VOLARÉ

What?!! A Canterbury style album from a new group--their debut!--in 1999. What's more: It's really good! Great keyboards and fuzzy guitars withs some awesome horn work as well ("Midnight Clear" [5:04]). Though less psychedelic than many releases from the peak era of Canterbury Scene, and perhaps a little tamer, more laid back and melodic than others (though there are plenty of surprisingly abrasive King Crimson-like sounds and burst of music as well), this is truly first rate, top notch Canterbury style instrumental jazz music! Check out the acoustic and electric guitar work in "One Minute of Thought..." (3:50), or just let yourself fall into the grooves and dreamy lulls of "...In Two Seconds of Time..." (8:12)--whichever song you choose I guarantee you you're in for a surprisingly pleasant ride.

1. "Caught in a Combine" (4:34) a little KCrimson, SDan, and NatHealth. (8.5/10)

2. "Abcircus" (6:35) opens as funky jazz with a bit of a Weather Report flair before turning soft prog/Canterbury in the third minute. Nice Minimoog and electric guitar sounds & soli. Finishes with an abrasive Crimsonian thrust. (9.25/10)

3. "Blitz" (8:47) Mellotron with jazzy combo makes it feel like Belgian Canterbury band COS. In the second minute it all changes with the arrival of Dave Stewart-like Fender Rhodes and -Phil Miller-like guitar. Another shift in the third minute showcases the drummer (as does much of the song). The song with its multiple themes and parts certainly is all over the place! (18/20)

4. "One Minute Of Thought.." (3:50) a very jazzy, acoustic guitar-dominated song. Very fine almost Pat Metheny-esque guitar play. Also nice Fender Rhodes and lead electric guitar play in the second half. (9/10)

5. "Midnight Clear" (5:04) Sax on display! Incredibly melodic, like a jazz standard of old. (9.25/10)

6. "...in Two Seconds Of Time..." (8:12) echoed solo electric guitar opens this one before drums, sax, and bass join in. Chorded scales are played around with for the first 90 seconds before a guitar-backed onslaught of keyboard soli take over. I like the flanged drums. And the subtle key and tempo changes in the mid-section as the lead guitar saws away (with the sax). The second half becomes more CAMEL- and PAT METHENY-ish. Something about this music also reminds me of the band YEZDA URFA. (13.5/15)

7. "Vespers" (7:21) Acoustic guitar and piano with cymbal play open this one in a very Pat Metheny/LYLE MAYS way--which it maintains for the entire song. Great Minimoog solo at the end.(13.25/15)

8. "... (Incomplete, Broken And Abstract)" (6:03) back to NatHealth "Borogroves"-like stuff--at least until the Latin rhythms and abrasive RFrippian guitars and saxes enter. Things slow down in the second half but the Fripp-like buzz-horn guitar continues to lead the way until the rather peaceful lull before the Crimsonian final 15 seconds. (8.5/10)

9. "Cropcircles" (4:29) bouncing Hammond and fuzzy Phil Miller-like guitar with Fender Rhodes and very Richard Sinclair-Pip Pyle rhythm section makes this seem all too familiar. Great sound, great performances; the band is very tight. Then it gets soft before bursting out in another abrasive, yet clean-sounding passage to take us to the Hammond soloing end. (9.25/10)

10. "Black And White" (6:34) some great musicianship on display on this one--though it is not quite as melodic or inviting as the others. The lead guitar is doing a great job offering his interpretation of the more aggressive side of guitarist Robert Fripp. This song could be from one of the HAPPY THE MAN albums. (9/10)

Total Time: 61:28

An album of very pleasant, creative, unusual compositions performed by some very fine musicians. They definitely delivered some great melodies that are now forever drilled into my brain.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of Canterbury-inspired jazz-rock fusion.

