Charles Wright & The Watts - Funk & Soul

Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band is a pioneering American soul and funk band. Formed in the early 1960s, they had the most visibility from 1967 to 1973 when the band had 9 singles reach Billboard's pop and/or rhythm and blues charts, such as "Do Your Thing" (#11 Pop, #12 R&B), "Till You Get Enough" (#12 R&B, #67 Pop), and "Love Land" (R&B #23, Pop #16). They are best known for their biggest hit on Warner Bros. Records, 1970's "Express Yourself" (#3 R&B, #12 Pop), a song that has been sampled by rap group N.W.A and others.

1970 - 103rd Street Rhythm Band - Express Yourself

Bow Wow - Hard Rock (Japan)

Bow Wow is an influential Japanese rock band formed in Japan in 1975. They renamed themselves to Vow Wow in 1984, before moving to England and disbanding in 1990. Guitarist and vocalist Kyoji Yamamoto reformed Bow Wow in 1995 with all new members, before original members Mitsuhiro Saito and Toshihiro Niimi rejoined him three years later.

In Japan their best-selling album is 1990's Mountain Top which reached number 16 on the Oricon chart, and also featured the band's best-selling single "Tell Me". Internationally their best-selling album is Helter Skelter, which reached number 75 on the UK Albums Chart.

1977 - Signal Fire

Arigato, Magal

Condition Green - Rock

Condition Green, a motley band of volume worshipers whose first two albums, Life Of Change and Mixed Up, can (mostly) stand tall amongst the contemporary classics (prime era Grand Funk, Ted Nugent, Mountain, etc.)

Guitarist Shinki (not to be confused with Yokohama guitarist Shinki Chen) in particular is a monster, even if he can get a bit Santana-esque at moments throughout Life Of Change (particularly the back half of "Heart Breaker," and especially on the conga infused "Sugar Baby Good Time.") The group really builds up a serious head of steam on that latter track, starting with a slow, simmering groove that sits somewhere between "Oye Como Va" and "Spooky." You could call this stuff dated, if you're a glass-is-half-empty type, but there's no denying the Allman Brothers boogie of "Trick," or the early Led Zeppelin strut of "Heart Taker."

1978 - Life Of Change

Personnel:

- Katsuhiro "Katchan" Kawamitsu - vocals, congas

- Shinki Sugama - guitar

- Eddie - bass, vocals, piano

- Taake - drums, percussion, vocals

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– Tatsuo Ozu - producer

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Fifty Foot Hose - Psychedelic Experimental Rock (USA)

Fifty Foot Hose is an American psychedelic rock band that formed in San Francisco in the late 1960s, and reformed in the 1990s. They were one of the first bands to fuse rock and experimental music. Like a few other acts of the time (most notably the United States of America), they consciously tried to combine the contemporary sounds of rock with electronic instruments and avant-garde compositional ideas. The original group comprised three core members: founder and bassist Louis "Cork" Marcheschi, guitarist David Blossom, and his wife, vocalist Nancy Blossom, augmented by Kim Kimsey (drums) and Larry Evans (guitar).

Cork Marcheschi (born 1945) grew up in Burlingame, California. In his teens, he performed with the Ethix, who played R&B music in clubs around San Francisco and in Las Vegas, and released one experimental and wildly atonal single, "Bad Trip", in 1967, with the intention that the record could be played at any speed. Interested in the ideas of experimental composers like Edgard Varèse, John Cage, Terry Riley, and George Antheil, he constructed his own custom-made electronic instrument from a combination of elements like theremins, fuzzboxes, a cardboard tube, and a speaker from a World War II bomber.

David and Nancy Blossom brought both psychedelic and jazz influences to the band. Together, the trio recorded a demo which led to a deal with Limelight Records, a subsidiary of Mercury Records. They released one album, Cauldron, in December 1967. It contained eleven songs, including "Fantasy", "Red the Sign Post" and "God Bless the Child", a Billie Holiday cover. It was an intriguing mix of jazzy psychedelic rock tunes with fierce and advanced electronic sound effects. "I don't know if they are immature or premature", said critic Ralph J. Gleason.

The record sold few copies at the time, although the group had a small but intense following in San Francisco and also toured with other acts including Blue Cheer, Chuck Berry and Fairport Convention, when the band was augmented by Robert Goldbeck (bass). They broke up in late 1969 when most of its members joined the musical Hair, Nancy Blossom becoming the lead in the San Francisco production and later singing in Godspell. Larry Evans returned to his hometown of Muncie, Indiana where he fronted several club groups until his death in 2008.

