Search - Sam Yahel, Mike Moreno, Ari Hoenig :: Jazz Side of the Moon: Music of Pink Floyd

A different side of the moon

Scott Williams | Oakland, CA United States | 02/14/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Overview:



Sam Yahel (hammond b3 organ), Seamus Blake (tenor sax), Ari Hoenig (drums), and Mike Moreno (guitar) pay homage to the Pink Floyd classic with an all instrumental version of Dark Side of the Moon. Some of the tunes stray pretty far from the original (in particular - Time), but overall they really captured the mood of the album. It really flows well from start to finish and features some nice noodling guitar, sax and organ solos. The arrangements of the songs while enjoyable, don't really offer anything ground breaking or super clever. There aren't any wow moments where you are floored by a genius adaptation of the song (check out the Bad Plus' cover of Comfortably Numb on 'For All I Care' for an absolutely genius reconstruction of a Pink Floyd tune). That said, all the songs are enjoyable and the playing is at a high level. Fans of Pink Floyd and jazz will surely enjoy this record.



Song Highlights:



Great Gig in the Sky - Stays fairly true to the original. This song features great material for a jazz cover and nice solos abound.



Brain Damage - Played slow. Seamus Blake does a great job playing the vocal lines on his sax.



On the Run (parts 1 and 2) - Without any studio special effects or trickery the band really captures the cacophony of sounds of this classic interlude.

"