The Samurai of Prog • Crossover Prog

The Samurai of Prog biography (http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=6659)

Multinational ensemble THE SAMURAI OF PROG was formed sometime around 2009 as a project lead by Finland-based Italian composer and bassist Marco Bernard. He's been active in the Finnish Association for Progressive Music since 1995, and have been involved in their Colossus Magazine since 1996 - and instrumental in the Colossus series of theme albums they have created in cooperation with French label Musea Records.

It was for a contribution to one of those projects that The Samurai of Prog was born, and joining Bernard as permanent members we find US artist Steve Unruh and Finnish drummer Kimmo Pörsti. Besides this core trio, the philosophy of this band appears to be to involve additional musicians as needed and wanted, and their debut effort Undercover from 2011 bears testimony to that line of thinking, with a list of guest appearances impressive in length, scope as well as quality.

The Samurai of Prog official website

The Imperial Hotel (2014)

THANKS MAGAL

Brian Davison - The NICE Drummer

Brian Davison (25 May 1942 – 15 April 2008), nicknamed "Blinky", was a British drummer, best known for his work in The Nice. He was born in Leicester and died in Horns Cross, Bideford, Devon. In the late 1950s, Davison played drums in various skiffle groups in and around the youth clubs in north-west London, especially around Baker Street. He rose to prominence drumming in the 1960s in Mark Leeman Five and then progressive rock group Shinn with keyboard player Don Shinn and bassist Paul Newton (later with Uriah Heep) and finally The Nice with keyboardist Keith Emerson, guitarist David O'List and bassist Lee Jackson.

After the breakup of The Nice, Davison formed a short-lived band called Brian Davison's Every Which Way featuring ex-Skip Bifferty lead singer Graham Bell. The band broke up after one album. He then joined Jackson and keyboardist Patrick Moraz in Refugee. Refugee released one album, Refugee on Charisma Records, with music was composed by Moraz with lyrics from Jackson. An archival live album recorded at Newcastle City Hall (a soundboard recording, taken from Davison's private collection) was released in 2007. Jackson subsequently played in Gong before leaving the music business for a period.

In 2002 he and his bandmates Jackson and Emerson resurfaced to reform The Nice and, together with guitarist Dave Kilminster, performed a four-date reunion tour. A three-disk box-set album, Vivacitas, recorded at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, was released in September 2003.

Davison taught drumming to pupils at Bideford College. He died on 15 April 2008 at his home in Horns Cross near Bideford in Devon.

Brian Davison's Every Which Way (1970)

Personnel:

- Brian Davison - drums, percussion, producer

- Graham Bell - electric piano, acoustic guitar, lead vocals

- Geoffrey Peach - reeds, flute, backing vocals

- Alan Cartwright - bass

- John Hedley - lead guitar

THANKS PETER!!!

A Triggering Myth - Jazz Rock (USA)

A Triggering Myth continues to be Tim Drumheller and Rick Eddy. So says the liner notes of this, their third album. Hailing from Massachusetts, the duo also continues to make music much the same as their first two albums. Plenty of light, busy keyboards, programmed percussion and some secondary guitar counterpoint. The music is rhythmically very deliberate, always rolling along and moving forward fluidly. Melodies seem laid on top of this foundation on an as-needed basis. In many ways, this music feels like a Kit Watkins release, but with a bit less strength in chord progression and melody. Several guests appear, giving the album more of a band feel than a pure duo. Of interest are the live guitarist and drummer who appear on the Demetrios Stratos tribute track "Il Voce," which features a whirling middle-eastern riff that harkens the glory days of Area. Of course the musicianship here is less than the mighty Area, but it's still one of the finest moments on this disc. The title suite closes the album out nicely, but when all is said and done, one can't help wishing these guys would just go all out and cut loose for once. This is a fine album, but could have been even better if they would occasionally turn up the heat. If you've enjoyed their previous two efforts, Between Cages will certainly not disappoint.

http://www.expose.org/index.php/articles/display/a-triggering-myth-between-cages-3.html

Between Cages (1995)

The Pinapple Thief - Prog Rock (England)

The Pineapple Thief is a progressive rock band, started by Bruce Soord in 1999 in Somerset, England.

