The man with the heat-seeking snare, witty quips aplenty and more bounce than a beachball factory is celebrating his birthday today.  Salutations and acknowledgements were exchanged between DGMLive and Bill’s gaff in the Surrey hills earlier today.

All of which prompts me to ask people what is your one favourite Bill Bruford moment?  What, if push came to shove, would be the example that sums up the BB factor for you? 

Just naming a track won’t be allowed. Your post must explain what it is about your choice that gives you the tingle factor and why you’ve nominated it as your quintessential BB moment.  

It could be with Crimso or outside with the legions of folks that Bill has worked with over the years.  Your choice.  The only proviso to posting is that you explain your reasons.  If not your post will be desiccated, derided and hoofed into history.  

To kick things off – here’s my own favourite BB moment. 

Heart Of The Sunrise by Yes from Fragile

After all the blood and thunder of the opening riff, Chris Squire begins that brooding riff, Wakeman’s ascending Mellotron builds the sense of anticipation, and when it comes in Steve Howe’s guitar starts to really increase the tension. 

Which is all well and good. 

However it’s the skittering interplay of Bruford’s bass drum, hi-hat and snare with all of the above that really makes that section so memorable for me. 

It’s the way he darts about jabbing in unexpected quarters, engaging in subtle, inventive dialogue with the other instruments, commenting, nodding and throwing his own twopenneth on the matter. 

He could have just tapped out the time and bunged in a couple of rim shots.  Instead he provides a feast of detail inside the bigger picture.  It sounds really stupid but when Fragile came out that’s the one moment my mates and I picked up on. 

OK - now it’s over to you.