DESCRIPTION:
After listening to this Richard Wright gem; a solo piano demo of what eventually became the unforgettable piece "Us And Them" from the masterpiece "Dark Side Of The Moon" I felt I had to make this short tribute movie. This outtake is from the newly released "DSOTM immersion CD" set and so captures the beauty of this immensely talented pianist/composer/singer. I was 14 years old when I first heard "Dark Side Of The Moon" and this was my favorite piece, forever changing my destiny, steering me towards the path of becoming a life long musician and composer. The immense space in Pink Floyd's music taught me that music could be a boundless edifice that we could actually reside in, take refuge in and in it find every kind of emotion accessible to mankind. I was fortunate to see the original "The Wall" performance in Los Angeles 1980 but sadly never got to hear them play my favorite pieces from "Dark Side", Wish You Were Here", "Animals" and all the other great albums that came before. My closest approximation to their music is probably my ballet "Gaudi -- Dancing About Architecture" where I created musical pieces inspired by the architecture of Antonio Gaudi; in other words, music that one can reside in, dance in, live in. The piece "Finca Guell Pavilions" actually recreates the slot machine montage from "Money" into a classical scenario, something that to the experienced Pink Floyd listener is obvious from the first tam scrape. Richard Wright's unique sentiment has crept into many of my piano compositions; the solo piano pieces in my chamber opera "A Dream Play" and the immersing sound-space, and at the same time intimacy, of my chamber ballet "Romeo & Juliet". Of course, just like Richard Wright I could not do all this without the invaluable contribution with the great musicians I have the honor of working with. Richards monumental addition to Pink Floyd has never been in doubt and I remember how the hair on my fore-arms stood up when I saw and heard them reunite for that one concert in London a few years ago. What a gift to us all that was; that the animosity between these hyper creative but often sometimes aversive musicians could be put aside for just one moment in time again, now unfortunately, after his untimely passing, forever impossible until we all get to play "The Great Gig In The Sky".