Jazzis Web Shop News 01/2008

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I start the New Year with the addition of a classic Italian Prog album, something always welcome on my site:

Italian Prog band Le Orme were one of the most important representatives of the genre in the early 1970s and recorded several classic albums, which are considered some of the best to come out of this country. The band shared the fate of most of the other Prog bands slowly disappearing from the scene by the end of the 1970s, when the popularity of Prog genre suffered a serious decline. They recorded and performed sporadically over the years, and by the mid 1990s, when Prog was back on the scene, the band formally reformed and recorded their comeback album “Il Fume� in 1996. But it took them another five years to come up with an album, which was a true reflection of their abilities and a formidable companion of their 1970s achievements – “Elementi�. This beauty as a concept album, full of great melodies and excellent instrumental work, in the best tradition of the Italian Prog. With two keyboards players the band is able to create rich layers of sound and many dramatic moments, as appropriate for the genre. The sitar and violin parts are also excellent, adding a new dimension to the music. Lead vocals are excellent as well and the magic of the Italian language suits the music perfectly. It is truly uplifting to see a great band returning to its glory. Most warmly recommended!

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Today’s addition is another album by the legendary Italian Prog band Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso:

By mid-1990s the Italian Prog giants Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso were firmly back into Prog with new albums and extensive touring activity, to the delight of the fans. This album documents some of the band’s live performances in that period. Although credited to being recorded in Japan in 1997, actually only the first 6 tracks were recorded there and the rest of the album comes from earlier performances (1989 & 1995) in Italy. Regardless of the source, the band sounds absolutely brilliant here as it did at its peak in the 1970s. Superb instrumental work on keyboards and lead vocals, which were always their forte, come up here in full glory as if time was completely frozen in the last 20+ years. This is definitely a triumphant return by one of the Prog’s giants.

Note: The album “Nudo� was originally released as a 2CD set and included a studio album on CD one and live recordings on CD two. This edition includes only the live album and the studio material is available separately as “Nudo (Acustico)�.

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Today’s addition is a live recording by the legendary Dutch Prog band Focus:

Composer, flutists, keyboards player and bandleader Thijs van Leer revived the legendary Dutch band Focus in 2002 with three younger musicians: Jan Dumée – guitar, Bobby Jacobs – bass and Bert Smaak – drums. The quartet recorded a new studio album (“Focus 8”) and later embarked on an extensive American tour, which covered both the North and South continent. This album is a selection of live recording captured at various locations of the South American leg of the tour. The material includes all the fabulous classic material originating from the 1970s albums and can be viewed as a “best of” review of what the original group had to offer. After all Focus managed to create some of the most memorable Prog melodies, and they are all included here (“Syliva”, “Eruption”, “Hocus Pocus”, etc.), performed with freshness and vigor. The sound quality is also surprisingly good and all together this is an excellent tribute to the glory days of this great Prog group. This is a must to all the fans of the group and an excellent introduction to the group illustrious output for those who were too young to enjoy it at the time.

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Today’s addition is another album by the excellent Mexican Prog band Iconoclasta:

6^th album by Mexican Prog band Iconoclasta and their first release recorded live. Led by composer and keyboards player Ricardo Moreno the group went through some personnel changes in the late 1980s, as well as moving away from the Symphonic Prog, that dominated their early output, towards instrumental Prog / Fusion. The double lead guitar front and powerful keyboards by the leader, supported by an excellent rhythm section, create some really hot Fusion moments, which would delight any fan of the genre. The instrumental skills of all the players are quite amazing and the power, energy and interplay on this live recording are truly inspired. Most warmly recommended to Prog / Fusion fans.

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Today’s addition is yet another Prog album from Mexico:

1^st album by a new Mexican Prog band Cronico, which consists of four male instrumentalists and a female vocalist, something that is always welcome in Prog. The album includes four instrumental and six vocal tracks, which present two quite distinctive sides of the band. Emerson, Lake & Palmer pyrotechnics mostly influence the instrumental stuff, whereas the vocal tracks are closer to contemporary Prog efforts. Four of the vocal tracks have English lyrics, which is a mistake in my opinion, as the singer sounds much better in her native tongue, but obviously the group is looking for fans beyond the borders of their country. All together a most impressive debut, with plenty of splendid moments, great solos and some really excellent music. The sound quality and production are both excellent. I look forward to hear their next album.

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Today’s addition is another very interesting album from Mexico:

Only album by Mexican band 0.720 Aleacion, an acoustic quintet playing a very unique Fusion of Mexican folklore and Jazz. Using violin, flute, guitar, bass and drums, as well as a plethora of ethnic instruments, they create a magic amalgam, which works wonderfully. The album includes 17 short tracks, all quite different from one another, with quirky rhythms and strange melodies, intertwined with jazzy improvisations. The overall effect is strange and surprising, often sounding avant-gardish one moment and folksy the next. Definitely worth investigating for fans of unusual music. This CD reissue of the original album includes music recorded as soundtrack to a video production.

