Leroy's Progressive Rock/Jazz Rock Blog

Gong - Expresso II [1978]

2010-03-26T11:53:00.002+02:00

Now many of you may be familiar with the Progressive/Psychedelic band Gong, these two posts are something entirely different. After Band leader Daevid Allen left the band Pierre Moerlen the band's drummer at the time took the leadership and formed a band a lot more jazz oriented band with a much more percussion sound having two amazing vibraphone players and a percussionist. This led for me to the production of two of the most significant, mind blowing and pioneering records in Jazz/Rock history. Gazeuse! and Expresso II. Up until today i find nothing like these two records. The individual talents (and believe me you will be amazed by each and every persons playability and ideas) combined with fantastic ideas and song structures led by the fierce drumming of Moerlen and the vibraphones make these two albums in my humble opinion the two greatest jazz/rock albums ive ever heard. More rock-ish than Weather Report, more Jazzy than Mahavishnu Orchestra. Take a listen and see for your selves.

Studio Album, released in 1978

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Heavy Tune (6:22)
2. Golden Dilemma (4:51)
3. Sleepy (7:17)
4. Soli )7:37)
5. Boring (6:23)
6. Three Blind Mice (4:47)

Total Time: 37:17

Line-up / Musicians

- Mireille Bauer / marimbas, vibraphone
- Francois Causse / congas
- Allan Holdsworth / rhythm guitar
- Bon Lozaga / acoustic guitar
- Benoit Moerlen / glockenspiel, vibes, xylophone, tubular bells, claves
- Pierre Moerlen / drums, glockenspiel, xylophone, tubular bells, timpani
- Hansford Rowe / bass, rhythm guitar
- Mick Taylor / electric guitar
- Darryl Way / violin

Enjoy it

Gong - Gazeuse! [1976]

2010-03-25T13:11:00.009+02:00

1. Expresso (5:58)
2. Night Illusion (3:42)
3. Percolations, Part 1 + Part 2 (10:00)
4. Shadows Of (7:48)
5. Esnuria (8:00)
6. Mireille (4:10)

Total Time: 39:38

Line-up / Musicians

- Mireille Bauer / marimba, vibraphone, glock, toms
- Allan Holdsworth / electric guitar, acoustic guitar, violin, pedal steel guitar
- Didier Malherbe / Tenor sax, flute
- Benoit Moerlen / vibra
- Pierre Moerlen / drums, glock, vibra, marimba, timpani
- Francis Moze / Fretless bass, gong, acoustic & electric piano

Enjoy it

National Health - National Health [1976]

2010-03-19T14:28:00.004+02:00

NATIONAL HEALTH was one of the last of the great "Canterbury-style" progressive rock bands and one of my personal favorites as i dug deeper into this genre. This band performed the same shiny Canterbury Progressive with a touch of jazz-rock, following HATFIELD AND THE NORTH's philosophy, with complex arrangements.This is because three of the four members Of Hatfiled are involved in this along with great special guests,contributors to other great canterbury bands of the time. Their first eponymous opus is one of the most important albums of the Canterbury scene, containing a unique mixture of rock, jazz and classical music.I would also add that this is an instrumental album to it's whole.Amanda Parson's vocals (no words or lyrics here,just a voice) are contributing a great deal to the melodies and some themes. This is another must for Canterbury fans.

Studio Album, released in 1977

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Tenemos roads (14:32)
2. Brujo (10:13)
3. Borogoves (Excerpt from part two) (4:12)
4. Borogoves (Part one)(6:29)
5. Elephants (14:32)

Total Time: 49:58

Line-up / Musicians

- Phil Miller / guitar
- Neil Murray / bass
- Pip Pyle / drums, cowbell / gong / tambourine (1), glockenspiel / finger cymbals / shaker / bells (2), Pixiephone (4)
- Dave Stewart / acoustic & electric pianos,
organ

WITH:
- Alan Gowen / Moog Pianos (1 to 3)
- Jimmy Hastings / flute (all), bass clarinet (1), clarinet (3)
- John Mitchell / percussion (1), temple blocks / guava (2), congas (3)
- Amanda Parsons / Vocals (all)