1967 Cauldron

DORACOR - Symphonic Prog • Italy

Doracor biography (http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=1265)

DORACOR is an anagram/pseudonym for keyboardist and drummer Corrado Sardella. Segni Premonitori (1998) and Antiche Impressioni (1999) are the 2nd and 3rd Doracor albums. These are high-caliber, primarily-instrumental symphonic rock albums, with Corrado handling most of the instruments himself, with assistance from guest musicians. These have a very full-band sound and a 1970's orientation. The best way to think of them is as the albums Tony Banks could make if Tony made progressive rock solo albums instead of trying to match the chart success of Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford. Antiche Impressioni features a female vocalist, a bassist and a guitarist, while Segni Premonitori features a male singer and a guitarist.

"Transizione" (2001) trumps the earlier albums, as here Sardella is aided by seven other musicians, and the sound is that of a full band, with male and female vocals in Italian. It is one of the best symphonic progressive albums that no one has heard and is quite similar to the first album by the French band HECENIA. Though it does have most of the hallmarks of the Italian 1970's romantic progressive style, it is even more influenced by GENESIS circa "Wind and Wuthering", while at times the energy level suggests later bands such as IQ. "Evanescenze" (2005) continues in this vein but is even better. Just male vocals this time around, but they are very strong, reminding one of ATON's or even LOCANDA DELLE FATE at times."

Thanks to Larry Kolota of Kinesis Progressive Rock CDs for permission to reproduce this bio. Visit Larry's online store:

- Larry Kolota - Kinesis

1999 - Antiche impressioni

Thanks Magal

The Hi-Fly Orchestra - Groove & Acoustic Jazz (Germany)

The Hi-Fly Orchestra means all-acoustic jazz with a totally infectious and heavy dancegroove that always gets the crowd on the floor! The heavy and rough rhythms are played by drums, double-bass, congas and piano, supporting the wonderful horn-lines by sax and trombone. The high musicality of the 6 members of THFO and the original sound of their instruments assure the most authentic perfomance with absolute high-energy playing!

THFO was founded in 2005 by Jerker Kluge and Florian Riedl. Though played by young musicians, who are influenced by all kinds of todays music, the intent was to create music that sounds as hip as the classic jazz records of the blue note era. Music to dance, without DJ´s, electronics or samples, just pure acoustic music!

Group members are:

Florian Riedl (altosax, flute)

Johannes Herrlich (trombone)

Chris Gall (piano)

Jerker Kluge (double-bass)

Hajo von Hadeln (drums)

Ravi Pagnamenta (percussion)

Mambo Atomico (2008)

Get Ready (2013)

DATETENRYU - Psychedelic/Space Rock • Japan

Datetenryu biography (http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=5633)

In May, 1971, Masao TONARI (organ, keyboards), Hiroshi NARAZAKI (bass, voices), Yosһitaka NAKAMURA (drums), and Kei YAMASHIΤA (guitars) - a talented quartet of Light Music Club in Kyoto Sangyo University (Japan) formed DATETENRYU as a free-formed jam band. They appeared on stage gloriously as an opening act of Kazuhiko Katoh (ex-The Folk Crusaders, Sadistic Mika Band) or Mops in the same year, and played periodic gigs in Kyoto. They made their musical activity wider all around Japan by playing on various stages in collaboration with lots of renowned artists. Disregarding their promising charisma, in the beginning of 1983 they suspended all of their music activity for the reason of Masao's intention without any notice.

After a long hibernation over ten years, DATETENRYU was suddenly reunited by Masao and Hiroshi, two of the founding members in 1996. They could hit it off on stage in Himeji and Namba, and released their first album '1971' (1996) via an Osakan independent label Gyuune Cassette. 'Unto' (1997) and '1976' (2000) were shot with the collaboration of Japanese indie labels and DATETENRYU finally founded their old material on their own label Banana Songs / Walking Press Records, that since then released their albums - 'Nagi' (2000), '2001 Shutoku Live' (2003), 'Red Afternoon Blues' (2004), and 'Cool Flying Dragon' (2005) - compiled from their old or new live material.

Datetenryu 1971

Thanks Magal

Jimmy McGriff - Jazz B-3 Organ

James Harrell McGriff (April 3, 1936 – May 24, 2008) was an American hard bop and soul-jazz organist and organ trio bandleader. He played piano since the age of 5 but later adopted the Hammond organ. In the mid- and late 1970's he was also often featured on electric piano and other keyboards.

