1. Introduzione (1:10)
2. Impressioni di Settembre (5:44)
3. E' Festa (4:52)
4. Dove... Quando... (Parte I) (4:08)
5. Dove... Quando... (Parte II) (6:00)
6. La Carrozza di Hans (6:46)
7. Grazie Davvero (5:52)

Franz Di Cioccio - drums, Moog, aggeggi, vocal
Franco Mussida - electric & acoustic guitar, dodici (12 String) guitar, mandoloncello, voice
Mauro Pagani - flute, ottavino, violin, voice
Giorgio Piazza - bass, vocal
Flavio Premoli - Organ, pianoforte, Mellotron, clavicembalo, piano a puntine, Moog, voce

AMG:
"The debut recording from Italy's favorite sons of progressive rock. The band had been appearing as special guests in support of bands such as Procol Harum, Deep Purple, and Yes, in addition to playing several festivals. Their hard work paid off, and the result is this excellent recording. Recorded live in the studio, PFM proved they were every bit as creative and talented as the U.K. bands of the time. Their symphonic prog rock commingles elements of folk, classical, and jazz in a genuine manner. This is achieved by their transcendent and pliant level of musicianship. "Impressioni di Settembre" and the two-part "Dove...Quando" demonstrate the band's ability to create rich harmonies with pop-like melodies. The band can also lay it down pretty heavy, as can be heard on the rocking "È Festa," which turned out to be one of their most requested songs. Storia di un Minuto stands as one of the best progressive rock debuts in history, and along with Per un Amico and Photos of Ghosts, is essential to any serious collection."

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1. Appena un Po' (7:43)
2. Generale (4:18)
3. Per un Amico (5:23)
4. Il Banchetto (8:39)
5. Geranio (8:03)

Franco Mussida - vocals, guitar (12 String), chitarrone, mandocello, guitar
Franz Di Cioccio - drums, percussion, vocals
Mauro Pagani - flute (alto), piccolo, vocals, flute, violin
Giorgio Piazza - bass, vocal
Flavio Premoli - spinetta, keyboards, tubular bells, clavicembalo

AMG:
"This is PFM's brilliant follow up to Storia di Amico, both of which are considered progressive rock classics, and for good reason. The diversity, complexity, and integrity of the music here is as fine as anything produced during the early '70s from other prog rock giants such as Yes, Genesis, or King Crimson. The lyrics are in Italian and, while used sparingly, make a valuable contribution to the session's integrity. The music is constantly shifting in style, tempo, and time, but are all held together by recurring themes. Mauro Pagani's airy flute is the perfect antidote to Francone Mussida's aggressive guitar, while Flavio Premoli's keyboard work rivals that of contemporaries such as Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman. The music ranges from avant-garde to hard rock and everything in between. Always intelligent, but without pretension, this is progressive rock in it's most literal definition."

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1. L'Isola di Niente (10:42)
2. Is My Face On Straight (6:38)
3. La Luna Nuova (6:21)
4. Dolcissima Maria (4:01)
5. Via Lumiere (7:21)

Franz Di Cioccio - drums, percussion, vocals
Jan Patrick Djivas - bass, vocals
Franco Mussida - guitars, lead vocals
Mauro Pagani - violin, flute, vocals
Flavio Premoli - keyboards, lead vocals

AMG:
"Premiata Forneria Marconi's third Italian album (their fourth if one counts the 1973 release Photos of Ghosts, the English version of Per un Amico) came out shortly before ELP's Manticore imprint released its English version under the title The World Became the World. Unless lyrics sung in a language other than English is aggravating to you, by all means prefer the original version. Like for Banco del Mutuo Soccorso and Le Orme, the music of PFM is impregnated with the lyricism of the Italian language. The most confusing of the group's first three LPs, L'Isola di Niente (The Island of Nothing) sees the group pushing its music to a new level of complexity, while giving a first hint at their later jazz-rock orientation. The title track (which will became "The Mountain" on The World Became the World) is a very powerful, almost shocking 11-minute epic, with choir, rolling echo-drenched drums and some of the most theatrical vocal performance you are likely to hear on a PFM record. BMG's 24-bit gold remastered CD reissue has helped clarify the choir sections (murky at best on the cheap vinyl pressings from days of yore), but the impact of the piece is still lessened by the tons of effects the group used. "Is My Face on Straight" is the only track that appeared in English on both LPs. The lyrics of ex-King Crimson's Pete Sinfield match the cadavre exquis-like collage of seemingly unrelated musical sections. PFM exhibit some of their best musical chops on this crazy number. "La Luna Nuova" (retitled "Four Holes to the Ground" on The World) is the track sounding the most familiar in comparison to the group's first two albums. It is also one of their best symphonic progressive rockers, with that sweet Italian flavor the harsh "L'Isola di Niente" eschewed. The ballad "Dolcissima Maria" is little more than that, but still much better in this rendition than its English counterpart "Just Look Away." The closing instrumental "Via Lumiére" (needlessly retitled "Have Your Cake and Beat It" on The World) was this album's enigma. Beginning with a rather free-form bass solo from Jan Patrick Djivas, it evolves into a frantic jazz-rock vamp, before reverting to a Yes-like mid-tempo finale. L'Isola di Niente was to be the group's last masterpiece (the next LP, Chocolate Kings, will show serious signs of fatigue) and remains one of the first Italian progressive rock wave's finest records, but it is more of an acquired taste compared to Storia di un Minuto and Per un Amico."

