Incredible Rock Keyboard Solos

Countless incredible keyboard solos have been recorded and performed live. Selecting individual performances for an article such as this is a subjective exercise; the results will invariably exclude excellent keyboard solos that you may hold near and dear. We’re sorry we couldn’t include every amazing solo ever — we certainly wish we could! With that said, what follows is an affectionate look at several standout performances by some extraordinary keyboard artists.

As with any instrument, keyboard artistry is not just about flashy solos — although, they’re certainly appreciated! That’s why we recommend you listen to these entire songs. That way, instead of hearing eight or 16 bars in isolation, you can appreciate the way the keyboard part — as a whole — is woven into the track. This article will also examine currently available keyboard models at Sweetwater that can allow you to closely approximate (or outright nail) these iconic sounds. So, let’s get on with it!

Derek Sherinian: “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”Jordan Rudess (Liquid Tension Experiment): “Acid Rain”Jan Hammer (Mahavishnu Orchestra): “Vital Transformation”Jon Lord (Deep Purple): “Hush”John Novello (Niacin): “No Man’s Land”Gregg Rolie (Santana): “Evil Ways”Dave Stewart (Bruford): “The Sahara of Snow, Part 1” & “The Sahara of Snow, Part 2”Chick Corea (Return to Forever): “The Romantic Warrior”

Derek Sherinian: “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”

On his 2001 album Inertia, keyboardist extraordinaire Derek Sherinian does a heavy rock take on the Charles Mingus jazz standard (this song initially appeared on said bassist’s 1959 album Mingus Ah Um). Sherinian’s synth solos begin at 3:00 and 4:02, and his uniquely “guitaristic” lead lines shred toe to toe with those of renowned session axman Steve Lukather. Still, you owe it to yourself to listen to the entire track to fully appreciate the keyboardist’s masterful electric piano and organ work artfully interwoven with Lukather’s guitar. Interestingly, Sherinian wasn’t the first rock artist to take a stab at “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” (and he likely won’t be the last). Guitar legend Jeff Beck (who sadly passed away in January of 2023) recorded perhaps the definitive fusion version of it for his landmark 1976 album Wired.

A longtime Korg endorsee, Sherinian toured and recorded with a Korg Trinity synth workstation during his later tenure as keyboardist for Dream Theater. The Trinity Series was succeeded by the Kronos Series in 2011 and the Nautilus Series in 2022. Powered by nine beastly sound engines, the Korg Nautilus 73 73-key synthesizer workstation can craft any sound you can imagine. But a Sherinian signature lead patch like this one requires no tedious programming on the Nautilus — the preset you want is only a press of a button away!

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Jordan Rudess (Liquid Tension Experiment): “Acid Rain”

Liquid Tension Experiment, a late ’90s side project led by Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, included DT guitarist John Petrucci, keyboardist Jordan Rudess, and prog rock icon Tony Levin on bass and Chapman Stick. Riding the strength of his masterful performances with LTE, Rudess was asked once again to join Dream Theater, having previously turned them down in favor of touring with Dixie Dregs. But this time, he accepted, replacing Derek Sherinian in the DT lineup in 1999. Liquid Tension Experiment’s Live in LA album showcases the musicians’ immense talents and preserves the band as an instrumental powerhouse for future generations on YouTube.

The winner of numerous keyboard magazine awards, Jordan Rudess is, like Sherinian, a bona fide keyboardists’ keyboardist. The Roland FANTOM workstation keyboard was Jordan’s instrument of choice at the time of his LTE stint. Offering more than two decades of updates and improvements, the latest generation of FANTOMs are Roland’s most powerful — and user-friendly — synth workstations to date. Powered by Roland’s acclaimed ZEN-Core and SuperNATURAL tone generators, today’s FANTOM is markedly more robust than the one you see Jordan playing here. As with Sherinian’s, Rudess’s patches, such as his infamous “snarling pig,” are the basis of many lead presets on modern synths like the Roland Fantom-08 music workstation keyboard.

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Jan Hammer (Mahavishnu Orchestra): “Vital Transformation”

For those who experienced them live, no band has ever played faster, louder, and with more precision and musical sophistication than Mahavishnu Orchestra. Recorded in New York City’s Central Park, the quintet’s August 1973 Schaefer Music Festival shows resulted in an iconic live album, Between Nothingness & Eternity, that captured the MO in all their fiery glory. The first iteration of the group, heard in the below video, consisted of John McLaughlin on guitar, Jan Hammer on keys, Jerry Goodman on electric violin, Rick Laird on bass, and Billy Cobham on drums. MO was unique in that it boasted three prodigious soloists who often went for it all at once. Accordingly, in “Vital Transformation,” you will have to pick out Jan Hammer’s lead synth lines as he trades rapid-fire licks with McLaughlin and Goodman.

