Egberto Gismonti – Fantasia (1982 Brazil) [Prog-Fusion] @320

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Egberto Gismonti was born in 1947 in Carmo, Brazil. He began his formal music studies at the age of six on piano. After studying classical music for 15 years, he went to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger (orchestration and analysis), and composer Jean Barraqué, a disciple of Schönberg and Webern. Returning to Brazil, Gismonti began to glimpse a reality broader than the classical world of music. He was attracted by Ravel’s ideas of orchestration and chord voicings, as well as by “choro”, a Brazilian instrumental popular music where varied kinds of guitars are featured. To play this music he made the transition from piano to guitar, beginning on the 6-string classical instrument and switching to the 8-string guitar in 1973. He spent two years experimenting with different tunings and searching for new sounds, which is also reflected in his use of flutes, kalimbas, sho, voice, bells, etc.

By the early ’70s, he had laid the groundwork for his current conception was listening to musicians as wide-ranging as Django Reinhardt and Jimi Hendrix… For him, Hendrix’s achievements were proof that “popular” and “serious” idioms need not remain opposite poles: “There’s no difference between the two kinds of music…”.
Gismonti’s first ECM record Dança das Cabeças (ECM 1089), and a duet set featuring percussionist Nana Vasconcelos, dating from 1977, was nominated Album Of The Year by Stereo Review and received the “Großer Deutscher Schallplattenpreis”.
Sol do Meio Dia (ECM 1116) found the duo augmented by saxophonist Jan Garbarek, percussionist Collin Walcott and guitarist Ralph Towner; the session following on a tour featuring Gismonti, the Belonging Quartet and Oregon. Gismonti dedicated this album to the Xingu Indians of the Amazon, with whom he had lived for a period of time in the jungle.
On his following 1979 ECM recording “Solo” (ECM 1136), he plays 8-string guitar, piano and bells, expressing a pure and comprehensive view of his music.

The next album to present Gismonti was a trio recording entitled Magico (ECM 1151) with bassist Charlie Haden and saxophonist Jan Garbarek, recorded in 1979. The same year, the trio toured Europe, including a concert at the Berlin Jazz Festival, and recorded a second Magico album, entitled Folksongs (ECM 1170). In 1981, Gismonti again toured with Haden and Garbarek, performing throughout Europe.
The album Sanfona (ECM 1203/04), is related to the Brazilian roots of his music. It features both group and solo work within the context of a single release. On the first record of his two-disc set, Gismonti is joined by his Brazilian group Academia De Danças: Mauro Senise (saxophone and flutes), Zeca Assumpçao (bass) and Nene (drums and percussion). On the solo disc, the emphasis is more decidedly on his guitar playing and on Indian organ improvisation. In his liner notes for Sanfona, Geraldo Carneiro characterizes Gismonti’s offeirng as “a trip through Brazilian rhythms, musical forms and popular festivals… symbolizing Brazilian culture in all its breadth from solemn to burlesque”.
Duas Vozes (ECM 1279) with Nana Vasconcelos appeared in 1984. Today Gismonti strives to bring two influences together, Western Europe music and the music from Brazil. Dança Dos Escravos (ECM 1387), released in 1989, takes him a step further in the direction where the distinction between “serious” and “popular” music doesn’t play any role. His melodic lines have a special, cantible uniqueness. In harmonic terms, Gismonti has found a way of combining two cultures, such as one might also find in the music of Villa-Lobos, Baden Powell or João Gilberto. His rhythms, also extremely fragile and carefully constructed, never suffer from a lack of pulsating energy.

01 – Abertura
02 – Infância (1- para Rejane, 2- para Branquinho, 3- para Bianca)
03 – Palácio De Espelhos (para os músicos)
04 – Sagração (para Stravinsky)
05 – Assum (para Naná Vasconcelos)
06 – Fado (para Fernando Pessoa)
07 – Noite De Lua (para Gonzagão)
08 – Carnaval De Rua (Saudades De Recife) (para os bailarinos)
09 – O Amor Que Move O Sol E As Outras Estrelas (para Villa-Lobos)
10 – 2 Violões (para Baden Powell)
11 – Para John E Paco (para John McLaughin e Paco de Lucia)
12 – Piano (para Tom Jobim)

Egberto Gismonti: Piano, synthesizers, acoustic guitars, flute, cello, accordion & percussion.