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1. Przejazd (1:35)
2. I'm sorry, I'm not driver (7:07)
3. Etiudka (1:26)
4. Śniegowa panienka (8:16)
5. Lady Rolland (1:44)
6. Quasimodo (10:51)
7. Kyokushinkai (2:54)
8. Ikona (In Memory of Zbigniew Zeifert) (6:15)
9. Etiudka (2:34)
10. Sniegowa panienka (11:08)
11. Odjazd (6:35)
12. Zdrowie na budowie (6:45)

Janusz Grzywacz - piano, Fender Rhodes, Arp Odyssey synthesiser
Marek Stryszowski - vocal, alto sax, soprano sax
Paweł Ścierański - guitar
Krzysztof Ścierański - bass guitar
Mieczysław Górka - drums

Progarchives:
"The end of the 60s was an important period in jazz, as well as rock music, in Poland and the rest of the world, with the development of many styles and trends in popular music. The death of Polish musician KRZYSZTOF KOMEDA marked the end of a particular stage in Polish jazz. In 1970 the jazz rock fusion band, LABORATORIUM was formed in Kraków, although it is necessary to search further back in time for its roots.

JANUSZ GRZYWACZ, LABORATORIUM 's leader, made his first steps in the musical world in Kraków. During his time at high school he regularly lead and performed in bands: OMIACZE, LAMPARTY, TYTANI. MAREK STRYSZOWSKI, GRZYWACZ's neighbour and school companion, also played in these bands. At the time GRZYWACZ also had connections with Kraków's cabaret scene and the emerging STU Theatre.Later during his college years (Polish studies), JANUSZ GRZYWACZ formed LABORATORIUM. Eventually a five-person line-up came about: JANUSZ GRZYWACZ (piano), MIECZYSLAW GÓRKA (drums), WACLAW LOZIÑSKI (flute), EDMUND MACIWODA (bass, soon to be replaced by MACIEJ GÓRSKI) and MAREK STRYSZOWSKI, (vocals, bassoon which was later replaced by sax). Their music soon developed in jazz rock fusion, and so were pioneers in this music in Poland. LABORATORIUM's live debut was at the Gitariada '71 festival.

In their first years, LABORATORIUM's music was acoustic, cleverly avoiding any limiting definitions. At the beginning of the 70's there was very limited access to Western recordings but this did not prove an obstacle for the band, because of the musicians searching and experimenting in the field. On the contrary and because of their relative isolation, LABORATORIUM developed an unique sound which was often noted in various critical reviews.

The LABORATORIUM's album debut was released in January 1973, consisting of two tracks recorded in April 1972 in a studio belonging to the PR III of the Polish Radio. The recording session was in fact, an award for taking second place on the Jazz Nad Odra '72 festival. The tracks were noted for their unusual approach both towards harmony and tension-building. The first song 'Choral' included a vocal fragment by MAREK STRYSZOWSKI. Later his singing was to become an important and significant element of LABORATORIUM's music, often utilising electronic voice-modulation effects.

In 1973 LABORATORIUM were awarded first prize of Jazz Nad Odr¹ festival, including an award for the best composition (JANUSZ GRZYWACZ's "Prognoza na jutro"). The prize offered them the chance to move from amateur to professional status. In 1975 CZES£AW NIEMEN offered to cooperate with LABORATORIUM, having recently left his band AEROLIT. NIEMEN performed with LABORATORIUM at a number of musical events, where to showcased music from "Katharsis", and new songs which became the basis for the double-album "Idee Fixe", released a few years later. This partnership was brief with NIEMEN soon forming a new band, leaving LABORATORIUM to follow their own path. However, the later to be international jazz trumpeter, TOMASZ STAÑKO also briefly passed through their ranks, performing together at Zaduszki Jazzowe '75. In the meanwhile LABORATORIUM, had undergone both personnel and musical changes; (JANUSZ GRZYWACZ replaced his acoustic piano for a Fender Rhodes, a novelty in Poland at that time), WACLAW £OZIÑSKI and MACIEJ GÓRSKI were replaced by KRYSZTOF OCIERAÑSKI (known from playing with MAREK GRECHUTA) and his brother PAWEL OCIERAÑSKI, LABORATORIUM's first guitarist. The band's first official album "Modern Pentathlon" was recorded with this line-up.

"Modern Pentathlon" consists of a long, five-part title track "Piêciobój nowoczesny" and four shorter songs, three of which were distinctly funky. Electronically modulated vocalizations by MAREK STRYSZOWSKI are heard on the title track (whose style resembled that of URSZULA DUDZIAK), as well as there being a rich usage of the monophonic Roland synthesizer (played by JANUSZ GRZYWACZ) and accelerated, fragments based on twitchy, pulsating drums, recalling MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA. Importantly, LABORATORIUM clearly retained their artistic identity with all these added various references, demonstrating musical sensitivity and the musicians' skills. "Modern Pentathlon" was released on the Polish Jazz Series (No. 49) in an unbelievable turn round time for the Polish record industry at the time. When there were normal expectations of at least a year between recording and release, this was recorded at the beginning of Summer '76 and launched during the next Jazz Jamboree festival during autumn that year. Another innovation for the Polish record industry was with the album being premiered at the Polish Recordings Hall in Warsaw, with a record-signing. Some years later it was announced that "Modern Pentathlon" had sold well over 115,000 copies! With the success of the album LABORATORIUM perform in Poland and Germany, as well as the exotic Jazz Yatra Festival in 1978 in India, along with CZESLAW NIEMEN's and ZBIGNIEW NAMYSLOWSKI's BANDS.

