Jon Lord dies aged 71

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I know we have a few fans of Jon Lord here, sadly he passed away earlier this week :(

'We're as valid as anything by Beethoven," declared Jon Lord of his band, Deep Purple, in an interview with the New Musical Express in 1973. Lord, who has died aged 71 after suffering from pancreatic cancer, was not merely adopting a rebellious stance. An accomplished classical composer as well as rock musician, he believed with some justification that his group's music was as profound in structure and as significant in cultural impact as any work from the symphonic canon. At the time, Deep Purple were among the world's biggest rock bands, having built an enormous fanbase on the strength of their classically influenced songs, which lent further weight to Lord's statement.

Born in Leicester, Lord studied classical piano from the age of five. In his teens, the then-new rock'n'roll and R&B movements made a deep impression on him, in particular the music recorded by blues pianists and organists such as Jimmy McGriff and Jerry Lee Lewis. The contemporary combination of Hammond B3 and C3 organs with Leslie speakers appealed to him, and this became an instrumental setup that remained integral to Lord's signature keyboard style for the rest of his career.

Full obituary available at The Guardian.

Five great performances from Deep Purple and Whitesnake
 
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RIP. One of Rock's greatest keyboardist/organists in one of the greatest hard rock bands. For those who may be unacquainted with his keys skill and his classical/rock fusion ambitions you should check out the song "April" by Deep Purple. Very powerful. (Emotionally that is)
 
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Loved Deep Purple, saw them live many times 'back in the day'. One of my favorite recordings from them was one from the Montreux festival, and it was Smoke On the Water. The first several dozen bars was jazz brilliance - from the whole band. The musical talent from that era was just phenomenal - and the guys that are still with us can still hang.
 

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