Jan Hammer’s artistry on the Fender Rhodes electric piano and Moog Minimoog is sublime. Of course, these keyboards are cornerstones of any well-appointed “classic keys” virtual instrument library. But for those who must rock the real deal, the 2022 Moog Minimoog Model D analog synthesizer checks all the boxes. It’s a meticulous re-creation of the original 1970 model, with numerous upgrades to accommodate the modern keyboardist.

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Jon Lord (Deep Purple): “Hush”

December 20 and 21, 1968, would be the only dates that Deep Purple made appearances at the Fillmore East, New York City’s legendary rock palace. Freshly formed in London earlier that same year, Deep Purple had a unique sound. Its founding lineup included classically trained organist Jon Lord and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, who wove a rich prog-rock tapestry from his diverse gamut of influences ranging from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov to Vanilla Fudge. And by jailbreaking the Leslie output circuitry and patching it into a 200-watt Marshall amp, Lord’s gnarly Hammond C3 sound was born. This allowed him to go toe to toe with Blackmore, who plugged into his own formidable Marshall stack. Pumped up by heavy tube overdrive, the sound of the two instruments coalesced into the raw, harmonically rich sonic cocktail that made Deep Purple instantly recognizable and would help rocket them to success as one of England’s most famous heavy metal bands. Lord’s wailing solo in “Hush” starts at 2:47, but we know you’ll want to listen to this classic gem from the beginning!

As with vintage EPs and synths, Hammond organ sounds can be found in any virtual keyboard library, but the Hammond SKX Pro dual 61-key stage keyboard/organ is sure to delight even the most dyed-in-the-wool tonewheel enthusiasts. Hammond’s legendary B-3 and C3 tonewheel organs played a significant role in the popular music of the ’60s and ’70s. In the modern era, the company has assumed industry leadership with their so-called “clonewheel” organs, which utilize sophisticated digital technology to perfectly emulate those classic sounds. Employing four robust sound engines, the SKX Pro is a dual-manual model that not only nails the Hammond sounds of yesteryear but also provides other essential keyboard instruments you need for live gigs and recording sessions. 

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John Novello (Niacin): “No Man’s Land”

Driven forward by the superhuman drumming of Dennis Chambers, Niacin’s organist John Novello shares “co-lead” billing with bass icon Billy Sheehan. The group’s name is a clever play on the name “B-3” (or, “B3”) which is both a Hammond organ and a vitamin, respectively, commonly referred to as “niacin.” In such an instrumental power trio as Niacin, virtually every measure of every song is an organ solo — and oftentimes a bass or drum solo as well! Once you get past the poor video quality of the below clip (it was the late ’90s, after all), you will marvel — along with the rest of us — at the off-the-charts virtuosity of these fine musicians in complete mastery of their respective instruments.

While a plug-in can no doubt get you reasonably close to Novello’s sound on “No Man’s Land,” you may nevertheless want to invest in a genuine Hammond. If that’s the case, and the SKX Pro is a budget buster, then check out the more affordable — and portable — single-manual Hammond SK Pro 61-key keyboard/organ with 4 sound engines.

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Gregg Rolie (Santana): “Evil Ways”

Santana set the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair aflame, stealing the show with one of the festival’s most acclaimed, inspired performances and as one of the highlights of the subsequent documentary film. Santana’s Woodstock triumph would propel the group into international fame. Just three weeks prior, they were third on the playbill at the Fillmore East; when they returned in November, they were the headline act! Check out organist Gregg Rolie’s solo in “Evil Ways,” one of the most iconic Hammond solos ever captured on film. After Santana, Rolie would become one of the founding members of another famous Bay Area band: Journey.

Hammond aficionados on tighter budgets will be gratified to know that the company makes various models, including the entry-level XK-1c 61-key portable organ.