Before attending the Jazz Yatra Festival, LABORATORIUM found time to record another two albums with an enlarged line-up, with PAWE£ VALDE-NOWAK (congas). During the September 1978 shows in Warsaw's "Akwarium" club was recorded for the Bialy Kruk Czarnego Kr¹¿ka series as "Aquarium Live No. 1", with the aim of capturing the typical atmosphere of the band's live concerts. They also intended to release "Nurek" (recorded at Krakow's Rotunda) through the label, Polskie Nagrania, at the time of the Jazz Yatra festival. Unfortunately it did not work out and instead Helicon (the International Jazz Federation's record label), eventually released "Nurek" with the English title "Diver". In 1979, the Polskie Nagrania label released the group's album "Quasimodo" (Polish Jazz Series, No. 58), while the material meant for Elacoli - "Nogero" (1980) - was released by View Records for the German market. "Quasimodo" contained a few, longer compositions intertwining with various and fascinating miniatures.

The end of the 70s brought further personal changes, original member MIECZYSLAW GÓRKA was replaced by ANDRZEJ MROWIEC, (previously known from MAANAM), as LABORATORIUM's drummer KRYZSZTOF OCIERAÑSKI soon followed moving on to work with ZBIGNIEW NAMYSLOWSKI (replaced by KRZYSZTOF OLESIÑSKI, also of MAANAM), as did his brother PAWEL (replaced by RYSZARD STYLA).

Following a successful appearance at the Zurich Jazz Festival, the Swiss agency Face Music undertook the band's management. AS a result, LABORATORIUM performed fewer shows in Poland, more often visiting the West. During February and March '82 the group recorded its performances in Krakow's STU Theatre, releasing them on the album "The Blue Light Pilot" (lineup: GRZYWACZ, STRYSZOWSKI, STY£A, OLESIÑSKI, MROWIEC). During this period the band's music continued to slowly change along with their instrumentation: GRZYWACZ regularly used a variety of synthesizers, as well as a custom-made 16-step sequencer (the first in Poland). On "The Blue Light Pilot" Thelonious Monk's "Straight No Chaser" appeared (LABORATORIUM had not used any other composer's music previously), arranged in an unique way using that sequencer. The album's title track is an extremely mechanical piece, full of energy, interwoven with various outside musical references. The next album "No. 8" (1984) showed the results of the band's restless search for more original ideas, including their instrumentation. Worthy of mention are the use of a Vocoder, the enrichment of the rhythmic pattern by adding JAN PILCH's various percussion instruments and a guest appearance by violinist JAN BLÊDOWSKI, who was to later toured as part of the band. "Anatomy Lesson", LABORATORIUM's last studio album with original material was prepared two years later, representing another logical progression in their career. For instance, sampled sounds were employed. The album still can intrigue with its variety of its sound, while retaining the typical compactness, characteristic to the band's overall creation.

The group also functioned as the trio of GRZYWACZ, STRYSZOWSKI and PILCH (now a full member), performing at festivals such as Electric Music Island, Wroclaw (1984). Meanwhile, JAN PILCH had become a permanent member of the band. In the last years of activity (including a Swiss tour), LABORATORIUM was supported by JAROSLAW OMIETANA. While there have been occasional reunions, with several stage appearance in the 90's including the celebration of their 25th anniversary (documented by TV documentary "25 Years of Laborka"), when all the band's guitarists appeared together on stage, it may be considered that 1990 was the end of LABORATORIUM's active career.

JANUSZ GRZYWACZ is an active, illustrative musician, he writes for the theatre (with more than 100 premieres) and for the film, he has also released two solo albums "Muzyka osobista" and "Mlynek Kawowy". MAREK STRYSZOWSKI performs with his band LITTLE EGOIST, he's also the boss of a PSJ branch in Krakow. Alas it is impossible to write about all of LABORATORIUM's former musicians, some of whom are still active on the scene, others finished in music. LABORATORIUM gained a solid and unquestionable status in Polish rock and jazz music. JANUSZ GRZYWACZ sums it up: "I think we had our fantastic.- no, not five - eleven minutes, which I sincerely wish to all musicians. We played more than a thousand concerts, were invited by major festivals and recorded 9 albums. I know that such things are impossible to achieve in the jazz market nowadays. I also know that LABORATORIUM never really fell apart, to be honest. It's because that our music is still inside us. In each of us there's still the same way of thinking and playing, the same sensitivity and perspective towards music, which characterized Laborka. And it always will."

