What Are Your Favorite Instrumental Tunes?

[MaVolta]

The subject of instrumentals came up in another thread, so I thought it might be fun to see what instrumental tunes everyone enjoys. Instrumentals cover a wide range of genres when you start to think about it; classical (of course), movie soundtracks, pop, jazz, big band oldies, blues, country, rock, and many instrumental versions of your favorite song titles, too.

So what instrumental music do you like? What are your favorite tunes or instrumental versions of your favorite songs? Multiple tunes and multiple genres are okay. And, if you have favorite on youtube, feel free to post the link so that we can listen, too!

[MaVolta]

From the pop music genre - remember this one from 1968? It went to #1 on Billboard's Hot 100, and stayed there for 5 weeks!

Love Is Blue - Paul Mauriat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjsNNcsUNzE

[mp8908]

                        Java               Al Hirt

[nyadrn]

Songbird   Kenny G

[mp8908]

                     A Swingin' Safari          Billy Vaughn

[millineutron]

Twentytwo Fourteen by The Album Leaf

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yWy4Pf8SiNc

[DED46]

It's a 3-way tie for me:

Harlem Nocturne - The Viscounts

Crossfire - Johnny & the Hurricanes

Take Five - The Dave Brubeck Quartet

[diannet242805]

Take 5 is AMAZING.. love that song. Have it on vinyl but don't play it enough.

[nyadrn]

The Ventures  Walk don't Run

[mp8908]

                    Autumn Leaves               Roger Williams

[diannet242805]

nice one- I love the vocal version done by Eva Cassidy

[nyadrn]

Ah Sweet Dancer     Santana

[diannet242805]

Love guitar in an instrumental song so top of the list is anything by Johnney A the Boston musician but if I must pick his cover of "The Wind Cries Mary" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikkwSYE_JSY

but the song by Explosions in the Sky "Your Hand in Mine" is a song I can listen to over and over. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdiY6kijYHE

[Loulit]

Rodeo

-- Aaron  Copland

Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes: IV. Hoedown

London Symphony Orchestra, Conducted by Aaron Copland

This is about as American as symphony orchestra can sound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXCfEuU2eu0

[mp8908]

                  Last Date                Floyd Cramer

[nyadrn]

Rise. Herb Alpert

Alpert is the only recording artist to hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop chart as both a vocalist ("This Guy's in Love with You", 1968), and an instrumentalist ("Rise", 1979).

[MaVolta]

From the country bluegrass genre -

Under the Double Eagle - Willie Nelson version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqNLcmVZYco

Interesting side note - The original composition is a military march by Austrian composer, Josef Franz Wagner, 1893. He was known as the Austrian March King.

[ReTiReD51]

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@MaVoltawrote:

From the country bluegrass genre -

Under the Double Eagle - Willie Nelson version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqNLcmVZYco

Interesting side note - The original composition is a military march by Austrian composer, Josef Franz Wagner, 1893. He was known as the Austrian March King.

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Under The Double Eagle is a guitar picker’s classic.  It was the first Bluegrass tune I ever taught myself from reading tablature to play on the guitar. I spent two months of my spare time in the summer of 1976 trying to master hammer-on’s and pull-offs so I could play along with my neighbor who was from the Blue grass state and who introduced me to bluegrass music. A lot of fond memories for me that summer. I never quite mastered it  like my neighbor or Willie but had fun trying. Thank you MaVolta for your post.

[MaVolta]

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@ReTiReD51wrote:

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Under The Double Eagle is a guitar picker’s classic.  It was the first Bluegrass tune I ever taught myself from reading tablature to play on the guitar. I spent two months of my spare time in the summer of 1976 trying to master hammer-on’s and pull-offs so I could play along with my neighbor who was from the Blue grass state and who introduced me to bluegrass music. A lot of fond memories for me that summer. I never quite mastered it  like my neighbor or Willie but had fun trying. Thank you MaVolta for your post.

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That's a great story! Thanks for sharing. I doubt that anyone can pick it like Willie, and this is his original "slow" version. He also does a faster one!

[mp8908]

       Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White          Perez Prado

[millineutron]

Untitled 03 -- by Sigur Rós 

Not necessarily my favorite Sigur Rós song, but it is an instrumental off a beautiful album called "( )". Most of the songs have singing, but unless you understand Icelandic (or sometimes Hopelandic, which is a language made up by the band), the singing just adds to the ambience of the music. 

[Cirice]

@millineutron

Sigur Rós is cool! Hopelandic changes the vocals from lyrics to instrument. I like that kind of music.

Do you like Mogwai, too? I love them!

[l483260l]

COULD YOU SHARE A CLIP OF EITHER BAND? HAVEN'T YET HEARD THEM.

[PattyDiane]

Wow!  I could make a long list here headed by anything by Gershwin including: "Rhapsody in Blue", "American in Paris" and "Concerto in F".  This might be followed by "Manhatten Tower" by Gordon Jenkins.  Then I was reminded of another one yesterday "Slaughter on 10th Avenue" by Richard Rodgers.  After this I would start a long list of the big bands:  Glenn Miller, both Dorsey's, Benny Goodman, Count Basey, Duke Ellington, Artie Shaw, etc.

[l483260l]

I'M WITH YOU ON THE BIG BANDS ESP."SING, SING, SING", OR "TAKE THE A-TRAIN"... ANY GERSHWIN IS GROOVY TOO!

[l483260l]

"LITTLE WING" BY STEVIE RAY VAUGHN."TAKE 5 " DAVE BRUBECK""SONG FOR MY FATHER" HORACE SILVER."... COULD GO ON & ON W/ THE STRAIGHT-AHEAD JAZZ... " THE KOLN CONCERT" KEITH JARRETT.

[mp8908]

                       Misty                   Erroll Garner

[l483260l]

"MISTY"-UNFORGETTABLE, ALSO NOT BAD VOCALIZED. BY__? JOHNNY MATHIS, MAYBE?

[n566192l]

1. A SUMMER PLACE

[mp8908]

                             Feels So Good               Chuck Mangione

[mp8908]

                  In The Mood              Glenn Miller