In case you haven't kept up with Deep Purple's chaotic 56-year history and lineup changes, this 1996 concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival features Deep Purple "Mark VII" which is basically the golden lineup from the early 70s but without their iconic guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Ritchie left the band in mid-tour 1993 which nearly shut them down for good.

They ended up choosing to continue with Steve Morse as a replacement. And Wow! This is the first time I've heard anything by DP without Blackmore and I'm an instant believer. It's the best live DP lineup ever and quite possibly the best live band ever. Yeah I said it.

Unfortunately it wouldn't last more than 5 years as the even-more-iconic keyboardist Jon Lord retired from touring in 2001. He died in 2012. Steve Morse himself quit in 2022 citing his wife's health. Meaning, this concert is the last we'll see of this kind of amazing musicianship. Even if you're not a DP fan, I highly recommend it just to see 2 of the best rock musicians of the 20th century Lord & Morse improvising a dueling solo.

When I say "dueling solo" it's not just the standard your-turn-my-turn-showoff thing but what they're actually doing is known as musical dictation. One person plays a musical phrase and the other repeats it with their own stylings. I have never, I repeat, never seen a live musical dictation jam as impressive as they do here (solo section starts around 1:40, but also check out the end where the guitar & vocals do it). "Speed King" Deep Purple at Montreux 1996