Enjoy it

Hatfield andThe North - Hatfield and The North [1973]

2010-03-14T14:52:00.004+02:00

Maybe the best band in the Canterbury scene. This band that comes to mind when mentioning this style of music. Taken from a prog archives review i find this to be the most satisfying description of their music.
A Canterburian supergroup made from members of Matching Mole (guitarist Phil Miller), Egg & Khan (keyboardist Dave Stewart), Caravan and later Camel(bassist Richard Sinclair) and GonG (drummer Pip Pyle) - and amazingly enough no-one from Soft Machine- Hatfield (for short) certainly made two of the most transcendental albums in the genre, starting with the self-titled debut in 73. A concept album in the sense that many songs (from short ones lasting one minute to long compositions) are tied together having a unique flow.You may not notice the track changes.
Describing Hatfield's music is rather difficult other than saying it fits the Canterbury mould that we know today without sounding like any other band in that category. It's definitely not rock music anymore (like Gong or Caravan), it's not Jazz (through the bossa nova) either, but to call it jazz-rock is only partly satisfying because applicable only 15% (roughly) of the time. Mostly instrumental, but when sung it is either stunning or completely silly lyrics, often courtesy of drummer Pip Pyle (humour-wise, Hatfield is typically Canterburian), the quartet is simply amazing with mastery of their respective instruments and the numerous tempo changes and tricky time sigs are simply head-twisting and can be a bit of a repellent for the normal attention span.. There are some remains from Caravan, sometimes from Egg or Gong, but you mostly have to look at the future National Health to have an idea of what they sound like. Little wonder since three of the four Hatfield will be involved in NH. To make matters worse, the album is filled with short unpredictable songs that generally don't respect any rules and end up melting into each other, much like the superb Wyatt-conscious Calyx leads directly into album-climax Homerton. Another strong track is Shaving Is Boring, which grabs a space rock (ala GonG) repetitive rhythms and Caravan soundscapes (the organ theme seems from Grey & Pink) and later on Bossa Nochance is a clear wink at Caravan's rhythms.

Studio Album, released in 1973

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. The Stubbs effect (0:23)
2. Big jobs(Poo Poo extract)(0:36)
3. Going up to people and tinkling (2:25)
4. Calix (2:45)
5. Son of "there's no place like Homerton" (10:10)
6. Aigrette (1:38)
7. Rifferama (2:56)
8. Fol de rol (3:07)
9. Shaving is boring (8:45)
10. Licks for the ladies (2:37)
11. Bossa nochance (0:40)
12. Big jobs No 2 (By Poo and the Wee Wees) (2:14)
13. Lobster in cleavage probe (3:57)
14. Gigantic land-crabs in Earth takeover bid(3:21)
15. The other stubbs effect (0:38)
Bonus tracks on Cd:
16. Let's Eat (Real Soon)
17. Fitter Stoke Has a Bath

Total Time: 46:11

Line-up / Musicians

- Phil Miller / guitars
- Pip Pyle / drums
- Richard Sinclair / bass, vocals
- Dave Stewart / organ, piano
- Jeremy Baines / pixiephone
- Barbara Gaskin / backing vocals
- Geoff Leigh / saxophones, flute
- Amanda Parsons / backing vocals
- Ann Rosenthal / backing vocals
- Robert Wyatt / vocals (4)

Enjoy it

Listen to the first 3 tracks

Calyx and Son Of There's No Place Like Homerton

Ain Soph - Hat And Field [1986]

2010-03-14T14:36:00.005+02:00

Another great progressive rock album that came from a Japanese outfit in the 80's.
Ain Soph play instrumental progressive rock with a lot of canterbury influences such as National Health, Gilgamesh and even Camel (Rain Dances era.) This album as the title says brings some Hatfield & The North in mind but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
It took 6 years for Ain Soph to finally record this amazing follow-up to their equally amazing debut album. The playing is superb: not only each individual is a top-notch master on their instrument, but also they can interpleay with immaculate fluency through all these complex time signatures and complicated compositions, keeping an aura of delicate sophistication, as if it were actually an easy task to do. The moments in which Yozox and Fujikawa lay their challenging interplays are executed with infinite finesse.. As in their previous album, the appearance of some exotic lines reminds the listener of their Japanese essence: their jazzy prog is not a clone, but the result of an inventively idiosyncratic recreation of an established pattern.
Lovers of Canterbury and the best 70s jazz-fusion will most likely love this one too, and eventually, discover the particular beauty of Ain Soph's own jazz-prog voice.