This was the first official release from Georgia's own VOLARE in 1997, although "Memoirs" which followed two years later actually contains the original recording they did on cassette from 1996. Confused yet? I do prefer "Memoirs" but you can't go wrong with either recording in my opinion. Both are jazzy affairs and the bass player also adds sax. I was surprised at the heaviness that pops up once in a while and the upfront guitar. It's a pretty cool list of instruments that the keyboardist plays including Fender Rhodes, Yamaha CS-15, Roland Juno-6, Mini-Moog, Alesis, Korg, Roland Synths, Piano, Organ and Mellotron. They thank Ken Golden who's label released this album plus Ken was the Executive Producer. Steve F. is thanked along with Producers Fred Schendel and Steve Babb and FRENCH TV's John Robinson among others.

"Caught In A Combine" opens with rather raw sounding guitar as the drums and piano join in. Some nice upfront bass as well. It settles into a jazzy mode before a minute although the guitar continues to solo over top. Synths come and go and then the guitar stops as the drums and piano lead the way 2 1/2 minutes in. It turns heavy after 3 minutes as the guitar returns. "Abcircus" opens with some killer synths as the guitar, drums and more join in. Nasty stuff that is contrasted with a mellow piano/ bass section. Beautiful sound 2 1/2 minutes in with those melancholic synths. Love the bass before 4 minutes then those melancholic synths return. We keep getting teased with heavy outbreaks.

"Blitz" opens with bass, piano, cymbals and mellotron as some relaxed guitar joins in. I like the depth of sound here as the guitar continues to solo. The guitar stops after 2 minutes then the tempo picks up as the guitar returns. I like this as we get synths as well before the organ replaces the synths. A calm with piano only before 4 1/2 minutes then it starts to build. Some aggressive guitar after 5 1/2 minutes and he will light it up. Keyboards lead before 7 minutes. Great sound! Mellotron is back after 8 minutes.

"One Minute Of thought..." has intricate guitar along with sparse piano and drums. A pastoral track for the most part. "Midnight Clear" opens with sounds droning as bass and cymbals join in. I'm imagining driving in the city at night for some reason here. The sax starts to solo tastefully over top then the tempo picks up. "...In Two Seconds Of Time..." has a mellow beginning but it starts to build some before a minute. A beat and intricate guitar join in then it becomes more powerful when the synths join in. Kicking some ass 3 1/2 minutes in until a calm arrives a minute later. The contrasts continue. "Vespers" opens with cymbals, intricate guitar and some atmosphere. It picks up before 2 minutes as synths join in. They will come and go but the piano and drums stand out during this section. It settles down again as contrasts continue.

"...(In Complete, Broken, And Abstract)" is laid back until it kicks into gear before 2 minutes. Sax starts to play over top, guitar too. It's surprisingly heavy 2 1/2 minutes in. Dissonant sax follows. "Cropcircles" is uptempo with plenty of guitar. A calm after 1 1/2 minutes but it's brief as synths and organ replace the guitar. Another calm follows with piano and drums as contrasts continue. "Black And White" opens with picked guitar, bass and drums until we get some aggressive guitar before 1 1/2 minutes as it all turns powerful. Synths to the fore at 2 1/2 minutes as it stays intense. The tempo picks up before 4 minutes as piano ad drums stand out to the end.

There's not much about this release that makes me think of Canterbury but it's a solid album that is a slight step down from "Memoirs" in my opinion. Very enjoyable.

The sole fully-developed album by Volare proves - as fellow US band The Muffins did with Manna/Mirage - that you didn't need to be an artist with a personal connection to the extended Wilde Flowers/Soft Machine/Caravan/Uriel/Gong family of bands to produce top-quality Canterbury material. With a sound reminiscent of the best works of Hatfield and the North and National Health - with some more modern-sounding interjections from synthesiser wiz Patrick Strawser - the band produce a very credible effort which will enchant all fans of the subgenre.

