Musical Geniuses ?
 

who would you consider as a musical genius ?....and give me your reasons...
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for me...there are a few..
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prince - for his all round musical brilliance on many instruments....his songwriting ability, his live performances and his impact on modern music..
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john lennon/paul mccartney - for their songwriting genius and making the benchmark for all modern bands..
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brian wilson - again for his songwriting genius...amazing songs before his breakdown in 1967..
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stevie wonder - similar to prince in his all round ability...his 70s albums were untouchable in that decade..
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frank zappa - never got the popular success of the other artists here but was an amazing artist...too electic for his own good sometimes...
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so who would you consider a musical genius ?

it's probably a bit of a redundant phrase, people use the term musical genius to describe someone whose music they really like but I'm not really sure what it means. I guess I'd apply it to those who consistently reinvent their sound and constantly surprise you.

If you've ever seen a DJ set by Theo Parrish - that's genius!

You could retitle this thread to "Which bands/artists do you like?", and isn't that what this entire forum is dedicated to?

I am about to post one in a bit. Nothing in the world sounds like what I am about to post. Its a signature way of harmonizing that I have never heard of and I am trying to listen to music all over the world and from even Classical Times to find similar harmonies. In a bit.....

That sounds like spam to me...

Too many to name, really.

Sun Ra I think could be the one figure I'd love who I definitely would label as a musical genius. As all of the traits of true genius.

A) Prolific - lasted from late 1940s to early 1990s, and was only stopped by death. Through this time he produced over 60 albums.

B) Not bound by genre - Sun Ra worked in pretty much every genre of Jazz from free bop to big band to the avant Jazz he was popular for. He also worked heavily in Jazz-rock fusion, and even moreso in Jazz-classical fusion. He did his hands in noise ambiance, classical, free jazz, avant-classical, and general avant garde.

C) Visionary - Sun Ra was a visionary, he truly was. He was doing synth-ambient in the 70s. His work on keyboard basically was ahead of his time as he was exploring it as a serious instrument in the 50s and 60s. He was so well known for this that he was the first one ever sent a prototype of the first minimoog, because it was believed he would explore the most out of it. No matter what era, he took the instrument to the next extreme. Even at massive commercial failure, he also heavily experimented in everything from home made drums to bizarre string instruments.

D) Technical brilliance - Before Sun Ra was Sun Ra he made a reputation for himself among friends as a very skilled player. He learned to site read apparently at the age of 10, and taught himself composition. Some of his earliest experiences involved going to jazz shows, and then transcribing the entirety by memory. Whether or not he was accurate, or not, to simply have that good of a grasp on music from an analytical level, lead to him being a virtuoso pianist(which he showcases very rarely).

E) Regardless of Technical Brilliance will push the bounds - this one is obvious.

I think anyone who has most of those traits is a genius. Miles Davis, Bela Bartok, Frank Zappa, etc. Then again, that's just my opinion, but it lends to a very large group of people who I personally adore being presented.

Sun Ra is one, definitely

Agree 100%

Charles Mingus is a standout for me.

Rocky Erikson - many may not agree with me, but this guy wrote some of the most unhinged yet beautiful psychedelia of the era.

Stephen Malkmus - Genuinely one of my favourite songwriters ever. For me he is a genius.

That's all for the time being.

How on earth do you define "genius"?. It's a horribly overused term applied to people who simply happen to be really talented more than anything else, and something like that is always subjective at any rate.

had a semi-list above. However, if I were to focus it. I'd probably label what I consider a musical genius this way:

"Any musician who bares great technical skill, but actualizes that skill in order to create fresh, cutting edge, music of his or her vision over a lengthy period of time. The only thing that would bar talented from genius, is that talented musicians lack the original invention, and prolificness of geniuses. Essentially, a genius would never burn out, or run out of ideas, because his well of creativity would be presumably endless."

IE. Somebody like Bach could be considered a musical genius, but Kurt Cobain would probably only land in the realm of influential. Same sense, I wouldn't consider Steve Vai a genius, due to his lack of inventiveness/vision, he's simply a virtuoso. Lennon could be argued either way, but I'd say no because Lennon obviously had peak years(I you take out 1965-1970, you probably won't find all that much amazing stuff from Lennon. Imagine is a nice little song, but in a sea of somewhat subpar hit, and miss solo work), and very few of, and never working on his own.

Albeit, that's just my definition. I'm sure that many other people would argue it.