Just Great Music

A pleasant drive in, with light fog and overcast heading toward some blue sky.  It is supposed to cloud up as the morning progresses, though, and rain is the forecast for the next few days.  Still, today is so far clement.  The music today was intensely good and (mostly) instrumental.  Three long to long-ish tunes by three fine sets of musicians:

Pink Floyd: Shine on You Crazy Diamond

David Lanz: A Whiter Shade of Pale

The Bad Plus: And Here We Test Our Powers of Observation

I picked up the Pink Floyd tune about midway through (it started on my way home last night or it would likely have covered the entire drive in at over 13 minutes). The guitar work and timing on that tune make it one of my all-time favorites.  How can you not get pulled into its sweep?  David Lanz' piano rendition of A Whiter Shade of Pale is beautiful.  He keeps the original's timing, and that effect is aided by having the organist from Procol Harum join him on the recording to provide the trademark instrumental work from the original tune.  It is one of the few covers of a classic tune that is both different and yet equally as good as the original.  Finally, the Bad Plus is always a treat to listen to.  They have an amazing sense of timing and collaboration and their tunes are busy, highly detailed, and rhythmic. I saw them a while back (a year or two ago?) at Jazz Alley in Seattle, and it was a great show. They do mostly original compositions but occasionally deconstruct a cover of someone else's music.  Their rendition of Smells Like Teen Spirit is great fun, as an example.  They are usually labeled jazz, but that's hardly a fair or encompassing description.  If you haven't heard them before, I recommend checking them out.  Their sound is unique.

With music that good for the drive in, my thoughts simply didn't stray far enough from the notes to make any impression.  Good music, good stuff.