Maria Schneider: The 'Pretty' Road

Maria Schneider continues to impress with her 13-minute "The 'Pretty' Road" from her Sky Blue CD. Frank Kimbrough's solo piano introduction, taken out of tempo, states Schneider's bittersweet melody. Horns enter unobtrusively and gradually take over the melody, first with delicacy, and then with large, grandiloquent gestures. By the time we are in the midst of Ingrid Jensen's passionate solo, the lush landscape of the 'pretty' road is flashing by the windows of our family station wagon (the childhood inspiration for Schneider's composition), and we are certain that we are nearing our destination. But Schneider now surprises us with a dramatic change in tone and mood, taking us for a side trip through four minutes of shimmering, pointillistic horn-writing. This is a real aural treat. But the main melody returns, like a familiar lover, and sweeps us up in a long embrace. The coda is a delight. Pretty? That, my friends, is an understatement.