It's a genuine shame that we haven't heard more from these gentlemen (aside from Memoirs, a collection of pre-Uncertainty material), because in recent years it seems the only Canterbury releases have been archival stuff from the glory days of the subgenre and the occasional new release from an old hand. I can't be alone in hoping that the distinctive Canterbury take on fusion won't die out as its founders retire from the music scene one by one; albums like The Uncertainty Principle make me think a revival is entirely possible, and prove that there's talent there equal to the challenge. It's a crying shame it didn't spark a Canterbury revival at the time.

This American prog group from the mid-1990s came together to play not in the neo-prog or revived symphonic prog veins, but to recapture the classic Canterbury sound as presented in times past by the likes of Hatfield and the North and National Health. Memoirs isn't a fully- developed album so much as it is a compilation of early tracks and demo material, and so perhaps on that front it isn't the best place to first encounter the band's music - in particular, the sound quality on the earliest tracks in the collection is rather shaky, and in a rather frustrating way: it's bad enough to sabotage the sound they're going for, but not bad enough that you can't tell where they were aiming, if you see what I mean.

As it stands, I think their sole fully-developed album (The Uncertainty Principle) better represents Volare and their accomplishments, but if you are very keen on Canterbury these rarities aren't too bad either.

Volare were formed in February 1994 in Athens,Georgia,USA by three students, Patrick Strawser on keyboards,Norwegian bassist Jon-Fredrik Nielsen and Steve Hatch on guitars along with drummer Brian Donohoe.The next year Nielsen leaves the band to be replaced by Dave Denkman and cellist Rob Sutherland.After many months full of rehearsals and gigs,Dave and Rob quit and new bassist Richard Kesler enters the scene.The new Volare quartet records a 5-track demo-tape in 1996,receiving good critics,followed by the recordings of their debut with the scientific title ''The Uncertainty Principle''.This saw the light in 1997 on Laser's Edge.

Following the unique lines of HAPPY THE MAN,the delicacy of RETURN TO FOREVER and the Canterbury craziness of NATIONAL HEALTH,HATFIELD AND THE NORTH or even Dutch SUPERSISTER and compatriots HOWEVER,Volare present a modern mix of Canterbury-sounding Fusion style,full of shifting moods, sudden breaks, slick melodies and flexible passages.With some heavy use of electric piano,distinctive synth parts and frenetic guitar work,the quartet draws the line between the Canterbury-Prog complexity,where interplays follow one another, and the all-time classic Jazz-Fusion style with its numerous breaks and light improvised sections.Rich compositions played with talent but also with a slight modern edge,mainly in a fast tempo,where the members can emerge both as pieces of a band as well as individual leaders.The later tracks of the album have sort of a light Avant vibe, a few of them have also a hardly detected symphonic twist, while guitarist Steve Hatch often recalls ROBERT FRIPP's complex guitar tabs at moments with some fiery and heavy guitar work.

Nothing very original or ground-breaking,but all compositions are definitely at a high level and will fill your time with many great listening moments.Anyone along the lines of Canterbury- Prog,Fusion or any fan of the aforementioned bands should approach without hesitation.Recommended.

American Canterbury--two words which don't hang out much

Volare is the now-defunct project from Athens Georgia, a real hotbed of the Canterbury sub-genre of progressive rock. Kidding aside, "Memoirs" is not a typical studio CD release but more of a retrospective. It contains eight tracks, the first five of which comprised the band's cassette tape debut release recorded in the summer of 1995. So it acts as a CD reissue of their maiden cassette tape recording with three extra tracks recorded from 1997-1999. In the same period their first proper full length CD release was recorded and released by The Laser's Edge label, it was called "The Uncertainty Principle" and was quite well received by critics. "Memoirs" is a very nice historical release which fills in the edges of the brief career of Volare. It is another labor of love from Geoff Logsdon, the founder of Zarathustra Records and Pleasant Green Records, who as a prog lover has rescued and assembled important projects from the likes of Surprise, Rascal Reporters, Still, Almost Always, and Volare.