Studio Album, released in 1986

Songs / Tracks Listing
1. The Swan Lake (5:45)
2. Little pieces part 1 (1:34)
3. Suite: Hat and field: (10:02)
a) Triple echo
b) Hat & field
c) Deep feelin'
d) Triple end
e) Spanish channel
4. Mizzle (3:41)
5. Canterbury tale (for Pye Hastings & Richard Sinclair) (2:57)
6. Magic carpet (6:57)
7. Little pieces part 2 (2:31)
8. Pipe dream (7:53)

Total Time: 41:20

Line-up / Musicians - Yozox / guitars
- Kikuo Fujikawa / keyboards
- Masahiro Torigaki / bass
- Taiqui Tomiie / drums

Enjoy it

Listen to Suite: Hat & Field

Kenso - Kenso III [1985]

2010-03-14T14:25:00.007+02:00

Kenso is a progressive rock instrumental band from Japan.
This is Kenso's third album and maybe even better than the previous II. An amazing instrumental progressive rock album full of melodies and odd time signatures that never get to be that complex. Focusing mainly on the melodies and the great structure and not on improvisations and soloing is what makes this perfect. This is a MUST!

Studio Album, released in 1985

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Sacred dream I (2:49)
2. Power of the glory (4:16)
3.The breeze whispered through my mind (1:12)
4. Far East celebration (2:43)
5. La liberté de l'esprit (6:11)
6. Patter of the groovy (0:51)
7. Turn to solution (6:34)
8. Nostalgia (2:54)
9. Sacred dream II (6:04)
10. Beginnings (6:36)
Bonus track:
11. Sea (6:08)

Total Time: 46:18

Line-up / Musicians

- Kimiyoshi Matsumoto / bass
- Kenichi Oguchi / keyboards
- Toshihiko Sahashi / keyboards
- Yoshihisa Shimizu / guitar, autoharp, kalimba, mellotron, koto
- Haruhiko Yamamoto / drums, piano, percussion, glass, alto sax
GUESTS:
- Janna Kaku / voices (8)
- Atsushi Makiuchi / keyboards (7)
- Hiroyuki Namba / keyboards (5-7-10-11)
- Kyoko Nemoto / oboe (2-3)
- Tsunekatsu Takagi / vocals (4)
- Shiro Yajima / (4-11)
- Hiroyuki Namba / keyboards
- Aysushu Makiuchi / keyboards
- Kyoko Nemeto / oboe
- Shiro Yajima / flute
- Junna Kaku / vocal
- Tsunekatsu Takagi / vocal

Enjoy it

Listen to La Liberte De l'esprit

Kenso - Kenso II (1982)

2010-01-19T20:40:00.004+02:00

Now Kenso is a progressive rock band from Japan.Their music is strictly instrumental. You will hear a LOT of melodic passages.A lot of odd meters especially 5/8, 7/8, 3/4 but they do it in such a way that from one point on you'll be singing along with the melodies! Excellent music from these guys, with the rhythm changing constantly, having more changes in a 4 minute song than others of thei kind. This second album of theirs along with the 3rd are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!They've become my personal favorite prog band since the moment i heard the first note!