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Today’s addition is a great album by a new Mexican Prog band:

1^st album by Mexican Prog band El Retorno De Los Brujos, which is a superb concept album, based on the turbulent Mexican history and the establishment of the modern Mexican State. The band is an instrumental trio with Jaime Garcia Mares – guitars and keyboards, José Alejandro Ortiz Galarza – bass and José Gabriel Martinez Guzmán – drums and percussion. They play a hard-edged modern Prog, with great skill and imagination, full of exceptional melodies and complex musical structures. Stylistically the are close to the Prog being created by contemporary Chilean bands like Tryo or Scandinavian bands like Anekdoten and even like some modern RIO bands. Considering this is their debut, I have really high hopes for this band. A must for all adventurous Prog fans!

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Today’s addition is another Mexican Prog album, which shows how diversified the scene over there really is:

1st album by Mexican Prog band Torca, an instrumental trio led by Rodrigo Cantu G. – keyboards, Alan Guerra – bass and Aldo Guerra – drums. The group presents a modern version of Prog keyboards trio based on the Emerson, Lake & Palmer tradition, using a wide array of synthesizers and solid rhythm section. The performances are excellent, as is the music, all written by the leader. There is not much need to add more to this – keyboards fans will drool over this one for sure. The only drawback is that the album is quite short (just over half an hour long) and could be considered an EP rather than a full album. On the other hand this is an individually numbered limited edition, so it’s definitely worth the price of a full album. Definitely worth checking out.

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Today’s addition is a new edition of a classic Prog album:

2^nd album by King Crimson and one of the most eagerly awaited follow ups in the history of Prog. Honestly how does one follow up a masterpiece such as the debut “In The Court Of The Crimson King”, which was almost instantly elevated to the status of a genre-defining masterpiece. Adding to the challenge ahead the band at the time of the recording seemed to be in a shaky state, following the exhausting touring schedule and dramatic personnel changes: Ian McDonald, who’s mellotron and flute parts were one of the most prominent features of the debut album, left the band in the midst of their US tour. Michael Giles and Greg Lake announced their departure soon after, and although they took part in the recording sessions for this album they were practically out. All this turmoil seemed to have little influence on Robert Fripp, who used his resilience and what was to become his legendary survival instinct, to reorganize the band and move on. Mel Collins joined the band to take over the flute and saxophones department. Michael’s brother bassist Peter Giles joined to provide the full force of the Giles & Giles rhythm section, which was second to none on the scene. Fripp also turned to his friends from the burgeoning (at the time) London avant-garde Rock and Jazz scene and enlisted the wonderful pianist Keith Tippet, who adds many brilliant piano trinkets on the album. Singer Gordon Haskell joined in on one song to provide his contribution. Fripp, in addition to composing all of the music (to the lyrics penned by Peter Sinfield) and playing the guitar parts, also took over the mellotron chair, maintaining the instrument’s supremacy in the overall band’s sound. Against all odds, this album is as strong, if not stronger then its predecessor. The compositions are better developed and the playing, enforced by the presence of the new members, is richer and better organized. Amazing stuff and absolutely essential. This new edition expands the original 30^th Anniversary Edition from 1999 by adding two bonus tracks – the two sides of the King Crimson single released to promote the album. This is the first time any additional material is added to the original studio albums by the band.

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I’m really happy to be able to add three new Israeli Jazz albums this month, a clear proof that the local scene is alive and kicking. Today’s addition is a beautiful new piano trio album:

1^st album by Israeli Jazz pianist / composer Ari Erev. The title is most appropriate, as Ari has been playing and composing for quite a while and it’s about time for us to enjoy the fruits of his labor. The album presents him in a piano trio setting (my favorite Jazz format) with Israeli veterans Yorai Oron on bass and Gideon Pasahov on drums. Of the thirteen tunes played six are original compositions, five are standards (two of them not surprisingly by Bill Evans) and the remaining two are his interpretations of Israeli evergreens by Shalom Hanoch and Nurit Hirsh. It’s pretty obvious, from the very first few chords on this album, that Ari is deeply inspired by the piano work of Bill Evans, with Evans’ spirit hovering over his shoulder at all times. The choice of material, the delicate touch, the intrinsic melancholy are all signatures of the great Master. Of course Ari manages carefully to avoid the trap of becoming an Evans impersonator, and his own personal approach is strong enough to indicate his own input. Overall this is a splendid album, quiet and introversive, full of beauty and romance. Considering the fact that this is a first of its kind recording in Israeli Jazz, I can only congratulate him for this wonderful gift to our country’s cultural legacy and Jazz achievements. Most warmly recommended!

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I managed to find some more of the now deleted Sanctuary / Castle / Essential items – just by pure luck I found a box of these beauties at one of my suppliers. This is not to be missed!

Massive re-stocking from Universal (Virgin, etc.), EMI and Cuneiform. Please check your waiting lists!

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