The five main tracks of "Memoirs" were recorded live as a 4-piece group with cello and saxophone overdubbed later. This is a jazz-rock instrumental band said to recall great Canterbury acts like National Health, Gilgamesh, and Hatfield and the North, but with their own unique style. They have a warm and laid-back vibe, neither too dry in the jazzy sense and yet they avoid some of the silliness that you might get from Zappa or Gong. The sound is born of a wide variety of keyboards textures and a nice tight rhythm section. The electric guitar is prominent of course but another color of this band comes from a generous helping of acoustic guitar. The cello and sax come in at various points as the dressing, the cello being a particularly organic and refreshing component. Volare compositions sound highly influenced by the joy of improvisation, they are earnest and engaging, an instrumental rock that doesn't forget about melodies. The results are very satisfying and I'm not sure why this band didn't catch on---in fact they really should consider making another album. This is good stuff which brings to mind the Italian band D.F.A. who are currently quite successful peddling a not-so-different product. Let's go Volare!

"Volaré's quirky and melodic prog rock shows strong Canterbury inspirations, including Hatfield and Happy the Man, in addition to slight jazz fusion and symphonic rock influences. Skillful dynamics range widely in intensity, sinuous odd meter passages groove, and textures from acoustic and electric guitars and a wide palette of synthesizers flesh out the sound." -Scott Andrews of all about Jazz

While the sound of the debut cassette tracks is well below today's standards of production, they are not bad and certainly very listenable for me. The three later tracks have improved sound quality. I would recommend any fan of fusion or Canterbury check out the welcoming jams of this under-the-radar American band.

How many Canterbury bands are there that have come out of the U.S.A.? I am familiar with the great band THE MUFFINS but none other except for this band. VOLARE's first recording never did get released on cd until now with this release. Interesting to note that these 5 tracks(from 1st recording) were all recorded live and the sax and cello were added later. Also we get 3 bonus tracks including "Memoirs Of A Misshapen Man" which is a song that they played live from the beginning, they had just never recorded it. This is a live version that was recorded in studio back in 1997.

"Oxford Don" was a song that didn't make it onto their debut "The Uncertainty Principle". This version was also recorded live in 1997 at a different studio."The Hive" was recorded specifically for this album in 1999 when they reunited briefly for some live shows. "North By Northwest" was inspired by HATFIELD AND THE NORTH. It opens rather softly with keys, light drums and cello. A full sound a minute in. The guitar is playing over the top. The tempo and mood keeps changing in this one. One minute it's a pastoral calm and the next it's a driving rhythm. Excellent tune. "Eighth Direction" is a heavier mid paced song. Quite a bit of bottom end on this one. Organ, drums and cello lead the way. Some prominant synth work 2 1/2 minutes in,but it's the drumming that impresses me the most here. Guitar and cello follow. Some great bass lines after 4 minutes. It calms right down except for the brief scorching cello.

"The Broken Waltz" opens with a pleasant melody as drums and keys are joined by cello. Pulasating keys 1 1/2 minutes in come and go. Intricate sounds fill the air. The sound changes 2 1/2 minutes in as piano comes in. A full driving sound a minute later. The drums are great. It calms back down to end it. "Three O'Clock" features acoustic guitar and cello melodies. Sax comes in as well. My least favourite track. The next 2 songs are my favourite tracks. "The Odessa Steps Sequence" has such a warm organic sound of light drums, keys and bass. When the guitar along with a full sound arrive 3 minutes in it's even better. I like the synths 4 1/2 minutes in. A nice heavy sound before 7 minutes with some excellent guitar and bass. "Memories Of A Misshapen Man" is next and I love the intro. The drumming is outstanding. Synths 3 minutes in. A powerful sound follows that is closer to metal than it is to Canterbury. "Oxford Don" opens with lots of atmosphere as they are creating some tension here until 1 1/2 minutes in. Then the guitar soars tastefully as keys,drums and bass play on. I like the way this guy plays drums. Nice synth solo. The song calms down 4 1/2 minutes in. "The Hive" opens with guitar leading the way as drums pound away. The guitar is beautifully played. Sax, liquid keys and throbbing bass fill out the sound. Is that mellotron 3 1/2 minutes in? Nice.

