Best musician in the world?

Have to agree w/ observation we're talking "favorite" vs. "best". All of the following, of course, simply IMHO. Guitar players? I cast votes for Allan Holdsworth, Eric Johnson (I opened for him several years ago in CA...amazing player), Satriani, Christopher Parkening, Paco de Lucia...whoops, went acoustic. Wes Montgomery, Pat Metheny have much larger vocabularys than some of those mentioned above, as does Robert Fripp. Jeff Berlin gets my vote for best bass player, heads and shoulders. Distant second, perhaps, Abe Laboriel, Tony Levin maybe. Other instruments...Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie. Duke Ellington for extraordinary creativity in orchestration. Miles Davis for attitude. But I am better acquainted w/ keyboard players, as I am a studio keyboard player. Jordan Rudess, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Keith Emerson, Patrick Moraz, Vladimir Ashkenazy...and of course, the inimitable Art Tatum all win 'best of set'. But none of the above hold a candle to J.S. Bach, who has left a greater indelible stamp on western music than any other human being, ever.

The best ? How about the greatest ? Well, I can think of two or three---and they're all dead. The one that comes to mind most immediately is Jasha Heifetz, an absolute wizard with his instrument (the violin, of course).

Timwat, have you ever heard Victor Wooten, bass player from Bela Fleck? Also, I gotta agree with you on the Pat Metheny front, he's pretty amazing. But when making a laundry list of guitarists lets not forget John McGlaughlin and Stanley Jordan.

Your question is kind of vague. I'm assuming that you mean "multi-instrument" musician. That answer is easy. It's Roy Wood. Put him in front of an instrument and he'll play it. It will be pleasing both to the listener and those that are technically skilled in that area. Too many different instruments and styles of music to list. Sean

Jklotch - Never heard Victor Wooten, but will check him out w/ Fleck and Flecktones. Metheny's first great gift seems to be melodic improvisation, but recent discs display great compositional skill as well. I haven't heard Stanley Jordan for 10 years now, but remember his two hand hammer-on technique was unique in the jazz world (although Van Halen spawned a decade of wannabes in Metal). I've only heard later McGlaughlin, which struck me a lot like Al DiMeola...undeniable speed and technical skill, but what's he trying to say? Is there a couple McGlaughlin / Mahavishnu Orch recordings you'd recommend, where he's "saying" something? On an entirely different note, I'd recommend Diana Krall (especially latest) to any audiophile listener. Wonderful voice, good pianist and stellar, immaculate production aesthetic.