By Laura B. Whitmore

     Hundreds looked on at the 2009 NAMM (International Association of Music Merchants) show in Anaheim, CA as Korg USA presented keyboard legends Keith Emerson and Herbie Hancock with lifetime achievement awards. While they are vastly different artists, both Emerson and Hancock have made huge contributions to the art, innovation and exposure of the keyboard instrument. And Korg keyboards have been their constant instruments of choice for decades.

Herbie Hancock: Jazz legend and innovator
     Respected by both his peers and fans from all walks of life, jazz legend Herbie Hancock has been a musical innovator for his entire career. Not content to be pigeonholed as a traditionalist, Hancock has gained new exposure through his recent collaborations on albums such as 2005’s Possibilities, which featured vocalists John Mayer, Paul Simon, Sting, Christina Aguilera and more. And on his latest Grammy-album-of-the-year-winning release,River: The Joni Letters, he brings in guest artists like Norah Jones, Tina Tuner and, of course, Joni Mitchell.

     Throughout his career Hancock has often found the right instrument for harnessing his innovative composition and performance style in Korg keyboards. But for him, it goes beyond hardware into the personality of the brand. “[The people at Korg] exhibit their care for not only their product, but also their care for the people that play their product. And their care for a bigger picture – what it can mean for music lovers. That they care about the future development of the music,” he commented.

     Presenting the award, Korg Senior Product Manager Jerry Kovarsky commented, “The aspect of Herbie’s persona and career that most appeals to Korg is his constant innovation both personally and musically. He keeps searching out new inspiration, new ways of reaching out to the public, and adapts to new technology in his never-ending quest for artistic growth and personal communication. These are goals that everyone would do well to strive for.”

Pictured: Jerry Kovarsky, Korg Senior Product Manager; Seiki Kato, Korg President; and Herbie Hancock

Keith Emerson: Prog-rock pioneer
     An icon of prog-rock and a keyboard legend known for his musical sophistication and larger-than-life theatrics, Keith Emerson also relies on Korg as his first choice. Emerson shot to fame in the late ‘60s as a member of The Nice, and subsequently went on to make his name in the progressive rock supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). Today he’s gearing up to tour in support of his newest release, Keith Emerson Band featuring Marc Bonilla. And of course, he’ll be bringing a stable of Korg keyboards along for the ride.

     “My Korg instruments are reliable and Korg has a great team that helps me out. Quite honestly, all the Korg keyboards have gone through tornadoes, they’ve gone through playing out in the open air, they’ve gone through extreme humidity and probably are thrown in the back of the truck at the end of the gig. But the next day you just plug them in and they work great. Come to think of it, I can’t remember a time when a Korg didn’t work for me!” Emerson remarked.

     In presenting the award to Keith, Kovarsky stated, “Keith is the artist who made playing keyboards a cool thing to do, and became a hero to throngs of budding players throughout the years. But while doing this he also exposed his fans to classical composers and compositions, and a harmonic and musical sophistication that was unheard of in rock and popular music. We didn’t realize that we were growing artistically while we were rocking out to his thrilling performances – that’s a winning combination!”

Pictured: Jerry Kovarsky, Korg Senior Product Manager and Keith Emerson

The envelope please
     As a way to give kudos to these two artists, Korg surprised them with the awards just before their autograph signings during the January 2009 NAMM Show at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Find out more about what’s next for these two legends at:
www.herbiehancock.com and www.keithemerson.com