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1. Tamboura (8:16)
2. Subo (8:20)
3. Mollzitter (14:19)
4. Baldrian (6:29)
5. Gageg (20:09)

Klaus Dapper - flute & saxophone
Jürgen Havix - guitar & zither
Jürgen (Jogi) Karpenkiel - bass
Walemar (Waldo) Karpenkiel - drums

Progarchives:
"Clearly reminiscent of the ORGANISATION pre-KRAFTWERK sound mixed with the jazzy sound of EMBRYO, KOLLEKTIV plays a rather avant-garde music inspired by both elements of psychedelic music, electronics combined with Jazz interfits.
The band was originally composed of Jogi Karpenkiel (bass) who joined the band "The Phantoms", an utterly pop band who changed their name to become the" Rambo Zambo Bluesband"," Bluesology" and finally ORGANISATION. Jogi Karpenkiel and Klaus Dapper (tenor/baritone/soprano saxes, flutes) got out of "Bluesology" to form the band "The Generals", which will later change their style and will finally start to be known as KOLLEKTIV when both Waldemar Karpenkiel (drums) and Jürgen Havix (guitar, sitar) joined them to form the definitive lineup.

Their self-titled first album is very reminiscent of Kraftwerk's first works, featuring lots of saxophone, guitar solos, flutes and electronic collages in a rather complex structuration that makes their reputation of a Jazz-rock band quite inaccurate and restrictive.
Although this was their sole record released in the 70's, some live sessions recorded in those years were recently issued on cd by the "Long Hair Music" label such as the "SWF-Sessions Volume 5" or the "Live 1973" concert records which feature excellent remasterised sound of old hidden masterpieces.

KOLLEKTIV are an important obscure short-lived Krautrock band that unfortunately broke out after their first release (Jogi Karpenkiel will later join GURU GURU).
Recommended for those interested in the more Jazz fusion-oriented bands of Krautrock!"

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1. Gure Lekukotasuna 05:00
2. Hi 02:12
3. Kanpo 03:24
4. Xileko Langileria 05:28
5. Nagusiaren Nigarrak 05:07
6. Euskadi 01:34
7. Aitarik Ez Dut 07:20
8. Lantegiko hamar mandamentuak 04:55
9. Nora goaz 03:56
10. Gure zortea 01:26

Beñat Amorena - drums and vocals,
Mikel Ducau - vocals, acoustic and electric guitar and keyboards,
Anje Duhalde - guitar and voclas
Mikel Halty - bass

Progarchives:
"After the death of Franco in 75, Spain started enjoying a cultural revolution, with the youth expressing themselves in a rocky manner, but a few years behind. Sure there were some rock and jazz-rock groups that took advantage of the last years of the regime, which slowly loosening its strong conservative/fascist grip, because of tourism bringing fresh amounts of cash to a country that was isolated for three decades. But the full explosion of the progressive movement happened in the second half of the decade, and the different regions of Spain, where now making obvious references to their musical traditions. One of the regions that suffered the worst in Spain was the Basque Provinces, and as soon as the regime folded, there came about a flood of folk artists, and a few groups that mixed the folk music with a rock format. In the following years, bands like Izukaitz, Haizea, Itoiz, Itziar and Errobi all releazsed a few albums that can be regarded as folk prog gems.

Errobi was one of the longer-lasting of those groups and certainly the most adventurous or at least the widest-spectrummed. Mixing more easily straight ahead rock with their Basque folk rock, their sound was consequently different than the other above-mentioned groups. Their first two are definitive Errobi sounds, but they will record albums until the mid-80's, but by then they had substantially changed."

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1. Mais Que Nada 2:37
2. One Note Samba/Spanish Flea 1:45
3. Bim Bom 1:52
4. Look Around 2:58
5. (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay 3:09
6. Watch What Happens 2:44
7. With a Little Help from My Friends 2:33
8. The Look of Love 2:42
9. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) 3:52
10. Wave 2:15
11. After Midnight 3:53
12. Chelsea Morning 2:59
13. The Fool on the Hill 3:10
14. For What It's Worth 3:41
15. Day Tripper 3:04
16. Crystal Illusions (Memorias de Marta Sare) 7:47
17. País Tropical 2:44
18. Ye-Me-Le 2:25
19. Laia Ladaia (Reza) 3:10
20. Promise of a Fisherman 2:55
21. After Sunrise 3:22

AMG:
"Covering the extent of Brasil '66's output from 1966-1972, Four Sider is the best available retrospective for those new to Mendes' successful Brazilian pop outfit (the 45-song Very Best of Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 offers a more comprehensive, yet potentially daunting overview). Typical of the band's original albums, Four Sider includes a mix of Brazilian material and '60s pop hits. Also on display is Mendes' winning blend of bossa nova rhythms and lounge-a-go-go elements (churning organ riffs and rock basslines), complimented by a variety of percussion, airy vocal harmonies, and his own jazz-informed keyboard contributions and horn charts. Highlights include renditions of the Beatles' "Nowhere Man" and Joni Mitchell's "Chelsea Morning," in addition to several Brazilian hits, like Jorge Ben's "Mais Que Nada" and Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Wave." Other Brazilian luminaries are represented as well, including Edu Lobo, Dori Caymmi, and Oscar Neves, not to mention Mendes himself ("Look Around"). Wrapping up the set are a few Brasil '77 cuts, which spotlight the post-bossa nova sounds of tropicalismo (Ben's "Pais Tropical" and Mendes' "Promise of a Fisherman"). This is a fine collection; one that shows Mendes wasn't simply another space-age bachelor, but an innovative musician and arranger as well."

