Yes Keyboardists

Moraz. Relayer is amazing. I love Drama, but Fly From Here wasn't too hot in my book.

Moraz, Kaye, Khoroshev.

1 Moraz

I vote for Mr. Downes. I wasn't alive when Yes released Drama, but have heard songs from the Drama tour on YouTube. Geoff kills on the Yes classics then and now(despite what someone else said).

I've seen all in concert with Yes.  Moraz by far was the best.

Tony Kaye. I solely bass my opinion on the choice of his instruments. The Hammond organ(Lm-300, Lm100, b3) for me, is the best choice for Yes. I thoroughly enjoyed the Yes album in particular because of Bruford's drumming position and tools that Kaye used. In my opinion, Yes was at its tonal peek during that period. Even though introduction of Rick Wakeman exploded Yes into new boundaries and levels of measured success, his choice in the Moog and other, more "synthetic" sounding instruments was difficult for me to love. If Rick Wakeman continued to stay with the Hammond, his tone would be more towards my liking. Much later however with the introduction with Patrick Moraz, yes veered ever so slightly into a different direction. The jazz and concerto influences on to Yes changed them minorly. Yes is a changing craft and tends to recycle themselves to stay alive. It seems that Kaye was playing the right instruments at the right time.

Long Live Yes

Even if I hadn't seen what others had written I would have picked Moraz as a distant second to Wakeman. I'd rate "Relayer" as the best post-Wakeman album by Yes. I did read Keith Emerson's autobiography and he had few kind words for Patrick Moraz. They seemed more critical of his attitude than his talent.

Somehow I feel it would have been very interesting if Patrick Moraz and Bill Bruford had been in Yes at the same time. Well, there's Fish out of Water, but that's not exactly the same.

I love Tony Kaye on the early albums.

shoud've done more work with Patrick Moraz. Very interesting style. Vey talented