“Azrial”, Keith Emerson & The Nice

“Azrial” is one of my favorite pieces to play by The Nice. I was combining a few versions of this song, mostly the early ‘69 version from their third album called Nice, America the BBC Sessions and a little of the original from ‘67 which is slower. I quoted a lot of ideas from songs like “Tantalizing Maggie”, the Elegy version of “Hang On To a Dream”, and “Infinite Space” conclusion from E.L.P.’s Tarkus album. During the middle of the piece, I felt for one of the strings on the piano by hearing it to try to make the Lee Jackson staccato bass effect, which follows the piano improvization. This is my favorite part of the piece. This is from the ‘69 and the BBC version. I quoted a lot of Emerson ideas and some of my own, especially during the build, which is my favorite part. I also sang the vocal part, which people won’t really hear, but this part was originally sung by Lee, and then by Keith on the BBC, but I still like the early ‘69 version. I tried to figure out how to end my improvisation, but I just kept building and building , like their version of “She Belongs to Me” from their third album.

I really enjoyed going inside the piano and plucking the strings, just like what Emerson did on “Hang On To a Dream” on the Elegy album, which is one of my favorites. I really enjoyed playing this piece.