It was Pablo Picasso who once said, “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” Keith Emerson’s extraordinary career offers a case study in the elegant expression of Picasso’s credo. Across six decades, Emerson tore down barriers between genres, he redefined the image of the keyboard player through his wild onstage performances and played a pivotal role in the meteoric rise of progressive rock from small British clubs like The Marquee to massive American arena tours.
Proving Picasso’s maxim, Emerson wasn’t a product of the self-indulgent free jazz movement of the 1960s that rejected notions about mastering the craft before attempting to make art. As a precociously talented young pianist, Emerson was versed in boogie-woogie, jazz and blues; he could play classical pieces and…
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Prog Italia (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 144