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1. Waterfall 4:38
2. The Light Still Shines 5:00
3. Sector 17 8:06
4. Throw Myself to the Wind 4:01
5. I Couldn't Write and Tell You 9:45
6. Your City Is Falling 5:47
7. What Did I Say About the Box, Jack? 20:2

Dick Morrissey - Flute, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor)
Dave Quincy - Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor)
John Mealing - Keyboards, Vocals
Terry Smith - Guitar
Jim Richardson - Bass
Dennis Elliott - Drums

AMG:
"Europe '72 consists of four alternate takes from the "live in the studio" sessions which produced If's fourth album, Waterfall, and three extended tracks recorded in concert. Singer J. W. Hodkinson is less effective on the in-concert recordings, straining to be heard above the band in the live context. However, the playing is hot throughout, showing what a potent force the band was during its too-short existence. "What Did I Say About the Box, Jack," a highlight from the debut album, is stretched out over twenty minutes here, providing each of these fine musicians plenty of opportunity to show his chops. Although it's not the place for the uninitiated to start (the first album is the one), Europe '72 is a welcome addition to the recorded legacy of this excellent jazz-rock septet."

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1. Red Sun (8:55)
2. Bubbles (3:50)
3. Watcha Trying To Do? (3:53)
4. I Wanna Scream (2:43)
5. Gravedigger (20:48)

Colin Orr - guitar, keyboards
Roy Yates - classical guitar
Bruno Lord - vocals
Derek Hyatt - vocals
Mick Pederby - bass
Keith Bonthrone - drums

Progarchives:
"70's British heavy-progressive-kraut sounding band featuring catchy fuzz guitars, hard rockin' vocals and many improvised moments. The band only published one album in 1972."

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1. Ensenada 8:15
2. Mappo 8:30
3. Excursion 4:52
4. Past + Present = Future 1:52
5. The Jewel in the Lotus 10:02
6. Winds of Change 1:30
7. Song for Tracie Dixon Summers 5:19
8. Past Is Past 3:57

Bennie Maupin - Flute, Chimes, Clarinet (Bass), Glockenspiel, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor)
Charles Sullivan - Trumpet
Herbie Hancock - Piano
Buster Williams - Bass
Billy Hart - Drums
Frederick Waits - Drums, Marimba
Bill Summers - Percussion

AMG:
"Jazz -funk fans must have been taken aback when multi-instrumentalist and composer Bennie Maupin's Jewel in the Lotus was released by Manfred Eicher's ECM imprint in 1974. For starters, it sounded nothing like Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters recording, which had been released the year before to massive sales and of which Maupin had been such an integral part. Head Hunters has remained one of the most reliable sales entries in Columbia's jazz catalog into the 21st century. By contrast, Jewel in the Lotus sounded like an avant-garde jazz record, but it stood outside that hard-line camp, too, because of its open and purposeful melodies that favored composition and structured improvising over free blowing. Jazz after 1970 began to move in so many directions simultaneously it must have felt like it was tearing itself apart rather than giving birth to so many new and exciting musics. Considered carefully, however, Jewel in the Lotus was the perfect realization of the skills acquired by Maupin from the mid-'60s on, when he had played in bands led by Marion Brown, McCoy Tyner, and Pharoah Sanders. He'd even recorded an album under his own name in 1967 entitled Almanac. Maupin was first heard by the masses, however, when he played bass clarinet on the landmark Bitches Brew session by Miles Davis, and as a member of Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi and Sextant groups. He was the lone holdover when Hancock formed the Headhunters, who blasted their way onto FM radio and into the ears of fans who also dug Earth, Wind & Fire and P-Funk.

Maupin's band for this set contained close friends and musical allies encountered over the years. For starters, fellow Headhunter Bill Summers and Hancock himself are on this date, with drummer Billy Hart and versatile electric and acoustic bassist Buster Williams, who were both members of the earlier Hancock group. The other drummer on the set (there was one in the right and one in the left channel), the criminally under-recorded Frederick Waits, was a former skin man for Motown and John Lee Hooker who Maupin knew from his hometown in Detroit. Charles Sullivan, who plays trumpet on two cuts, was someone Maupin encountered in his travels in New York and jammed with. Jewel in the Lotus is not exactly a "lost" jazz classic. ECM kept it in print for many years on vinyl, but 2007 saw its first official CD release. That said, it has been traded widely on the Internet and vinyl copies of any edition command major dollars in record stores and in online auctions. There is good reason for this: it is a classic of 1970s spiritual jazz, and as much as any recording on Strata East or Black Jazz, Maupin's ECM offering is a wonder of arrangement and composition with gorgeous ensemble play, long yet sparse passages, space, and genuine strangeness. Maupin plays all of his reeds and flute in addition to glockenspiel here; Summers' percussion effects include a water-filled garbage can. The two drummers swirling around in different channels don't ever play the same thing, but counter and complement one another. And Hancock plays some of the most truly Spartan and lyrically modal piano in his career here.