Founder Bruce Soord started "The Pineapple Thief" as an outlet for his music back in 1999. Bruce released the debut Abducting the Unicorn on Cyclops records, which created enough interest to establish a small but loyal fan base. Soord returned to the Dining Room studios to work on the second album 137. During this time, several major labels started to take an interest, causing a delay in the release which arrived over two years after the debut. However it was probably the third album, Variations on a Dream that gave TPT the boost they needed, reaching out to yet more people all over the world, by which point TPT were consistently the top sellers on their label, Cyclops.

After this release in the spring of 2002 Bruce decided to form a band to take his music to the fans. The band consisted of his close musical friends - former university band mate Jon Sykes on bass, Wayne Higgins on guitars, Matt O'Leary on keyboards and Keith Harrison on drums. As a full band, they released 12 Stories Down in 2004, but Bruce Soord was unhappy with the final sound and re-recorded, remixed and changed some of the tracks before the release of 10 Stories Down in 2005. Matt O'Leary subsequently left the band, but Steve Kitch (who co-produced and mixed 10 Stories Down) joined to play keyboards.

Following the release of Little Man in 2006, the band released What We Have Sown in late 2007 as a final Cyclops release before being signed to Kscope, a division of Snapper Music.

Wayne Higgins left the band in March 2008, but the group continued as a four-piece live act, playing gigs across Europe, Canada and the US throughout much of the following years.

In May 2008, The Pineapple Thief launched the Kscope label with the critically acclaimed album, Tightly Unwound, which was marked by launch shows at Witchwood in Manchester on 17 May 2008 and at the Water Rats Theatre in London on 22 May 2008. The same day as the album's release, a mini-documentary filmed at The Half Moon, London, was released through the band's website, featuring interviews and two exclusive live tracks.

This was followed in 2009 by The Dawn Raids EPs and 3000 Days, a 2-CD re-mixed and re-mastered collection of songs from their ten-year history to date. In January 2010, their 2006 album, Little Man was also fully remixed by Bruce Soord and Steve Kitch and released through Kscope with new artwork. There are plans to gradually give all of their back catalogue the same treatment as the Cyclops albums are no longer available and sell for large sums in the second hand market. 2009 also saw them supporting Riverside on the UK leg of their European tour.

Someone Here Is Missing was launched at a show at Bush Hall, London on 19 May 2010, whose attendees included Kscope labelmates Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree and Daniel Cavanagh of Anathema. The album also features artwork by the legendary designer Storm Thorgerson. The album continues to nurture the band's trademark ‘bittersweet’ progressive sound.

2010 saw a number of European festival appearances and a full 2-week tour of mainland Europe. This was recorded and released as the download-only album Someone Here Is Live.

The band entered the studio in January 2012 to record their ninth album, which included (for the first time) a 22-piece orchestra and choir. All the Wars was released in September 2012 and followed by a UK tour.

On 8 February 2014 the band announced that Dan Osborne had replaced Keith Harrison on drums.

The Pineapple Thief's tenth studio album, titled Magnolia, was released on 15 September 2014. It peaked at number 55 on UK Album Chart

In August 2016 the band released the album Your Wilderness through Kscope.

Your Wilderness (2016)

FLAC

Frank Zappa History: The Family Tapes - Chapter XV

Voltamos mais uma vez com este interminável POST!!! Mais três grandes obras do mestre da guitarra e da irreverência. 

From (http://www.zappa.com/news/meat-light-chicago-78-and-little-dots-out-now)

The Zappa Family Trust is continuing its excavation and rescue of the vast musical treasures buried in Frank Zappa’s extensive vault with the release of the highly-anticipated albums, Meat Light, Chicago ’78 and Little Dots, out now via Zappa Records/UMe. 

Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention’s experimental double-album Uncle Meat has received the Project/Object Audio Documentary deluxe treatment as Meat Light, a three-disc set that includes the original 1969 vinyl mix (restored, remastered and available on CD and digitally for the first time), Zappa’s never-before-released original sequence and a variety of unreleased rare alternate mixes, live performances, and studio session outtakes. Chicago ’78 continues Zappa’s Vaulternative Records live releases with an incredible previously unreleased concert recorded at the Uptown Theater in Chicago on September 29, 1978, captured here in its entirety. Little Dots, the sequel to 2006’s fan-favorite Imaginary Diseases, features additional hand-picked selections from the Maestro himself of the 10-piece horn-driven ensemble ‘Petit Wazoo’ tour of late 1972.

Meat Light The Uncle Meat Project Object

THE MOTHERS at the time of this recording were:

FRANK ZAPPA — guitar, low grade vocals, percussion

RAY COLLINS — swell vocals

JIMMY CARL BLACK — drums, droll humor, poverty

ROY ESTRADA — electric bass, cheeseburgers, Pachuco falsetto

DON (Dom De Wild) PRESTON — electric piano, tarot cards, brown rice

BILLY (The Oozer) MUNDI — drums on some pieces before he quit to join RHINOCEROS

BUNK (Sweatpants) GARDNER — piccolo, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano sax, alto sax, tenor sax, bassoon (all of these electric and/or nonelectric depending)

IAN UNDERWOOD — electric organ, piano, harpsichord, celeste, flute, clarinet, alto sax, baritone sax, special assistance, copyist, industrial relations & teen appeal

ARTIE (With the Green Mustache) TRIPP — drums, timpani, vibes, marimba, xylophone, wood blocks, bells, small chimes, cheerful outlook & specific enquires

EUCLID JAMES (Motorhead/Motorishi) SHERWOOD — pop star, frenetic tenor sax stylings, tambourine, choreography, obstinance & equipment setter-upper when he’s not hustling local groupies

Special Thanks to:

RUTH KOMANOFF who plays marimba and vibes with Artie on many of the tracks,

and

NELCY WALKER the soprano voice with Ray & Roy on Dog Breath & The Uncle Meat Variations.

Meat Light sheds light on Zappa’s 1969 avant-garde opus Uncle Meat - an album created with The Mothers Of Invention to serve as the soundtrack to a film that was not finished until the ‘80s. One of the last releases that Zappa’s late wife Gail Zappa worked on with Vaultmiester Joe Travers, the three-disc Project/Object Audio Documentary collects the original 1969 vinyl mix of the album with the original sequence Zappa conceived before he turned it into the masterwork, along with unique source material and bonus vault tracks mostly compiled from the recording sessions at Apostolic Studios in NYC between 1967-68. 

Long hailed for its innovation and experimentation, Zappa experimented with tape speed, overdubbing and a collage of sounds. As he wrote in the original liner notes: “The music on this album was recorded over a period of 5 months from October 1967 to February 1968. Things that sound like a full orchestra were carefully assembled, track by track through a procedure known as overdubbing. The weird middle section of DOG BREATH (after the line, “Ready to attack”) has forty tracks built into it. Things that sound like trumpets are actually clarinets played through a Maestro with a setting labeled Oboe D’Amore and sped up a minor third with a V.S.O. (variable speed oscillator).” “Uncle Meat documents the original Mothers at the telepathic height of their musical powers,” exclaimed Dangerous Minds. “The album’s aural collage of short, sharp shocks of avant garde musical interludes, doo-wop, free jazz, spoken word bits, cartoony music and far-out concert recordings were the fullest expression at that point of the young composer’s genius.” 

