The strength of great songs can be measured by how well they stand being reinterpreted, especially in ways that might not have occurred to their authors. Could Robert Fripp have imagined his prog rock epic, "In the Court of the Crimson King," as a post-bop instrumental, opening an album of jazz renderings of music by King Crimson? He's probably pleased to hear how well his repertoire translates in a piano trio setting on King Crimson Songbook, Volume 2. The chords of "In the Court"provide a basis for lush, often Latin-tinged improvisation. Of course, Fripp's ambitious art rock band had a certain jazz dynamic to begin with, making the reinterpretation less of a leap than, say, the Bad Plus' cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit."
