This is a potentially misleading headline I suppose. The hero in question is not some universally accepted hero, but he's certainly one of my all time top music heroes.
The man in question is Eddie Jobson. Who?!? While largely unknown to much of the music world, this man is a genius. He plays keys and violin with equal virtuosity. And he's been blessed with a very good voice as well. Many have undoubtedly heard of bands he's played with if not actually heard them and his performances. Among them are Frank Zappa, Roxy Music, Curved Air, Jethro Tull, Yes, and one of my personal favs, U.K.. In fact Eddie was the first choice to replace virtuoso Rick Wakeman when he left Yes. But musical challenge has always courted Eddie instead of being in great bands for very long. He knows and has played with most of the European prog rock greats and yet he has an amazing sense and feel for blending the highly progressive with pop. He's been on a self-imposed 25+ year leave from playing in bands while working for his own production company and scoring soundtracks for both film and commercials. I've seen most of his contemporaries in person and even had the fortune to meeting some of them, but he's one of the very few musicians I've always wanted to see perform live and figure I never would.
Well I just learned he's resurfaced in a new version of his own band (Zinc) combined with I'm guessing the songs from UK, called UKZ and they are playing their U.S. debut this Saturday in NY! Unfortunately this appears to be the only show they're doing for now. Top dollar tickets sold for $125, and yes, even in this economy, I'd pay that to see this show. Now I'll be a little more hopeful that one day he may get close enough to where I am that I can make the journey to go see him.
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