Chicago '78

Players:

Frank Zappa - Guitar, Vocals

Ike Willis - Guitar, Vocals

Denny Walley - Slide Guitar, Vocals

Tommy Mars - Keyboards, Vocals

Peter Wolf - Keyboards

Ed Mann - Percussion, Vocals

Arthur Barrow - Bass, Vocals

Vinnie Colaiuta - Drums, Vocals

Recorded September 29, 1978 at the Uptown Theatre in Chicago, the aptly-titled two-disc album, Chicago ’78, captures the second of two shows played that night in its entirety, in great sound quality. The concert delivers with a good blend of fan favorites, blistering guitar solos, audience participation, on-the-spot improvisations and stellar playing from Zappa and his talented band.  Notably, the album includes rare live versions of “Yo Mama” and “Strictly Genteel” and a spontaneous improv by Zappa where he plays riffs that would end up turning into the future songs “I’m A Beautiful Guy” and “Crew Slut.”

In order to present this show in its entirety, it was culled from the three different sources: Main Source: ½-inch 4-Track analog tape masters; Secondary sources: ¼-inch 2-Track reel to-reel analog tape masters and a board cassette. All tapes were heat-treated and transferred at 96K 24B WAV by Joe Travers.

Little Dots

Players:

Frank Zappa - Conductor, Guitar, Vocals

Malcolm McNab - Trumpet

Gary Barone - Trumpet

Tom Malone - Tuba/Saxes/Piccolo Trumpet/Trumpet

Earl Dumler - Woodwinds

Glenn Ferris - Trombone

Bruce Fowler - Trombone

Tony Duran - Slide Guitar

Dave Parlato - Bass

Jim Gordon - Drums, Steel Drum

Maury Baker - Drums, Steel Drum (“Columbia, SC”)

Long sought after by fans, Little Dots is the sequel to Imaginary Diseases. It consists of additional music compiled from master tapes hand-picked and worked on by Zappa himself of the “Petit Wazoo,” a short-lived 10-piece ensemble with an emphasis on brass and woodwind instrumentation that toured North America in late October-December 1972. All masters were transferred at The Utility Muffin Research Kitchen in 2004. Most of these performances were scattered amongst various reels, some incomplete, all found in The Vault. Zappa would work with material from this line-up on and off, but nothing was ever officially released during his lifetime. Recorded live with the horn-driven ensemble, this collection includes the first legitimate release of the entire three-part “Rollo” suite for the first time as well as the title track composition. “Cosmik Debris” is the first version which predates the issued master on Apostrophe(’) in 1974. The album ends with a mammoth 25-minute long improvisation recorded in Columbia, S.C.

E vamos aguardar a próxima....

____________________

ALL ZAPPA IN VALVULADO

Van Der Graaf Generator - The 13th

Do Not Disturb is the thirteenth studio album by British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was released, on Esoteric Recordings, on 30 September 2016.

Reviewing the album for TeamRock, Kris Needs said:

If, as Peter Hammill has indicated, this is the last Van der Graaf album, these winners of Prog’s Lifetime Achievement award this year are going out with the kind of mind-joltingly gorgeous roller coaster that made them one of the greatest genuinely progressive bands of all time. But there’s also a noticeably reflective aura and sense of closure around their 13th album, which came about by Hammill sending organist Hugh Banton and drummer Guy Evans a CD of the new songs, which they spent a week rehearsing, another week recording backing tracks, then six months overdubbing and tweaking at their home studios.

Reviewing the album for RTE, Paddy Kehoe said:

There is sometimes on the album a languorous air of Pink Floyd’s haunted pastoralism, or you could imagine Floyd’s keyboards maestro, the late Richard Wright singing one or two of the songs. "Alfa Berlina" opens with choral voices looped backwards and traffic noises. “I’ve got a lifetimes library of unreliable mementos” begin the lyrics – these guys have lived, and then some. Forever Falling's Gibson guitar groove is reminiscent of Jethro Tull, and, like many of the others tracks, it suddenly shifts tempo about a minute in. How on earth did they rehearse these things? One gathers a lot of earnest work went into the creation of this record.

"(Oh No I Must Have Said) Yes" is so prog it kind of parodies the genre itself, but then it gets kind of jazz fusion towards the close. There is something fey and pretty about "Brought to Book", with, once again Richard Wright’s spirit somehow wafting about, as it seems to also on the final, wisftul track, "Go". An Interesting vein of songs, an album with a strangely compelling trajectory.

