As a musician that has worked with a lot of One-Man-Bands, (or OMB's) I have a few comments to make on this topic.
First of all ALL of the big OMB's out there are very, very good. We all have good nights and bad nights, some sound good today and bad tomorrow, and vice versa. It is a matter of taste, as each plays in a slightly different way, and I will try to list the pro's of SOME of the OMB's if I left any of them out, just post his name, and I will give you my opinion.
With regard to chords. Most OMB's have not have any musical training, so the chords that they play are not based on musical theory, but rather on experience. If it sounds good, they play it again. There is nothing wrong with that, these musicians are not playing some complicated jazz tune where you might substitute a Dm7 with a Bm7(b5). 1
The main point is to play nice music, get the crowd on their feet, and be misameach choson kalla, and all the guests. ( as musicians we sometimes forget that. ) 1
Mr. Lev, a VERY experienced musician, he must be playing for 25 years. He knows the ins, and out's he understands which songs need to be played, he plays them perfectly. His chords are great, if your looking for a chasuna that's clean, and with no mistakes (music wise, ) go for him.
Mr. Gross, a great guy, a very talented musician. He is relatively new but he knows his stuff, some are calling him the next Lev. He plays very well.
Mr. Goldberger, a musician that tries to imitate the real instrument. Most OMB's don't even try. He bangs out chords (and he can bang) has a shtick where he lets the woofer go solo in the rhythm, and shuts off the rest of the music, a very interesting OMB to listen to, knows how to wake up a crowd.
Mr. Kaler, a very nice fellow from *:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />*:namespace prefix = st1 />Monroe. He has a lot of talent, plays very well, sticks to songs that he knows well, which is a good thing, he knows how to keep the volume perfect. Something that OMB's seem to have trouble doing…overall a very good sounding musician, that is very ''leibidig''
Mr. Rosenfeld, a newer OMB that has surprised me. He is really good. Puts a lot of effort into the job. Plays his Hora's with a bit of a secular influence, but I think people enjoy that.
Mr. Tessler, another very good OMB. Has a lot of talent, thinks up interesting new choson kallah intro's, plays great songs, very leibidig.
Mr. Halpern, I haven't seen him for a while, he is the best at imitating rhythm guitars, know a LOT of klezmers, and 'Miron'' style horas. Sounds great with another instrument, like a sax, or clarinet.
Mr. Berkowitz, another OMB that I haven't seen for a while, he is also a very talented good OMB, with a great sense of rhythm. He plays a perfectly not wild, and not too toned down.
Mr. Parnes, OK so he is a litishe fellow and wears a necktie,, so what. A old-world musician, with a lot of experience, very professional, very leibidig.
Yossi Rosenberg, tremendous musician, very talented has a great ear, really does a wonderful job. His greatest ''maaleh'' is that I have never seen him loose his cool! He plays cool, calm, and collected, sounds great, gets the crowd moving.
Mr. Kohn, a chabad'sker musician, that plays with a laptop and about three hundred other toys around him. Has the great sounds, and he sings, his computer can even make his voice sound like that of a little kid. Is very interesting to listen to.
Again there are many great musicians that I am sure I have left out, they are all great in their own way. The chords are really not that important,(unless they are wrong).
The main point is to make people happy and want to dance, and ALL of the OMB's do a great job at that.
תוקן על ידי - bflat - 11/07/2006 19:08:22