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Sora ni hikaru
2. Masui part 1
3. Masui part 2
4. Hyoto
5. Brand shiko
6. Harukanaru chi e
7. Naibu e no tsukikage
8. Sayonara Progre
Bonus tracks:
9. Nihon no mugiuta
10. Inei no fue
11. Umi

Line-up / Musicians

- Atsushi Makiuchi / keyboards (1 to 8)
- Kimiyoshi Matsumoto / bass (1 to 8)
- Yoshihisa Shimizu / guitar, kbds, mellotron
- Shiro Yajima / flute
- Haruhiko Yamamoto / drums
GUESTS:
- Sachiko Miyashita / vocals
- Masayuki Tanaka / bass (9 to 11)

Sora Ni Hikaru on youtube played live in a faster tempo.

Enjoy it

Chick Corea Electric Band - Eye Of The Beholder (1988)

2010-01-19T13:32:00.010+02:00

Always thought that Chick Corea Electric Band's best album was Beneath The Mask (if you are not familiar with this album and you dig fusion music definitely chack it out). That was until i heard this album. And it is trully an amazing Jazz/Rock record.The line up the same till then, with the talents of John Patitucci on bass, Dave Weckl on Drums, Frank Gambale on guitars and Eric Marienthal on sax. Easily the best of the Elektric Band outings, the writing is really strong, melodic and complex. Eye Of The Beholder is more on the jazzy side of things unlike the albums they wrote after this one (Inside Out & Beneath The Mask) walking on fusion grounds. It has i believe more of a soundtrack feel, with lots of Corea's Piano work being the lead instrument,small piano passages with sax melodies between the main songs. It is more laid back and soft in it's whole having even acoustic guitars from Gambale but has the moments where it gets ''louder'' and more aggressive.
Truly magnificent work here!

Songs / Tracks Listing
1. Home universe (2:46)
2. Eternal child (4:50)
3. Forgotten past (3:00)
4. Passage (4:53)
5. Beauty (7:48)
6. Cascade_part 1 (2:00)
7. Cascade_part 2 (5:08)
8. Trance dance (5:50)
9. eye of the beholder (6:32)
10. Ezinda (6:54)
11. Amnesia (3:30)

Total Time 53:30

Line-up / Musicians
- Chic Corea / acoustic piano
- Dave Weckl / drums
- John Patitucci / bass
- Eric Marienthal / saxophone
- Frank Gambale / guitar

Enjoy it

Victor Wooten - Palmystery (2008)

2010-01-16T21:56:00.006+02:00

The latest and by far the greatest Victor Wooten Album. This is a complete work compared to the others where the songs were mostly one bass and vic on vocals. In this one Victor recruited many of his friends and fellow musicians he's worked with in the past and the result is one album that you will be playing over and over. I couldn't imagine Wooten could write such a variety of music, rhythms and melodies.I mean the variety is huge! OK the overall sound is ''fusion'' BUT in this one you find african elements, soul, gospel, jazz, funk of course, and all that put together making a fantastic result! Every song has it's unique flavor and mood.Either with 4/4 or odd time signatures like 3/8 and 5/8 or even 7/8 it get's you grooving! Every musician gets to shine through a song, contributing fantastic solos, not only Wooten as one would expect. This is not jazz, nor Fusion. This has so many elements it is difficult to categorise it. so i say File Under : Great music!!

Highly truly recommended!!!!
Another interesting thing is the site Wooten and his guys put together dedicated to this particular album, explaining the ideas and philosophy behind every song and you get a chance to listen to parts of every song. Take a look, it is worth your time!

Palmystery page

If you like this album buy it. Support the artists if you can. Especially if something like that is worth it, and the artist is currently active like Victor Wooten here.

You will find info on the Line Up of each song on that page above.

Track list

1.2 Timers
2.Cambo
3.I saw God
4.The Lesson
5.Left, Right & Center
6.Sifu
7.Miss U
8.Flex
9.The Gospel
10.Song For My Father
11.Happy Song
12.Us 2
Enjoy it

Living Daylights - 500 Pound Cat (1998)

2010-01-16T21:13:00.006+02:00

The Living Daylights is an original, instrumental trio from Seattle that features dense, funky, and occasionally odd-metered grooves from the very exposed two man rhythm section, fronted by free-flowing, hard-blowing saxophone.Every composition so unique on it's own.The sax from Jessica Lurie is mindblowing. The range of melodies and phrases with her unique sound is something not found much often. But she does half the work.In this trio the rhythm section is outstanding. Arne Livingston puts some great and always innovative basslines using double hand tapping here and there.Impressive skills and especially the ideas behind them.Dale Fanning, the drummer has some great grooves and rhythms to play upon and he simply shines all the way through! Nothing similar or ordinary to his kind of playing.Technical, playful and fresh! The music here has a lot of European imspired sounds and melodies blended with the jazz elements that make the overall output simply OUTSTANDING!