Writing in The Quietus, Richard Rees Jones said:

To a greater extent here than on previous trio outings, VdGG make efforts to compensate for the absence of Jackson with a more varied instrumental palette. These songs are like compressed multi-part epics, lurching deliriously from moments of piano-led tranquillity to ragged guitar-and-drums freakouts. Banton augments his organ work with deep, resonant bass and tender washes of accordion, there’s a (tad overlong, to tell the truth) jazzy break in the middle of the exuberant rocker “(Oh No I Must Have Said) Yes”, while the frenetic instrumental coda to “Almost the Words” is as wild and driven as anything you’ll hear all year. Only on the plaintive closing track “Go” does the mood finally darken, with Hammill’s tone of weary resignation looming over Banton’s desolate organ: “more or less, all for the best, in the end it’s all behind you.”

Inevitably there’s nothing here to rival the dark majesty of Van der Graaf Generator’s classic 1970s work, and newcomers should start with Still Life, Godbluff or Pawn Hearts. But Do Not Disturb is a worthy addition to the group’s canon and – if this is indeed their last album – a fitting end to an illustrious career.

Do Not Disturb (2016)

Este veio do coração de Peter Hammil

Thanks Peter

Abraxis - Jazz Fusion (Belgium)

Charles Loos & Jean Paul Musette founded Abraxis in 1975. In 1977 their 1st album came out and was produced by Les Lundis d'Hortense (LDH) label. Abraxis makes Jazz-rock and follows the way of Weather Report or Hatfield and the North to write music. 

Abraxis might be seen as a Belgian super group as some of the members are coming from great other bands...

Charles Loos (piano, keyboards) -- from COS 

Dirk Bogaert (flute) -- from WATERLOO and PAZOP 

Paul Elias (guitar) 

Jean-Paul Musette (bass) -- from WATERLOO and COS 

Tony Malisan (drums) 

Jacky Mauer (drums) -- from ADAM'S RECITAL, WATERLOO and PAZOP 

Abraxis (1977)

- Charles Loos - keyboards

- Paul Elias - guitar

- Jean-Paul Musette - bass

- Dirk Bogaert - flute

- Jack Mauer - drums

- Tony Malisan - drums (02,04,05,07)

- Les Lundis D'Hortense - producer

Abwдrts - Punk Rock (Germany)

Um EP meio raro, da Alemanha, e da época de ouro das bandas de Punk Rock, já com teclados...

Abwärts:Beirut, Holiday Inn (1982)

The Abstract Sound - EP Rock-USA)

Um EP bem raro...

The Abstract Sound / Abstract Sound

Submitted by Chas Kit on October 23, 2007 - 10:04pm. Abstract Sound | Abstract Sound | US | New Jersey | CBM | Gray Sounds | Sound of Sou Something of a mystery, my understanding is that although their second 45 has a Brooklyn, NY address on the label, the band was actually from Springfield, NJ. The misspelled Your Gona Break My Heart has some cool slide effects on the intro, a fine guitar break and lots of echo. It was released with the band listed as the Abstrack Sound, on the CBM label in 1966, with a moody Judge Him If You Can on the flip. On their second record, the stomping I'm Trying, they're called the Abstract Sound. This one was released twice in 1967, on the Gray Sounds and Sound of Soul labels, and was produced by E. M. Gray. Bill Monetti and C. Catena wrote their songs, along with Denis Dreher on the second 45. However, the Gray Sounds release lists Dreher as co-writing I'm Trying while the Sound of Soul release gives him co-credit on Blacked Out Mind. BMI lists him on both songs along with Monetti, and drops Catena altogether! Obviously someone screwed up the credits somewhere along the way. To make things still more confusing, the labels are reversed on my copy!