One of the all-time giants of the Hammond B-3, Jimmy McGriff sometimes gets lost amid all the great soul-jazz organists from his hometown of Philadelphia. He was almost certainly the bluesiest of the major soul-jazz pioneers, and indeed, he often insisted that he was more of a blues musician than a jazz artist; nonetheless, he remained eclectic enough to blur the lines of classification. His sound -- deep, down-to-earth grooves drenched in blues and gospel feeling -- made him quite popular with R&B audiences, even more so than some of his peers; what was more, he was able to condense those charms into concise, funky, jukebox-ready singles that often did surprisingly well on the R&B charts. His rearrangement of Ray Charles' "I Got a Woman" was a Top Five R&B hit in 1962, and further hits like "All About My Girl," "Kiko," and "The Worm" followed over the course of the '60s. McGriff spent much of the '70s trying to keep pace with the fusion movement, switching to various electric keyboards and adopting an increasingly smooth, polished style. As the '80s dawned, McGriff gave up trying to sound contemporary and returned to his classic organ-trio sound; as luck would have it, vintage soul-jazz soon came back into vogue with a devoted cult of fans and critics, and McGriff was able to recover his creative vitality and take his place as one of the genre's elder statesmen.

1971 - Black Pearl

Hailo Mergia - Instrumental Afro Music (Ethiopia)

Hailu Mergia is an Ethiopian master of keyboards, who knew how to fuse the traditional music of his country very well with the analogical psychedelic language of today's vintage keyboards. He has already recorded with Mulatu Astatke, another master of Ethiopian music. Download it , listen (with your heart) and enter into trance with an extremely peculiar sonority. Repetitive organ melodies float eternally over minimal beatbox rhythms, sometimes with the addition of mechanical handclaps. Pumping basslines and synthetic, pulsing keyboard work seem to manufacture a timeless, still zone of peace. Simple yet complex at the same time in it's undulating interweaving melodies.

Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument

ARK - Progressive Metal • Norway

Ark biography (http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=753)

Hailing from Toten, Norway, ARK was founded by guitarist Tore OSTBY after his influential, early progressive metal outfit CONCEPTION had disbanded the previous year. He was initially joined by his friend, experienced drummer John MACALUSO, a former graduate of the California Percussion Institute of Technology and band member of MCM, POWERMAD, TNT & RIOT. Together, John and Tore created an amalgamation of musical styles underpinned by groove laden heavy progressive rock rhythms blended with flamenco guitars, double bass drumming and Floydian soundscapes. The arduous search for a singer with a wide and expressive range, capable of articulating the demanding material, ended with the recruitment of Jorn LANDE, former frontman for THE SNAKES (with Bernie MARSDEN & Mickey MOODY), and symphonic metal outfit MUNDANUS IMPERIUM. The trio made the conscious decision to move away from writing commercial hard rock material which had influenced their backgrounds, the consequence of which was to provide a considerably more influential legacy for the progressive metal genre than a mere two albums would suggest.

This creative outpouring resulted in their critically acclaimed, eponymous debut "Ark" (1999). With the help of Trond Nagell DAHL on keyboards, the trio created an album of great diversity, displaying a dynamic sound firmly grounded in hard rock, blended with intricate rhythmical patterns and an addictive melodic structure which appealed to a wide cross section of listeners across the rock and metal fraternity. With the bass sound oddly suppressed, the rhythm section is compensated for in MACALUSO's creative drum rhythms, while OSTBY creates some very unusual flamenco-style guitar work on "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame".

LANDE, whose versatile vocal style could alternate effortlessly between Steve PERRY, David COVERDALE, Ronnie DIO and STING, proved a popular frontman across the concert circuit, the band quickly developing a strong cult following. With appeal gathering momentum, work started on a follow up, for which bassist Randy COVEN (Steve VAI, Steve MORSE, MOUNTAIN) and keyboard player Mats OLAUSSON (Yngwie MALMSTEEN) were drafted in to enhance the overall sound. Their second album, "Burn The Sun" (2001), produced by Tommy NEWTON and considered to be an underground progressive metal landmark, took the band a noticeable step further in their development, incorporating eastern rhythms and chants, juxtaposed against Latin sections and now trademark ever shifting time signatures. 

The band describe the loose concept behind the album as thus: "The album tells of unrest and disturbance in the universal balance of our planet. Beginning at the Earth's core, the music unfolds to encompass dry land, the sea, and the creatures of the Earth, the sky, space and beyond. When you think about it, you really can't burn the sun - still we all try every day of our lives, pushing to get ahead not taking notice of the people around us, on a course or mission leading to the unknown. Always pushing toward a common goal but sometimes that goal is an impossible one and some will die trying, trying to "Burn The Sun".

After touring in support of the album, ARK took a hiatus and eventually disbanded in 2002, LANDE already having taken the decision to join Roland GRAPOW and Uli KUSCH in forming power metal outfit MASTERPLAN, as well as pursuing his own solo career. Prior to the break up announcement however, unpublished sketches and ideas from various band members for what would have been used on the third album, were eventually utilised by John MACALUSO & UNION RADIO, on his album "The Radio Waves Goodbye" (2007). In 2009, MACALUSO announced that he had reunited with OSTBY, COVEN & OLAUSSON, and that work on the third ARK album, entitled "Aradiokaos" was underway, later having recruited Adrian HOLTZ as replacement vocalist. Sadly, nothing further was heard until 2011, when he regrettably confirmed the cancellation of the production, with ARK officially disbanding. 