This is by far the most invetive, innovating ''jazz'' trio i have EVER heard. If you want to listen to something completely different, THIS is it. My personal favorite band in the jazz world. If you like it check also their next album Electric Rosary.You will love them guaranteed!!

Track List
1.Spaghetti Western
2.500 lb. Cat
3.Trauma and Discourse
4.Petunja
5.Mali Krumpiri
6.Garlic Press
7.Without
8.Code Undo
9.Moena
10.Falling Down Laughing

Jessica Lurie
alto & tenor saxophones

Arne Livingston
elecrtric bass

Dale Fanning
drums

Enjoy it

Listen to Garlic Press

Listen to Without

Samurai - Samurai (1971) , Post Web

2010-01-02T16:49:00.007+02:00

Samurai was previously known as Web. Once Web became Samurai, the band was no longer recording for Polydor, but for a far more obscure label, Greenwich.The year is 1971 so this is something like proto-prog bands with the organ having the lead role but in this case not for showing the player's abilities through solos. Just laying the background and the sounds for the other brass instruments (sax, flute etc) to play the themes, melodies and the amazing solos! This is a very song-oriented album and by that i mean it has mane rhythm changes, crossings from one theme to another and a lot less improvisation, which i really enjoy!Samurai is truly another great, lost gem of early British progressive rock.The sound is jazzy,especially the vibraphone keyboard sounds, the chords are jazzy and definitely the saxes make it sound more jazzy but it keeps to the rock side of things.A killer combination if you ask me. I truly, highly recommend this one!

Studio Album, released in 1971

Songs / Tracks Listing 1. Saving It Up For So Long
2. More Rain
3. Maudie James
4. Holy Padlock
5. Give A Little Love
6. Face In The Mirror
7. As I Dried The Tears Away

Line-up / Musicians

- Lennie Wright / drums, percusion
- Kenny Beveridge / drums, percusion
- Tony Edwards / guitars
- John Eaton / bass
- Dave Lawson / organ, piano, keyboards, vocals
- Don Fay / winds
- Tony Roberts / winds

Download

Listen on YouTube

Ain Soph - A Story Of Mysterious Forest (1980) Japan

2009-12-30T15:18:00.008+02:00

Now this album, the first from this japanese quartet is a mixture of Canterbury prog with Fusion/Jazz rock elements and some long improvisations on the keys and guitar.
Although they come from japan, Ain Soph's music seems to be very inspired from the canterbury scene in England during the late 70's and early 80's.
Breathtaking instrumental progressive rock from Japan carrying a nice laid back Canterbury fusion element throughout. This is truely beautiful music with some great jazz-like imagery(jazz piano..), loads of atmospheric synths (aka CAMEL), wonderful guitar accents and superb bass and drum interplay. "A Story of Mysterious Forest" seems to progress seamlessly through its wild musical transformation which moves from the intro of fusion jazz into the lounge-like excursions to its grand finale resting spot, the title 20 mins track which is full of the most wonderful pastoral, space prog you have ever heard. This epic track nicely captures with the use of the mellotron the atmosphere of the fog laden imagination within the mysterious forest... sounds deep eh! Album offers enough mood and tempo swings to satisfy every progressive rock fan for years to come. Without a doubt this is an essential jem and would most certainly be one of my personal fav from Japan.
I truly recommend this one for fans of Kenso, Hatfield & the North, National Health and that type of canterbury style.

