Jordan Rudess

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Jordan Rudess at a Dream Theater concert in Berlin 2007
Jordan Rudess at a Dream Theater concert in Berlin 2007
Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
Wired for Madness
  CH 74 04/28/2019 (1 week)

Jordan Charles Rudess (born November 4, 1956 in New York ) is an American keyboardist , piano virtuoso and member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater .

Life

Jordan Rudess 2004

After the talent of Jordan Rudess was discovered in childhood, he went to the renowned Juilliard Conservatory at the age of nine , where he was initially taught classical piano. At the age of 19 he began to be interested in synthesizers and to use them in his compositions and, against the advice of his mentor, decided to pursue a career as a keyboardist instead of a classical pianist.

After Rudess released his first solo album, Listen , in 1994 and was voted Most Gifted New Talent by Keyboard Magazine readers , he received offers from the bands Dream Theater and The Dixie Dregs . He chose to play with the Dixie Dregs first, however , as this temporary engagement would have the least effect on his family life.

In the meantime he devoted himself to several solo projects, such as the Rudess / Morgenstein project , in which he played together with the drummer of the Dixie Dregs , Rod Morgenstein , and recorded a CD of the same name. The origin of this project was a failed tour appearance in which the Dixie Dregs went out of power. Only Jordan Rudess, whose keyboard was connected to a UPS , and Rod Morgenstein could still play, so the two decided to jam together until the power was back on. The result was so convincing that the two decided to do the thing again.

Rudess was also involved with some members of Dream Theater on a side project called Liquid Tension Experiment , which produced two CDs (Liquid Tension Experiment and Liquid Tension Experiment 2) . In addition to Rudess himself, the members were John Petrucci (guitar, Dream Theater ), Mike Portnoy (drums, ex-Dream Theater ) and Tony Levin (Chapman Stick / Bass, including King Crimson , Peter Gabriel ). On this occasion Jordan Rudess could be convinced to become a permanent member of Dream Theater . He replaced the then keyboardist Derek Sherinian and recorded with Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory released his first album with Dream Theater . Since then he has appeared on the studio albums Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (2002), Train of Thought (2003), Octavarium (2005), Systematic Chaos (2007), Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009), A Dramatic Turn of Events (2011) , Dream Theater (2013) and The Astonishing (2016) , also on the live CDs Live Scenes from New York , Live at Budokan , Score and Chaos in Motion .

Together with John Petrucci he performed at the Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center. A recording of this performance has been released on CD under the title An Evening with John Petrucci & Jordan Rudess .

In the summer and autumn of 2006 he is working on a revival of the Rudess / Morgenstein project (a new album is planned, and there are now regular live performances) and on the new Dream Theater album . Shortly after Prince 's death in April 2016, Rudess released a cover version of his hit Purple Rain .

In his compositions, such as in the albums Feeding the Wheel and Rhythm of Time, Jordan mostly uses - in addition to the classic parts in Aeolian minor - the minor blue scale or the minor pentatonic scale , and occasionally the chromatic scale . For example, in Crack the meter (1st track of the album Feeding the Wheel ) he combines the minor blues scale in E with Aeolian B minor or the Phrygian or Phrygian dominant scale in E with the minor blues scale in B (rhythm of time - time crunch).

technology

A characteristic for Rudess at concerts is the use of rotatable and hydraulically tiltable keyboard stands for the workstation, which are specially made according to his specifications. This gives him the opportunity to interact more flexibly with the other band members and the audience.

Discography

Solo albums

  • Arrival (CD) (1988)
  • Lists (CD) (1993)
  • Secrets of the Muse (CD) (1997)
  • Resonance (CD) (1999)
  • Feeding the Wheel (CD) (2001)
  • 4NYC (CD) (2002)
  • Christmas Sky (CD) (2002)
  • Rhythm of Time (CD) (2004)
  • Prime Cuts (CD, compilation) (2006)
  • The Road Home (CD) (2007)
  • Notes On a Dream (CD) (2009)
  • All That Is Now (CD) (2013)
  • Explorations (CD) (2014)
  • The Unforgotten Path (CD) (2015)
  • Wired for Madness (CD) (2019)

Dream theater albums

Project albums

  • Steinway to Heaven (CD) (1996)
  • Rudess / Morgenstein Project (CD) (1999)
  • An Evening with John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess (CD) (2001)
  • Rudess / Morgenstein Project - The Official Bootleg (CD) (2001)
  • Levin Minnemann Rudess - Levin Minnemann Rudess (CD) (2013)
  • Levin Minnemann Rudess - From the Law Offices of Levin Minnemann Rudess (CD) (2016)

Liquid tension experiment albums

  • Liquid Tension Experiment (CD) (1998)
  • Liquid Tension Experiment 2 (CD) (1999)
  • Liquid Trio Experiment - Spontaneous Combustion (CD) (2007)

Guest appearances

  • Vinnie Moore - Time Odyssey (1988)
  • Nóirín Ní Riain - Celtic Soul (1996)
  • Rhonda Larson - Free as a Bird (1999)
  • Various Artists - Encores, Legends & Paradox (1999)
  • Paul Winter and The Earth Band - Journey With The Sun (2000)
  • Scott McGill - Addition by Subtraction (2001)
  • Prefab Sprout - The Gunman and Other Stories (2001)
  • David Bowie - Heathen (2002)
  • Jupiter - Echo and Art (2003)
  • Daniel J - Losing Time (2005)
  • Neal Morse - ? (2005)
  • Ricky Garcia - Let Sleeping Dogs Lie (2008)
  • Steven Wilson - Insurgentes (2008)
  • Affector - Armageddon (2012)
  • Ayreon - The Theory of Everything (2013)

Other

  • Speedway Boulevard - Speedway Boulevard (CD) ( 1981 )

Teaching material

  • Total Keyboard Wizardry - A Technique and Improvisation Workbook (Book)
  • Keyboard Wizardry (VHS and DVD)
  • Keyboard Madness - Mastering Live Performance (DVD)
  • Dream Theater - Keyboard Experience (Book)

swell

  1. ↑ Jordan Rudess in the Swiss hit parade

Web links

Commons : Jordan Rudess  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files
Dream theater
Studio albums

When Dream and Day Unite  (1989) • Images and Words  (1992) • Awake  (1994) • Falling into Infinity  (1997) • Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory  (1999) • Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence  (2002) • Train of Thought  (2003) • Octavarium  (2005) • Systematic Chaos  (2007) • Black Clouds & Silver Linings  (2009) • A Dramatic Turn of Events  (2011) • Dream Theater  (2013) • The Astonishing  (2015) • Distance over Time  (2019)

Extended plays

A Change of Seasons  (1995)

Live albums

Live at the Marquee  (1993) • Once in a LIVEtime  (1998) • Live Scenes from New York  (2001) • Live at Budokan  (2004) • SCORE (20th Anniversary World Tour)  (2006)

personal data
SURNAME Rudess, Jordan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rudess, Jordan Charles (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American keyboardist
DATE OF BIRTH 4th November 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH New York , New York , United States