Prog and the Violin

Try definitely Darryl Way's Wolf!!

Saturation point and Canis lupus are excellent albums which mix powerful guitars and violin; it is slightly different from Curved Air.

Curved Air is another excellent choice, with Eddie Jobson on violins!

Edited by greenback

Simon House played violin in Hawkwind on the albums 'Hall of the mountain grill' 'Astounding Sound' Quark, Strangeness & Charm' You'll probably have trouble getting these albums now, though. The songs were good, but some of the playing was quite erratic.

Mick Kaminski's Violinski.

http://www.orchestra.fsworld.co.uk/biog_mikframe.htm

(Also, if you like a bit of Brit Folk Rock, check out Fairport Convention, or Steeleye Span.)

Gryphon used many classical instruments that date back a lot futher than the usual standard orchestra sellection.

 

Edited by emdiar

I suppose it's down to me to mention Gentle Giant then

King Crimson
had David Cross playing violin/viola and mellotron on Larks Tongues,Starless & Bible Black and Red.
The Flock.
Who included violinist Jerry Goodman who went on to be
a member of The Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Edited by Man Erg

Eddie Jobson with UK and his solo album The Green Album

Allan Holdsworth with Tempest and Soft Machine (although not recorded with the latter playing fiddle)

Ed Allyene Johnson guesting on a couple of  New Model Army albums and  his own solo albums, e.g. Purple Electric Violin Concerto.

David Cross (already mentioned with  Krimson) but check out his solo albums  Exiles, Testing To Destruction.

Lady violinist Caryn Lin, Tolerance For Ambiguity (Alchemy Records) - one of my favourite prog albums of the 90's - and alas I never managed to find any of her other recordings.

Simon House, was the leader of High Tide (an English proto prog band ), similar to in style (i.e. anglo psychedlia/prog) to East Of Eden (reportedly their first two albums about to be remastered. reissued again on CD). East of Eden's Dave Arbus, did the fiddling on the Who's Next album.

On the jazz (rock) side Jean Luc Ponty immediately comes to mind, and he did several cross-over albums in the 80's experimenting with electronics. Others  include Michel Urbaniak, Steve Kindler (I prefer his work as part of the Jan Hammer Group - Oh Well!, Melodies - more than his work with  other musicians) and Didier Lockwood. Jerry Goodman has already been mentioned - but check out his solo work when with Private Music Records in the 80's, and the album he did with Jan Hammer Like Children, after both had just left Mahavishnu.

And to virtuoso classical trained musicians dabbling.  Nigel Kennedy, between the very successful classical releases, has issued a number of hit or miss albums, posing as rock, e.g. Kafka, The Kennedy Experience (the latter reinterpretation of Hendrix). Kennedy has a great ability to sound like Stephane Grapelli, Jean Luc Ponty or Eddie Jobson at various times - and I often wonder whether the classical training has eliminated that element of freedom from his playing. Vanessa Mai:  looks pretty but forget the rock. Then you might enjoy the string trios indulging themselves in rock repertoise, e.g. Daryl Anger (for instance with the Turtle Island Strong Quartet), has ranged from the modern serious to blue grass, taking in RTF, Hendrix and Robert Johnson, and then there are the Kronos Quartet, who  best known for their interpretation of Hendrix.

Then you get a few playing the cello - David Darling, Jack Bruce. Although Anekdoten's Sofi plays the instrument, I wonder if her level of playing is similar to that Brian Eno's in the Portsmouth Symphonia ?

There are a heap of folk violinists - Dave Swarbrick immediately jumps to mind, but another names associated with Fairport Convention. In particular Ric Sanders, who also has played with Soft Machine, and then did the album with fellow Soft Machist, John Etheridge 2nd Vision, which hasa fair chunk of prog rock (recently reissued by Blueprint records in the UK).

Owing more the blues: check out Papa John Creech who played with Jefferson Airplane on their last 3 or 4 albums, and Sugarcane Harris (e.g. for his contributions to the Zappa/Captain Beefheart tune Willie The Pimp on Hot Rats, and to some John Mayall recordings, e.g. Back To The Roots)


Edited by Dick Heath

king crimson tend to go for stuff like woodwind instruments a lot.

I am into Hope of the States at the moment. They a great band which combine rock with violinists which hasn't been done for a while in mainstream british rock.