From the six seconds of silence that introduce the percussive beginnings of "Ensenada," with Williams' acoustic bass on a pulse line, Waits' marimba inside a tight scale, Summers' bells, and Hancock's ghostly piano, you know you are on a journey. It doesn't matter whether that music is jazz, classical, or avant-garde. It's a journey into sound and silence. When Maupin on flute fronts the rest of the group as they enter with long-held notes and Hart begins flitting around the top with sticks playing the rims of his tom-toms, the magic is already transpiring. The music is somewhere in the twilight, perhaps better yet in the first emerging pink of a new day, where everything seems transparent because it is partially hidden from view. The ringing ostinato Hancock introduces about halfway through in the middle register is rhythmic, not melodic. The melody is so restrained it only engages one note at a time, held almost interminably but seductively. The beginning of "Mappo," by contrast, is almost startling: as both drummers move through and around the front line, Williams bows his bass at the lower end of its register, and Hancock begins to dramatically play his bottom register keys, Maupin's saxophone enters -- masculine, definitive, and pronounced -- before it gives way to space and his flute. Rhythms and themes shift and more notes are introduced, but they are still skeletally structured. Themes give way to the return of others, and everything becomes circular. The entire track -- regardless of the frenetic but taut percussion and the intense bowing of Williams -- remains in the realm of absolute crystalline beauty.

The elemental concerns of journey and transformation are paramount on the first half of the recording, all the way through the brief ostinato tune "Past + Present = Future." The primordial moment has been revisited; one listens in the moment and heads toward the sum of the two parts, which becomes almost uncomfortably clear with the introduction of electric piano sounds (think of the score from Tarkovsky's Solaris), slow deep modal lines from Williams, and Maupin's muscular tenor -- but these two give way to brave new sound worlds in the title track. The fact that the vibe remains on the border between light and dark (and nowhere more so than with the bass clarinet lines and flutes in "Winds of Change") doesn't make it a difficult record to listen to. Quite the opposite. Maupin's harmonic explorations may be unfamiliar, even downright strange at times, but they are inviting. The beckon gently; they never assault. Edges are rounded and seductive. "Song for Tracie Dixon Summers" is one of the most haunting and beautiful modal ballads ever written in the modernist jazz literature. The interplay between Williams, Summers, Maupin's saxophone, and Hancock is symbiotic. Sometimes these moments are so dramatic that what the listener hears is the sound of a new world opening up, so that by the time "Past Is Past" closes the set, with its contrapuntal piano and open-key melody, the listener has been taken completely out of the day-to-day, out of the moment and into a new one, where time is formless, free-floating, a stream. Coming back into everyday life with its business can be a bit jarring.

The true worth of Jewel in the Lotus is that perhaps no other bandleader at the time could bring together players from such different backgrounds and relationships to his own musical development and make them interact with one another with material that is scored so closely and whose dynamics and tensions are so pronounced and steady. Maupin was so utterly accomplished as a composer as well as a soloist by this time it comes as a shock that he hadn't been making records regularly -- and even more so that he has only recorded very sporadically as a leader since (only a handful of recordings bear his name on top but they are all as fine as they are different from one another). Jewel in the Lotus is a true jazz classic because only jazz was big enough in the early '70s to hold music like this, with all its seeming paradoxes, and recognize it as its own. This album sounds as timeless and adventurous in the present as the day it was released. Amen."

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1. Love Is Such A Good Thing 3:11
2. Injection 1:26
3. Baby Don’t Worry 3:21
4. I’m Glad 2:41
5. Nobody Knows When You’re Down & Out 3:38
6. Please Come Back To Me 3:05
7. We Are Happy 4:22
8. I Gotta Move 2:49
9. There Was A Day 2:44
10. Don’t Let Me Fall 2:47
11. Crumblin’ 2:58
12. Night 8:00
13. Sexy Legs 1:53
14. I Just Can’t Wait 4:54
15. We’re Gonna Make It 2:52
16. Saddy 2:43
17. On The Highway 6:50
18-Rock & Roll Medley 14:07

Beer Klaase - Drums, Percussion
Frank Nuyens - Gitarre, Gesang
Peter Vink - Bass, Gesang
Wim Bieler - Gesang, Harmonica
Joop Roelofs - Gitarre, Gesang
+
Rinus Gerritsen - Keyboards, Gesang
Barry Hay – Gesang, Flöte
Hannie Bieler - Gesang
Neil Vink - Gesang
Josette Nuyen - Gesang