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Dave Stewart (Bruford): “The Sahara of Snow, Part 1” & “The Sahara of Snow, Part 2”

Bruford’s 1979 appearance on the BBC’s Rock Goes to College series highlighted the amazing creativity of its fabulous musicians, while the excellent camera work on “The Sahara of Snow” put a spotlight on the artistry of the group’s keyboardist, Dave Stewart. Regardless of your instrument, don’t miss a minute of this exciting performance, which also features the jaw-dropping guitar talents of Allan Holdsworth, the amazing bass playing of Jeff Berlin, and, of course, the one and only Bill Bruford on drums and percussion. After stints with prog-rock headliners Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, and U.K., Bruford was Bill’s first outing as a leader, and the band benefited from his deepening interest in writing original material. Here, Stewart deployed his arsenal of classic keyboards, which included the Hammond organ, Yamaha CP-70 electric grand (check out that opening low-octave stab through a fuzz pedal!), Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 synth, and, of course, Minimoog synth.

Having already discussed the Minimoog and several Hammond options above, let’s look at what current-day keyboards can nail Stewart’s other sounds on “The Sahara of Snow.” Fortunately, Dave Smith, the designer of the original Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, has brought back the classic synth under the Sequential banner. While honoring the vintage circuit path and topology, it offers improvements and modern features that today’s synthesists expect. Perfect for keyboardists who covet the inimitable sounds heard on countless iconic recordings, today’s Sequential Prophet-5 is value-packed and ready to rock. In the hardware realm, there’s a surefire way to get the sound of Yamaha’s CP-70 (manufactured from the mid-’70s to the mid-’80s), and that’s through the Yamaha Reface CP electric piano synthesizer. Compared with its namesake, which sported a rather bulky cabinet with actual strings and hammers, the Reface CP is minuscule. It has mini keys — and only 37 of them. On the plus side, it’s also very inexpensive and tons of fun. It not only delivers a spot-on CP-70, but it also contains a bevy of other instantly accessible vintage keyboard sounds that are sure to come in handy.

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Chick Corea (Return to Forever): “The Romantic Warrior”

Nestled in an idyllic Rocky Mountain setting near Nederland, Colorado, studio Caribou Ranch hosted the recording of Return to Forever’s 1976 tour de force Romantic Warrior. This album, which would be the group’s swan song, is packed with state-of-the-art rock fusion. The title track is the only one with all-acoustic instrumentation, and it’s flowing with beauty and grace — not surprising, perhaps, given that the band members were accomplished jazz musicians who just happened to conquer the music world with a decidedly heavy sound powered by overdriven electric instruments. “The Romantic Warrior” features Chick Corea on the studio’s Yamaha C7 grand piano, Stanley Clarke on upright bass, Al Di Meola on acoustic guitar, and Lenny White on drums. If you’re unfamiliar with the RTF oeuvre, then listen to the entire track and behold the stunning musicianship at work.

Sweetwater carries many fine digital pianos, and most of them will have a sample that can reasonably approximate the Yamaha C7, which has been a studio standard since the ’70s. But if you’re going for that up-front Yamaha sound, then why not go with a Yamaha? There are many choices here, ranging from high-ticket acoustic grands and uprights to feature-packed Clavinovas and budget-friendly digital pianos. In the latter category, you can’t go wrong with the Yamaha P-125a 88-key digital piano. If you’re a performing keyboardist, then you might want to consider the Yamaha CP73 73-note stage piano. The Nord Piano 5 73-key stage piano is also a fantastic studio piano with two powerful piano engines and dual independent sample synths. It can deliver any sound you need for the most demanding recording sessions and live gigs. Lastly, if you’re in the market for a unique digital piano that works equally as well for home, stage, and studio, then check out the Roland FP-E50 88-key digital piano.

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Get Your Incredible Keyboard at Sweetwater!

We hope you enjoyed these outstanding performances. Hopefully, they will inspire you as they have inspired us. As previously mentioned, most of the keyboard parts for these songs incorporate instruments that fall into the so-called “classic keys” category. Today, the sounds of these iconic keyboards are standard issue in well-appointed software libraries. You’ll find them in modern hardware synthesizers from the likes of Korg, Roland, Nord, Yamaha, Casio, Moog, Sequential, and other top manufacturers.

The point is that there are many (circuit) paths that allow you to nail the sounds you’re after. We are fortunate at Sweetwater to carry the best brands in the industry and invite you to browse Sweetwater.com or call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700 for expert, personalized advice. Who knows? With a little perseverance and the right gear, you could be on your way to laying down your own classic solos that music lovers will be talking about for decades to come!
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