The Lost Saxophone Jam: Why the 'More Blues' Alternate Take Was Cut from the Film

The alternate take of “More Blues” that Pink Floyd recorded for the More soundtrack runs nearly twice as long as the film version, driven by a searching, unbroken saxophone solo from John Surman. The band booked Surman—then of the jazz group The Trio—specifically to give the cue a looser, darker feel. But director Barbet Schroeder needed a tight, 90-second instrumental to score a tense scene in the film, and the extended improvisation would have overpowered the dialogue and pacing.

So the unused take sat in the vault