Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess plays The Kate tonight

Those hands! That brain! The heart! His ears!

No, this isn’t the original body-snatcher checklist Mary Blythe Shelley used when she was writing “Frankenstein.”

Rather, it’s the physiological components that help make Dream Theater’s Jordan Rudess one of the finest and most creative keyboardists in the world. Coming from a very strict classical musical background and a conservatory education at Juilliard, Rudess embraced progressive rock and metal and has since topped virtually music magazine’s Best Keyboardist poll numerous times.

He brings his solo show tonight to the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook. Expect a medley of Dream Theater material, classical works and gorgeous and creative arrangements of pivotal tunes and artists from his upbringing – and plenty of entertaining anecdotes and conversation.

Jordan Rudess, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, 300 Main St., Old Saybrook; $30; www.thekate.org, (860) 510-0453.