Wikipedia:
"Q65 was formed in early 1965 when guitarists Joop Roelofs and Frank Nuyens decide to start a band with singer Willem Bieler. The line-up is completed by bass player Peter Vink and drummer Jay Baar. The band is inspired by Rhythm and Blues traditionals and the songs of Robert Johnson and Willie Dixon as well as The Kinks, The Animals and The Rolling Stones. Q65 started their performances in the Spring of 1965. During a concert at skating rink De Eenhoorn, they met producer Peter Koelewijn. Very impressed by their show, he invited them to an audition at the Phonogram studio, where they record two of their own songs: And Your Kind and You're The Victor. Koelewijn decided to release them on vinyl.
In January 1966, their debut single You're The Victor was released and later peaked at #11 on the Dutch Top 40. Then Hans van Hemert replaced Koelewijn. Two other chart toppers reached the Dutch charts the same year: The Life I Live (#5) and I Despise You (#19). Under Van Hemert's guidance their first album entitled Revolution was recorded and released by Decca Records. In 1967, they topped the charts once again with the singles From Above (#13) and World of birds (#8). Due to drug problems and military service duties of singer Wim Bieler, Q65 disbanded in 1968.
Q 65 reformed in 1970 with Beer Klaasse on drums, and signed to Negram Records, staying together for one year and two LPs, Afghanistan and We Are Gonna Make It, which had a slightly more psychedelic orientation. The Q 65's line-up changed during the early 1970s as Nuyens exited to join Baar in a band called Rainman, while Q 65 continued with a new line-up, featuring John Frederikz on vocals and Joop van Nimwegan on guitar. The original Q 65 reunited in 1980 and toured that year. The group continued in various configurations throughout the middle of the 1980's. Jay Baar passed away in 1990, but a version of the band, with Wim Bieler as leader, continued playing into 1990's."

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1. Have Mercy 8:00
2. Jubilation 8:31
3. Confession 6:52
4. Prayer 10:58
5. Offering 3:33
6. Hosanna 7:34

Pierre Henry - Synthesizer
Gary Wright - Keyboards, Vocals
Luther Grosvenor - Guitar
Mike Harrison - Keyboards, Vocals
Andy Leigh - Bass
Mike Kellie - Drums

AMG:
"This is unlike any other release by an English band normally rooted in the blues. Think of it as Spooky Tooth's version of Concerto for Group and Orchestra by Deep Purple. After two or three promising blues-based rock releases, one member of the band somehow convinces the others to go for a wildly ambitious, experimental concept album. Jon Lord persuaded Deep Purple to dive into the deep end, and Gary Wright got Spooky Tooth to welcome Frenchman Pierre Henry for this electronic mass. Wright left the band after Ceremony and Lord never had the same influence on Purple again as Ritchie Blackmore led them to heavy metal glory."

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1. Hello, Hello 2:27
2. Frantic Desolation 2:15
3. Saga of the Low Down Let Down 1:48
4. Little Orphan Annie 2:53
5. You Always Tell Me Baby 1:47
6. Maybe in a Dream 2:02
7. Cellophane Woman 2:27
8. The Things That I Could Do With You 2:12
9. Walk in the Park 2:25
10. The Great Morpheum 2:57
11. Postcard from Jamaica 2:25

Peter Kraemer - vocals, saxophone
Terry MacNeil - guitar
William Sievers - guitar
Martin Beard - bass
Norm Mayell - drums

AMG:
"From the fertile San Francisco ballroom scene, the Sopwith Camel emerged in 1966 with a refreshingly melodic spin on the overamplified electric kool-aid coming from their psychedelic peers the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Quicksilver Messenger Service. The band's name was almost snatched by Bay Area concert impresario Chet Helms, who was looking for a catchy moniker to promote the new blues-based group being fronted by Janis Joplin and eventually settled on Big Brother & the Holding Company. Unfortunately, the band has suffered the double indignation of either being cast in the same lot as its trippy hippie counterparts or as sunshine pop lightweights -- neither of which is wholly accurate. Their one hit -- the title track, "Hello, Hello" -- did reach the Top Ten. However, its style was more akin to the retro-schmaltz served up by the New Vaudeville Band or Harpers Bizarre than any of the other tracks on the long-player. Sporting two- and three-minute pop songs, the Sopwith Camel had more in common with bands such as the Charlatans or Notes From the Underground than the Dead or the Airplane. They could rock out, as the acid blues "Cellophane Woman" and the guitar solo in "Frantic Desolation" prove. However, a majority of their material is a variation of the same well-crafted pop songs that their Kama Sutra labelmates the Lovin' Spoonful were churning out. Both "You Always Tell Me Baby" and "Maybe in a Dream" contain some interesting chord changes and vocal harmonies that invite comparison to Curt Boettcher's Sagittarius project. The band has reformed several times since the late '60s. A 1972 reunion yielded the LP The Miraculous Hump Returns From the Moon -- which was reissued on CD by the band in 2002."

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1. Over the Rainbow 3:52
2. Stormy Weather 4:21
3. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea 2:01
4. It Was Written in the Stars 4:29
5. As Long as I Live 4:03
6. That Old Black Magic 3:02
7. The Morning After 3:18
8. A Sleepin' Bee 5:29
9. Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive 2:56
10. Goose Never Be a Peacock 3:55
11. I Wonder What Became of Me 3:23
12. It's Only a Paper Moon 2:41
13. Two Ladies in de Shade of de Banana Tree 2:13
14. Cocoanut Sweet 5:30
15. Right as the Rain 3:28
16. I've Got the World on a String 3:43
17. Come Rain or Come Shine 4:13
18. This Time the Dream's on Me 3:34
19. Let's Take a Walk Around the Block 5:39
20. Last Night When We Were Young 2:46

Sylvia McNair - Vocals
André Previn - Piano
David Finck - Bass

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1. The Sidewinder
2. Tokyo Blues
3. Cool Struttin'
4. Song For My Father
5. Watermelon Man
6. The Preacher
7. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
8. Moanin'
9. Doodlin'
10. Blues March