Studio Album, released in 1980

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Crossfire (2:54)
2. Interlude I (1:30)
3. Natural Selection (8:10)
4. Variations on a Theme by Brian Smith (9:44)
5. A Story of Mysterious Forest (18:47)
a) Awakening
b) Longing-Whith the Wind
c) Mysterious Forest
d) Passion
e) Deep Sleep
f) Darkness
g) Dance
h) Misfortune
i) Mysterious Forest
j) Awakening
6. Interlude II (0:33)

Total Time: 41:50

Line-up / Musicians

- Masey Hattori / acoustic & electric pianos,
celeste, Hammond organ, clavinet, synthesizers, strings, vocoder, mellotron
- Hiroshi Natori / drums, percussion, crystal gong
- Masahiro Torigaki / bass
- Yozox Yamamoto / acoustic & electric guitars

Download

listen to Natural Selection

Forgas Band Phenomena - Soleil 12 (2007)

2009-12-26T17:48:00.012+02:00

Now for my secong post.Well this is one of my favorite instrumental prog rock albums just like the above post Atlas from Sweden (hope you liked it).Forgas Band Phenomena is a french octet with drummer Patrick Forgas as the leader.Their music a blend of canterbury and jazz-rock wich is in one way unique.The melodies and riffs stick to your head from the very first.

Bandleader Patrick Forgas has been described as 'the French answer to the Canterbury scene', and this album of his is proudly marketed as: 'for fans of Soft Machine, Pierre Moerlen's Gong, Bruford, National Health.I agree on that.

True, the music on SOLEIL 12 often resembles THIRD (and BUNDLES) era Soft Machine, and it will also remind you of Pierre Moerlen's Gong at their gentlest (especially of the Gong albums that came after EXPRESSO II). Forgas reveals a familiar preference for unhurried, repetitive, riff-driven compositions. His drumming style is close to Pierre Moerlen's. The sound of three brass players (trumpet and saxes) playing the main themes in unison is unmistakably Soft-Machine like.lead guitarist Sylvain Ducloux tends to sound like a typical Allan Holdsworth-disciple.Also an excellent work from the violinist Frédéric Norel!

These four trakcs on the album are played Live! Yes that is correct, Live performance played unmistakably well, almost like studio-like version.

It's trully a gem!

Live, released in 2005

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Soleil 12 (9:22)
2. Coup De Théâtre (34:47)
3. Éclipse (8:16)
4. Pievre à la Pluie (18:18)

Total Time: 70:43

Line-up / Musicians

- Patrick Forgas / drums
- Sylvain Ducloux / guitar
- Igor Brover / keyboards
- Kengo Mochizuki / bass
- Frédéric Norel / violin
- Stanislas De Nussac / Tenor & Soprano saxophones
- Denis Guivarch / Alto saxophone
- Sylvain Gontard / trumpet, flugelhorn

Download

Myspace

Atlas - Bla Vardag (1979)

2009-12-24T19:19:00.008+02:00

This Swedish group featured: double-keyboards, guitars, bass and drums. Beautiful symphonic rock with a fusion slant. The music is largely instrumental. Lots of inspired passages with emphasis on guitar and dual keyboard interplay. A more common comparison is to instrumental GENESIS. In any case, there's lots to like here. The only album is certainly one of the strongest traditional symphonic albums I've heard from the late 70s. Discerning fans of instrumental prog with a symphonic flair will find a lot to like about "Blå Vardag".

Studio Album, released in 1979

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Elisabiten (7:12)
2. På Gata (14:10)
3. Blå Vardag (6:56)
4. Gånglåt (2:52)
5. Den Vita Tranans Väg (7:18)
6. Björnstorp (6:17)
7. Hemifrån (7:50)
8. Sebastian (4:31)

Total Time: 57:06

Line-up / Musicians

- Björn Ekbom / organ, piano, synths, clavinet, mellotron, Rhodes
- Erik Björn Nielsen / synths, mellotron, Rhodes, organ, piano
- Micke Pinotti / drums
- Uffe Hedlund / bass, bass pedals, guitar
- Janne Persson / guitar, percussion

Download