Thank you, Keith Emerson

Published on Mar 15, 2016 moogfoundation

Be sure to read Michelle Moog-Koussa's tribute to Keith as well.

"Keith Noel Emerson (November 2, 1944 - March 10, 2016). Remembered with the highest respect and gratitude for his formidable musicianship and his unparalleled contributions to bringing modular synthesis to the fore of rock music, a combination that changed the sonic landscape.

Rare archival photos by Mark Hockman, courtesy of the Bob Moog Foundation Archives.

'Close to Home', written and performed by Keith Emerson, available on iTunes."

via Michelle's tribute:

"And herein lies the weight of writing about Keith Emerson’s passing. My connection to him, our connection, is multifaceted, rooted in his musical relationship to my father and in my personal and professional bond to my father and his powerful legacy. When asked on several occasions by interviewers if my father were a musician, he would firmly reply no, that he was a toolmaker, and “I make tools for musicians.” This was an inherent acknowledgement that his technological creations were but silent machines unless musicians released their vast capabilities to the listener. The best musicians, starting with experimental jazz composer Herb Deutsch, astonished him with their pioneering efforts to weave early modular synthesizers into their music. Although Wendy Carlos was the first to bring the vastly expressive but technically complex Moog modular synthesizer to the popular consciousness (thanks to her musical prowess and painstaking technical achievements), it was Keith Emerson who dared to not only perform live with the instrument in front of tens of thousands of people each night, but to do so while using it as a featured voice. Keith pioneered the use of the Moog modular in a live rock context while fearlessly bringing it and other electronic keyboards to the fore of the genre."