But I had to answer anyway
Who is the greatest prog keyboard player of all time?
 
So wanting to mix it up a bit with some obvious and less obvious choices I stuck down.
Keith Emerson
Dave Greenslade
Danny Manners
Gleb Kolyadin
Rick Wakeman
 
Kolyadin is certainly up there IMHO. I almost wanted to leave Rick out but... "Close to the Edge"
 
 

Rick Wakeman
Kerry Minnear
Danny Manners
Larry Fast
Andy Giddings
 

Glyn Barnes

An impossible and pointless question

 

Yes, an impossible and pointless question.

my personal favorites,
who did not have to battle for 1st place in the 'best prog keyboarder of all time' contest.
;)
richard wright
tony banks
vangelis
eddie jobson
joe zawinu
robin lumley

That Rudess fella seems to know the black ones from the white ones.

paulo
That Rudess fella seems to know the black ones from the white ones.

I guess the forum rules on 'no politics' has been abandoned then?
 
 
I slay me.

Rick Wakeman
Jordan Rudess
John Beck
Mickey Simmonds
Tony Banks
Mark Kelly

- Adam Holzman (Steven Wilson's go-to KB collaborator) - this one gets my official vote
 
but also there's:
 
- don't have a name, but the KB guy in Big Big Train is brilliant
- John Evan of Jethro Tull - maybe not in the running for *best* but certainly deserving of honorable mention
- Tomas Bodin of the Flower Kings certainly merits mention in this discussion
 
I must confess I'm not familiar with the names Dave Greenslade, Danny Manners, or Gleb Kolyadin, but I may know the groups with whom they play.  Google here I come.
 
Edit: Danny Meyers of Big Big Train ... of course ... what I said earlier!

Dave Greenslade from Coliseum and later Greenslade in the early 70's.

Gleb Koyladin is piano player with contemporary Russian Prog duo I am the Morning.

In terms of strictly technical chops, Jordan Rudess is an overclocked, quantized MIDI sequencer in human form. Nothing but awe for that guy's fingers. He's also a great guy and a generous teacher. But after I bought his tribute to classic synth songs without hesitation, I actually only listened to it once. Somehow, he'd managed to make Tarkus sound even more mechanical than the machine-like original. Had to put on Emerson's version to flush my ears.
 
More important is what the keyboard player adds to the song and to the band. Rick Wright embodies that ideal, and that's someone I can listen to for hours.
 
Wakeman, however, gets my vote for the top spot, having both the chops and musical sensibility. He may be past his prime today, but his material from the 70's (e.g. Six Wives, Center of the Earth) will be long-remembered as classics. 
 
I have to say, though, that I've stolen more licks from Dave Greenslade than anybody else.