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KeyboardMag.com >> This Month >> The Soulful Styles Of Isaac Hayes
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The Soulful Styles Of Isaac HayesIsaac Hayes, the legendary songwriter, producer, movie star, and keyboard player, passed away this past August. He was one of a handful of superstars in the music business with a bona-fide pedigree as an accomplished studio session player. His early association with Stax records in Memphis and the work he did there as a sideman, writer, arranger, and producer resulted in a tremendous body of chart-topping work, including many hit songs for artists such as Sam and Dave, Otis Redding, Eddie Floyd, and Rufus Thomas. Hayes’ piano and keyboard playing was always simple, direct, grooving, and uncluttered. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say, “Oh, you know that’s Isaac Hayes on piano!” Many of his parts have become “must play” landmarks. His years with Stax seem so far removed from his later work in soul music — not to mention his years as an actor. But when you take a closer look at his playing in the studio in the ’60s, you can really see the emergence of refined concept of layering and part playing. This sensibility is also strong in his work in the ’70s, beginning with the classic albums Black Moses, Hot Buttered Soul, and, of course, Shaft. Here are a few classic keyboard parts, in the soulful style of the late Isaac Hayes. |
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