Stylistically, ARK carved their own unique niche within the progressive metal field, influencing more than they were influenced by, with the consequence that it is difficult to find direct comparisons. That said, anyone enjoying their music should become acquainted with the four albums created by Tore OSTBY's previous band, CONCEPTION, a greatly respected pioneer of Scandinavian progressive metal, while fans of Jorn LANDE's vocal style should try out BEYOND TWILIGHT's debut; while his two MASTERPLAN albums also come recommended, although these are structurally more straightforward. 

Studio Albums: "Ark" (1999), "Burn the Sun" (2001).

Final Members:

Tore OSTBY: Guitar 

John MACALUSO: Drums & percussion

Jorn LANDE: Vocals 

Randy COVEN: Bass 

Mats OLAUSSON: Keyboards

Biography by Jared

Ark (1999)

Thanks Magal

UNIVERSAL TOTEM ORCHESTRA - Zeuhl • Italy

Universal Totem Orchestra biography (http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=1246)

Universal Totem Orchestra is an offshoot project from the Italian Zeuhl band RUNAWAY TOTEM and this album appeared between their second Zed and the third album Andromeda. As Runaway Totem is generally not regarded as Zeuhl leading band, often gathering unfavourable critics by specialist and buyers, it was somewhat surprising that UTO 's sole album Rituale Alieno was such a success (relatively speaking). Where RT was dry, square, heavy, uninventive and uninspired, UTO's Rituale Alieno is much lighter, fun, even a tad inventive, and enthralling. However, there is a gothic side to UTO, in great part due to the vocals, which range from the Gregorian chants to other choirs and operatic vocals, often soprano female and male baritone

And another big surprise came to us, when the side-project was given a little sister some 7 years after, just as someone might have thought the offshoot dead. And while fairly different in its line-up, but with some substantial sonic differences, The Magus is just as incredible and stupendous an album as Rituale Alieno was. While remaining firmly in the Zeuhl domain, UTO is not afraid to take many meanders as possible to make their music a different experience in that field. No doubt, that someday the offshoot will overtake its dry genitor. 

:::: Bio written By Hugues Chantraine, Belgium ::::

2016 Mathematical Mother

Um presentaço do Brother Ricardo... Muito obrigado.

Avery Sunshine - Soulful R&B Jazz

Denise Nicole White, professionally known as AverySunshine (sometimes stylized as Avery*Sunshine, born 22 May 1975) is an American singer and pianist. Get ready for the next big thing! R&B diva Avery*Sunshine has been an underground sensation wowing audiences from coast to coast. She s toured with Ledisi and shared the stage with Kem, Musiq Soulchild, Eric Benet, Rachelle Ferrell, and the legendary B.B. King, among others. Her videos have received heavy rotation on Music Choice, VH1 Soul and Centric. She's reached Top 15 on the Urban Adult Radio Chart, all without label support. Now with her first Shanachie release, all the pieces are in place for her to go over the top! The SunRoom features 13 brilliant Avery Sunshine originals overflowing Ms. Sunshine s unmatched warmth and exuberance. Highlights include the incredibly infectious and ebullient Time to Shine , the sultry R&B ballad Call My Name , the soulful, Al Green influenced Time To Try , and much more.

The SunRoom (2014)

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Fingertips - Pop Rock (Portugal)

Fingertips is a Portuguese Pop/Rock band. They’ve performed in Rock in Rio Lisbon, Shanghai West Bund Music Festival and EuroGym 2012 and shared the stage with Queen and Paul Rodgers, The Corrs, George Michael, Nelly Furtado and The Cure. Their song Melancholic Ballad has had nine months of #1 airplay and “Picture Of My Own” as the soundtrack for a major TV commercial. They have a #1 single on iTunes with DO IT (Magic Colors) and created the Official Song for EuroGym 2012 (Let’s Share). They were inspired by such artists as David Bowie, Queen, U2, Depeche Mode, Pink Floyd, Ray Charles, Nina Simone, Coldplay, Muse, Lorde and Arctic Monkeys.

All 'Bout Smoke 'N Mirrors

All 'bout Smoke 'n Mirrors is the first album from Portuguese pop rock band Fingertips. The album is characterized by its alternative sound mixed with ballad rock style. Famous singles from this album include "Picture Of My Own", "Melancholic Ballad (For The Leftlovers)" and "How Do You Know Me".

thanks Magal