Benny Green - Piano
Christian McBride - Bass
Carl Allen - Drums

AMG:
"Although not yet an innovator himself, Benny Green has managed to combine the styles of Bobby Timmons, Wynton Kelly, Gene Harris, and especially Oscar Peterson in his playing; his fast octave runs are often wondrous. He grew up in Berkeley and played as a teenager with Joe Henderson and Woody Shaw. After moving to New York, he spent important periods with Betty Carter (1983-1987) and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (1987-1989), becoming quite well-known during the latter association. In addition to working with Freddie Hubbard, Green popped up in many bop-oriented settings for a few years before joining Ray Brown's Trio in 1992. At the same time, he has worked with his own trio, which originally included Christian McBride and Carl Allen. When Oscar Peterson was asked in 1992 to name his protégé for a concert, Green was his choice. Benny Green has recorded for Criss Cross and Blue Note in addition to his work with Ray Brown on Telarc and his earlier Blakey dates."

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1. I Sing the Blues 5:42
2. Love and Happiness 4:24
3. Evening of Love 3:35
4. Wet Match 2:59
5. You're Taking Up Another Man's Place 3:40
6. Give It Up 3:38
7. Let It Rock 3:27
8. Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won't Do) 2:58
9. You've Got Me 4:09
10. Night Time Is the Right Time 5:03
11. Down Home Blues 4:39

Etta James - Vocals
Steve Winwood - Vocals
Hank Crawford - Sax (Alto)
Harvey Thompson - Sax (Tenor)
Jim Horn - Sax (Baritone)
Mike Haynes - Trumpet
Gary Armstrong - Trumpet
Jelly Roll Johnson - Harmonica
Lucky Peterson - Organ, Guitar
Frank Crawford - Synthesizer
Clayton Ivey - Piano
Will McFarlane - Guitar (Acoustic)
Jay Jesse Johnson - Guitar
Jimmy Johnson - Guitar
Steve Cropper - Guitar
David Hood - Bass
Willie Weeks - Bass
Steve Ferrone - Drums
Roger Hawkins - Drums
Tom Roady - Percussion
Marie Lewey - Vocals (bckgr)
George Soulé - Vocals (bckgr)
Cindy Richardson Walker - Vocals (bckgr)


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1. Chick Corea 5:00
2. Bill Evans 3:17
3. Cornucopia 4:56
4. Turnaround 5:45
5. Folk Song 6:48
6. Psalm 3:43
7. Ghost of Triengen 4:51
8. Softly as You Go 3:26
9. Like This 4:15
10. Romans (Writen for John McLaughlin) 2:58
11. Heart to Heart 5:50
12. You're Everything 4:56
13. Blues for Liebestraum 3:30

Andy LaVerne - Organ, Piano
John Abercrombie - Guitar
Mark Egan - Bass
Marc Johnson - Bass
Danny Gottlieb - Percussion, Drums

AMG:
"A fine keyboardist who has ranged in styles from Bill Evans to Chick Corea and fusion, Andy LaVerne has managed to avoid predictability throughout his career. He began studying as a classical piano student at Juilliard when he was eight. After discovering jazz, LaVerne had some important lessons from Bill Evans. He toured with Woody Herman's big band (1973-1975), played with John Abercrombie, and Miroslav Vitous, and was with Stan Getz's group during 1977-1980, often playing electric piano. In the 1980s, he performed with the Brubeck-LaVerne Trio (which also featured Chris and Dan Brubeck), recorded a tribute to Chick Corea for DMP, and became a busy jazz educator. In the 1990s, LaVerne has concentrated on acoustic piano, recording a solo concert at Maybeck Recital Hall. Through the years, Andy LaVerne has recorded as a leader for Storyville (1977), Jazzline, SteepleChase, DMP, Triloka, Concord, and some smaller labels."

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Side 1 20:32
Side 2 20:38

David Bedford - Organ, Flute, Piano, Violin, Chimes, Cymbals, Gong
Mike Oldfield - Guitars
Robert Powell - Narrator
Lucy Blackburn - Vocals
Diane Coulson - Vocals
Queens College Choir - Vocals

AMG:
"Not strictly speaking a rock piece, this work started life as a children's opera but reached the world as a finished recording. The music mixes avant-garde and rock elements in what, by the standards of typical progressive rock, was fairly daring form -- the dissonant elements were challenging, and Robert Powell's narration demanded that the music be used for something more than listeners' druggy diversions. Most of it is engaging and diverting, and all of it makes Tubular Bells look amateurish by comparison."
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1. Evening Calm 4:29
2. The Only Name Missing Is... 4:24
3. Always You 3:01
4. Sunset in My Heart 4:37
5. Secret Island 3:49
6. Cool Shadow 3:17
7. Manhattan in Blue 4:11
8. A Letter from September 4:15
9. Sunshine Street 4:49
10. Moon Flower 4:31
11. Ocean Side 4:14
12. Autumn Place 4:54
13. Stardust 3:19
14. Be Mine 1:25

Yoshi Malta - Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano)
Oscar Castro-Neves - Guitar (Acoustic)
Eric Gale - Guitar (Electric)
Don Grusin - Synthesizer, Piano
Nathan East - Bass (Electric)
Paulinho Da Costa - Percussion, String Section
and others

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