FROM: (http://venenosdorock.blogspot.com.br/2012/07/abstract-sound-ep-1967-us-garage-punk.html)

ABSTRACT SOUND

Ablution - Jazz Rock/Fusion • Sweden

Ablution biography (http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=7715)

ABLUTION from Sweden came to be after combining bassist John GUSTAFSON and keyboard player Peter ROBINSON (later in BRAND X) from the heavy prog act QUATERMASS with ex-members of BALTIK: Bjorn J:SON LINDH on flutes, drummer Ola BRUNKERT and guitarist Janne SCHAFFER (best known as a session guitarist for ABBA). Joining them on additional percussions was now deceased Malando GASSAMA and Barry de SOUZA on the trumpet. Together they released one self titled album of progressive fusion with a pronounced funk sound.

Ablution (1974)

Minimum Vital - Eclectic Prog • France

Minimum Vital biography (http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=246)

MINIMUM VITAL creates some very lush vocal textures with very interesting harmonies. The music has some very infectious rhythms. They mix art-rock influences from YES, an amazing virtuosity coming from fusion, many innovations and a deep mark from medieval and southern European traditional musics. From these diverse elements, France's MINIMUM VITAL has certainly its own individuality on the desk of progressive rock. 

"Esprit D'Amor" is certainly the most original expression from the Progressive field of the last ten years! The warm voices and the happy, energetic and direct Progressive music possess a huge musical charisma.

Minimum Vital official website

Pavanes (2015)

Thanks to Fisherman!!!!

Abus Dangereux - Jazz Rock/Fusion • France

Abus Dangereux biography (http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=2799)

Abus Dangereux is the brainchild of Pierrejean Gaucher, the guitarist of the band. His love for music began at age 10 when he received for his birthday the single Let It Be by The Beatles. It made him continue to explore this music and got Deep Purple and Pink Floyd albums. This lead him to listen to prog - Yes, Genesis, King Crimson and from there he got to know fusion and jazz based prog bands such as Soft Machine, Gong, Magma and Mahavishnu Orchestra. However it would take several more years until he became aware of modern jazz. He also started playing a guitar alone in his room at this time. 

At the age of 18 (1977) he started Abus Dangereux. The name was chosen as a reference to a health warning on cigarette packets (the first bassist was a heavy smoker). As he recalls the first album, Le Quatrieme Mouvement, was a band effort in that everyone did their part in composing the tracks. So the heavy fusion and Zeuhl influences are not solely Gaucher's "fault". Looking back or rather listening back, he gives much credit to the keyboardist Eric Bono. However the lineup for the first album was temporary and hired for the studio recording. Only Eric Bono and Laurent Krewina played before with Abus Dangereux. The album itself was recoreded in London at Rockstar studio in December 1979. They had to trim the music from 2 hours to around 40 minutes for the recording. 

This album contains, as Gaucher said in an interview, all the music influences he absorbed until then, which explains the trimming down that was needed. He also states this is an immature album, and finds his guitar playing horrible. And still, he is proud of this album. And he should. This thrilling release has exciting fusion based tracks with Zeuhl references which can be heard in the drumming and bass. 

Between this first album and the next, Gaucher went for six months to Berklee (Boston) to study music where he discovered modern jazz and it inspired him to start composing more jazz-oriented music. In accordance with this, the next albums were more jazz-rock in nature. In the meantime the band dissolved and the only remaining member was Alain Mourey the drummer. 

Abus' instruments included vibes and marimba and in January 1981 Benoit Moerlen joined the group for several shows before the temporary break. However this was to end with the Live album (1985) when the Gaucher shortened the name to Abus (1986) and started using computers and programming in his music. 

The shortening of the name was to reflect the new face of the band, the attempt to reach larger audience and the new sound. In 1991 came the last Abus album, Maneges and a south-American tour. Gaucher was tired with the band and continued with his new project New Trio in which he focused more on his guitar playing. 

Le Quatrieme Mouvement (1980)

Abrax - Psych Afro Funk Fusion (France)

"Excellent psych afro funk fusion, nearly nothing to get rid off on that record !!"

Este é o segundo álbum desta banda francesa com um excelente Jazz Psych Fusion *se é que isso existe)...

Abrax (1972)

Abrax (1970)

________________________________________________________________

WE ARE BACK!!!!!

We will be back SOON!!!