MTS 2020: Dream Theater keyboard wizard Jordan Rudess has responded after being voted the greatest synth player of all time by MusicRadar users.
Rudess faced stiff competition from some of the giants of synth history - there was an emotionally-charged rush of support for Dave Greenfield, The Stranglers’ keyboard player having died after testing positive for Covid-19 earlier this year - but ultimately won the day.
“I’m honoured to be included here with so many of my synth heroes,” Rudess told MusicRadar. “The world of synthesis and music technology is evolving at warp speed and it feels like every day I see something new that I can’t wait to get my hands on. Can you relate to this obsession?
“It’s hard to believe that instruments like the Continuum, Seaboard, Eigenharp and Linnstrument were only introduced within the past 20 years. Even crazier to think that the App Store has only been around for 12 years, and now I’m playing expressive physical models on my iOS app, GeoShred.
“It’s exhilarating to imagine the music innovations that the next 12 years have in store and I can’t wait to get my hands on the future of music technology. Thanks, MusicRadar and everyone who voted!”
Summarising Rudess’s qualities as a synth player, MusicRadar described him as “less a prog revivalist and more a prog revisionist, bringing performance chops and finely-honed technique into the modern era”.
