At the 2009 Winter NAMM show, Korg presented keyboard legends Keith Emerson and Herbie Hancock with lifetime achievement awards. Both musicians have been choosing Korg keyboards for decades. The company surprised each artist with his award just before they began their autograph signing sessions.
With regard to Hancock, 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.”
And regarding Emerson, 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!”