This is highly enjoyable Canterbury music with top notch musicianship.

Volare's first album is solid and consistent. To a certain extent, I would agree with other reviewers that compare this album to works by jazzier Canterbury bands like Hatfield and the North and National Health. Like these bands, Volare uses light- hearted and melancholic melodies for there musical backdrop. Placed on top and juxtaposed against these are quirky rhythms and lead guitar. I could have done with less of the metallic sounding guitar leads, it seems as though they were thrown in to say "hey, we're still a rock band". A lot of the guitar leads just didn't sound like they fit. All the more understated picking/ acoustic parts on guitar are very nice and do a great job of complimenting the keyboard parts. The bass player is also the one playing sax on the album. I would have liked to see more sax weaved throughout the album, since Kessler is a fine sax player. The main reason that this album sounds like a Canterbury album (and why I like it so much) is Patrick Strawser's keyboard work. He has many similarities to Dave Stewart or Steve Miller on keys. Patrick Strawser's nimble and endearing piano work drenches almost every track; this combined with his lead syth/organ work makes him absolutely indespenscible to the sound of this album. I would also like to compliment Strawser on his choice of synth sounds; they are natural and earthy while still in keeping with a more modern sound. In my opinion, nothing ruins an album like a bunch of cold, spacey synths that are going nowhere and doing nothing rather than filling space. For some reason I always felt that Volare could have used a vocalist. I am not talking about that overbearing and pretentious singing that seems to plague a lot of newer symphonic bands, maybe just some understated vocals thrown in sparsely to hold things together. My favorite tracks on this album would have to be Abcircus, Vespers, and In Two Seconds of Time. I am giving this album 4 stars, do primarily to the heartfelt keyboard work--just listen to Strawsers Fender Rhodes part at the end of One Minute of Thought. Though Volare is disbanded, I hope to hear Patrick Strawser making more music in the future, by him or with other bands.

Absolutely fantastic album, great instrumental passages with lots of tempo changes and melodic hooks. National Health, Hatfield and the North and maybe a little bit of Gilgamesh can be heard in the music. I also hear Bruford's "One of a Kind" too. This one I played for a long time.....the Canterbury style seems over used in some reviews but fits here perfectly. Not at all "avant garde" sounding as in an RIO sense, but well played and "melodic" as in pleasing with memorable melody lines.

Debut album from this American quartet (the standard prog quartet with the bassist doubling on sax), and one of the 90's better albums in the Canterburian jazz-rock IMHO and produced by Glass Hammer alumni Babb and Schendel. With an amusing artwork, they recorded this album on the ever-essential label Laser's Edge in 97, and was very understandably well-received critically by the specialized press.

If this group is generally classified as Canterbury-an music (from Gligamesh to Hatfield to National Health and maybe a touch of Brand X), it is primarily due to their light-hearted harmonies, Strawer's particularly well-chosen keyboards sounds (often hinting at Stewart or Miller), every player's excellent skills and participating to the group's overall tightness, intricate compositions laced with original chord progressions.

One could also point to Kenso, Happy The Man or even The Muffins, but there is more than just sounding like other groups: Volaré has its own strengths and spirit as not be considered a vulgar clone band, much like Anglagard managed to recycle 70's sounds without sounding stale. Vespers and Abcircus are jazzier than most of the Kent groups ever gotten (except for maybe Gilgamesh) and some of Strawer's Mini-Moog (more Emersonian than Stewardian) and the mellotron both at the end of Blitz, are proof of this. Certainly not an album to give itself on a few listening, it is nonetheless directly accessible and with repeated listenings, this album will unfold slowly all of its treasures. Certainly one of my top 10 of that year and probably in the top 20 of the decade.