UK vs. USA

 

More importantly, Jan Hammer's a Czech, Laird was born in Dublin, and Billy Cobham's a Panamian transplant who's been Swiss since the '70s (after living in New York City).  

The difference in the prog sound back then was the social environment affect on European musicians of the Classical background. Not something that took hold on American Musicans as a whole teaching, where Classical dominates rock. America had Virgil Fox and so many others performing just Classical here in the U.S. The American conrtibution to prog derived more from the electronic artists who consulted with Bob Moog. Moog helped these artists with the function of the moog and made suggestions for their plans. Beaver & Krause....In A Wild Sanctuary has prog elements all over the place and in 1970.. The album was a major influence to musicians from the golden prog era. Paul Beaver was a Classical musician and he added in that European style to rock. Gandharva has progressive music that was later influential to Jade Warrior.

 

American Blues music is progressive because during a very rapid shuffle, instruments can go off in a Jazz rampage. It can almost be jazz sometimes with a Blues mentality. Wes Montgomery live with Wynton Kelly trio is the prime example. Many of the long passages played by Keith Emerson derive from this concept in American music. Wakeman too. Rod Argent, Dave Greenslade, Peter Bardens(RIP), and others all played Saloon Bar piano style from the great west and also play blues and jazz. Progressive Rock bands from the early 70's had more of a Classical influence regarding the signature notes played in a Genesis song or the theatrical aspect to stage performances as Supper's Ready is almost like a play and some older prog epics are like opera. Fripp adapted American Jazz style to all the early Crimso releases. His guitar teacher taught him basically how to go about mastering the American sophisticated Jazz style. The Classical style incorporated into the European Prog was not as prominet in America or adaptable in that way or to that extreme.