Special thanks to Bruxa do Vinil, from the blog “ABRACADABRA LPS DO BRASIL”, for this great album!
Obrigado bruxinha

Oaksenham – Conquest of the Pacific (Armenia 2006) [ProgRock] @OGG-VBR192

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Seems like a long time since we reviewed this Armenian band’s previous debut live release Woden’s Eve Live; in fact it was 2002, and since then the band has been diligently working on this, their ambitious studio follow-up. Again, the six-piece of acoustic and electric guitars, bass, drums, violin, keyboards and flute go the instrumental route, augmenting their already rich sound with guest players on string harp, english horn, bassoon, oboe, clarinet, cello, french horn, bagpipes and orchestral percussion, all track depending. These compositions stand strong as instrumentals, rich in melody and counterpoint, blazing with guitar, keyboard and violin solos, with plenty of twists, turns and complexities to keep them interesting from beginning to end. The warmth and range of emotions encompassed within the scope of their music is nothing short of stunning, and these are all exceptional players. Make no mistake though, even with all those orchestral instruments at work, these folks can and do rock with the best of them. Their spirited instrumental arrangements of two Gentle Giant classics back-to-back (“Talybont” and “On Reflection”) give away one of their apparent influences, though this writer is more often reminded of Red Queen era Gryphon in Oaksenham’s overall approach and instrumentation. The 26-minute five-part title suite closes the disc nicely, summarizing everything this band is about. Fans of GG, Gryphon, Snow Goose era Camel, Mike Oldfield, and other ambitious progressive rock works will definitely find this disc to their liking.
-Peter Thelen-

01. Anthem: The Unseen Land
02. Water Spark
03. Elfy
04. The Way Back Home
05. Talybont
06. On Reflection
07. Time-Out
08. Jester’s Pipe
09. Merlin’s Jig
10. Across the Atlantic
11. Ocean ’s Web
12. Golden Hind

Vahagn Papayan: bass
Anna Adamyan: keyboards
Valery Tolstov: flute
Bobikyan: violin
Vardan Gasparyan: guitar
Ashot Korganyan: drums

Thanks Jorge for more this good album

To buy it click here.

Mats & Morgan – Live (Sweden 2001) [AvantProg] @192

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Mats/Morgan band really started to grow as a live band around 98. The energy was superb, and the music got more groove oriented. Our bassist Tommy Thordsson started to grow into the band very well. He have brought some bass playing to the band that is amazing… He is really incredible good. – Watch out Lemmy!
Funny enough, much of the material from the Live CD was recorded almost the first time we played it. Later on, these tunes got wilder in shape and in tempo too. Therefore they appear again on the CD “On Air With Guests”. This CD was recorded during a serie of drum tv education that I did) It features guest acts as well, amongst others Fredrik Thordendal of Meshuggah, performing a medley from his own solo CD “Sol Niger Within”. Saxophonist Jonas Knutsson, Spoonman, Simon Stennsland, and Jimmy Ågren Band.
Most of the material of the Live CD and On Air With Guests, also appears on a Mats/Morgan video/DVD titled “20 Years Anniversary Live” (yet to be released)

01. Hollmervalsen (11:53)
02. En Schizorens Dagbok (6:27)
03. Ta Ned Trasan (11:41)
04. Jigsaw Variations (6:46)
05. Guardian Pitch (4:44)
06. Paltsug (0:35)
07. Etage A41 (6:07)
08. Min Häst (7:26)
09. Banned Again (8:43)
10. Igloo (3:14)
11. Kintörnen (6:14)

Total time: 1:14:08

Mats Öberg: keyboards
Morgan Agren: drums
Jimmy Agren: guitar
Tommy Thordsson: bass
Eric Carlsson: keyboards
Robert Elovsson: keyboards

Mats & Morgan – Trends And Other Diseases (Sweden 1996) [AvantProg] @320

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“Trends is our debut CD, and was also the first one we released by ourselves on our own company! It was a great exciting period, cause we had just built our first own studio, (one adat machine and a 24 track Soundcraft board etc). When finally having all the equipment we needed to record, we spent quite some time making this CD.
I like the album a lot, it not only reminds me of this exciting period, I like the songs too, and I was also happy with the way the sound came out, especially considering it was the first recording we did by ourselves.
Nice guest acts as well, such as; Fredrik Söhngen on and Gunnar Persson on Oboe and Bassoon, vocalists Dilba, Derek Huntsman, Meshuggah Guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, saxophonist Jonas Knutsson etc.
And, of course the title of the album is great, and quite appropriate, don’t you think?”
-Morgan Agren-

“They played unbelievable, just unbelievable.” -Frank Zappa
“Remarkable technical expertise and playing skills” -Bill Bruford
“Absolutely unbelievable, they drove me right out of my mind, it wasso good. Buy their albums.” -Mike Keneally

01. Russin Läsk
02. Guardian Witch
03. Trottsov
04. I See You
05. Stupid Bagatelle
06. Read My Thoughts
07. Fire And Audio
08. Please Tell Me
09. Trash Romantic Land
10. Sockeplast
11. What´s That Guys Name?
12. Ooo Baby Baby
13. Fialka´s House
14. Advokaten
15. Agent Soda
16. Ooo Baby Baby´s
17. The Krupa Question
18. Mamma

