This unexpected entry in Sam Dillon's 2018 album Out in the Open is a jazz reinterpretation of Jimi Hendrix's "Third Stone From The Sun," originally recorded on the 1967 album Are You Experienced. Dillon transforms the psychedelic rock piece into a hard-swinging vehicle with a 68-bar AAAB form in D minor, played at a blazing tempo of approximately 292 BPM. The unusual form length and breakneck speed create a demanding improvisational challenge, and Dillon rises to the occasion with two choruses of assertive, high-energy tenor saxophone. Pianist Peter Zak follows with two equally intense choruses at an even faster clip of around 300 BPM. The choice to include a Hendrix composition on a straight-ahead jazz album reflects Dillon's broad musical interests and willingness to draw from sources beyond the standard jazz repertoire. Reimagining rock material through a jazz lens has a long history, from John Coltrane's "My Favorite Things" to the countless jazz musicians who have found inspiration in pop and rock songwriting. Dillon's treatment strips away the original's guitar effects and studio experimentation, revealing an underlying harmonic and melodic structure that proves surprisingly well-suited to jazz improvisation at breakneck tempo.