Mats Oberg – Vocal, Synthsizer, Harmonica, Melodica, Harmonium, Clavinett, Harpsicord, Autoharp
Morgan Agren – Drums, Bass, Keyboards, Vocal abuse
Dilbahar – Vocals
Jimmy Agren – Bass, Yngwie harmonies
Fredrik Thordendal – Guitar
Derek Huntsman – The gospel voice
RuskPer – The mouth noices
Roger Bergstrom – Marimba
Per Sjoberg – Tuba
Johan Granstrom – Acoustic upright bass, Bass
Ulf Akerhielm – Acoustic upright bass
Per Ake Holmlander – Kimbassu
Jonas Knutsson – Saw
Jocke Marsh – Banjo
Fredrik Sohngen – Oboe
Gunnar Persson – Basson

Avatar Music Canada Prog Site

From my Canadian friend John Pascoe, Avatar Music Canada is a prog site with samples to hear of the bands In God We Trust, John Pascoe and Belladonna. And the AMC broadcasting radio !
Take a look there! Be welcomed
Click here to go

King Crimson – Live In Munich 1982 (DGM ‘KCCC’ 32) (England 2006) @320

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Tight, complex, startling and sonically ambitious, this was a King Crimson full of energy, the embodiment of what Rolling Stone magazine critic Chip Stern had in mind when he declared “Crimson creates a new kind of electronic string music that achieves an orchestral density without resorting to ersatz art-rock bombast.”
-Sid Smith-

01. Waiting Man
02. Thela Hun Ginjeet
03. Frame By Frame
04. Matte Kudasai
05. The Sheltering Sky
06. Neal And Jack And Me
07. Elephant Talk
08. Indiscipline
09. Heartbeat
10. Larks’ Tongues in Aspic Part II

Adrian Belew: guitar & vocal
Robert Fripp: guitar
Tony Levin: bass guitar & Stick
Bill Bruford: drums & percussion

Produced by David Singleton and Alex R Mundy on behalf of King Crimson & the King Crimson Collectors’ Club.
Recorded September 29, 1982 at Alabamahalle, Munich.

Zypressen – Zypressen (Japan 1996) [AvantProg] @256

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You would think that a band labeled avant-prog wouldn’t be soft, warm and gentle to the touch, but Zypressen are just that. While still retaining certain outlandish qualities Zypressen’s music sounds elegant, fine and graceful even in their angular moments. Whether you’re listening to the dynamic and slightly sinister “Prelude” (they’re too lighthearted and innocent to make a menacing song) or the delicate “HANA”, every song is made with finesse and charm that Zypressen has mastered over the course of one album(!). Half of the songs present here have a strong sense of melody and harmony that many people would never think a group labeled as such would commonly have and that is probably the best quality Zypressen has. With these ear-friendly songs they smooth out the rough edges (which aren’t all that rough to begin with) that the other more adventurous songs present in the album have. This well balanced mixed is critical to the enjoyment of this album and also gives it an interesting dynamic and some well needed balance while still sounding cohesive. While the melodic songs are made mostly with classical instruments like piano, clarinet, cello, violin and flute, the adventurous songs are mostly dominated by rock instruments, but the classical instruments also play a role in them.
The album comes off as one of the most accessible releases from a chamber rock or avant-prog band. The combination of beautiful classical tinged compositions with avant-garde ones is something that many fans will enjoy listening to. Newcomers to this kind of music will have an enjoyable first experience listening to Zypressen, they aren’t too “weird” or “out there” for people getting into chamber rock. A great album with little flaws. Highly recommended for fans of chamber rock and newcomers alike.
-ProgArchive (Ruben Dario)-

01. Point Of Compass (6:31)
02. STR (Against The Wind) (5:31)
03. Tangent (new version) (5:12)
04. Etude (5:57)
05. HANA (7:00)
06. Prelude (Remix version) (5:21)
07. [Japanese Title] (6:59)
08. All The Vertical Stripes Are Eager To Cross Together (6:31)

Hirofumi Imai: drums, marimba, xylophone, glockenspeil, wind synthesizer, voice, percussion
Jun Takafuji: bass, cello, violin, keyboards
Atsushi Asano: electric guitar
Nobuyoshi Miyake: violin, viola
Koji Yamagami: piano

Guest musicians:
Takao Abe: flute (6,7)
Kyouko Senke: violin (7)
Shigeru Kasuga: bass clarinet (6)

Julverne – Ne Parlons Pas De Mahleur (Belgium 1986) [Avant-Prog] @256

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In fact, Julverne has shared musicians with Univers Zero, including Dirk Descheemaker and Michel Berckmans. So there is really no surprise that there are similarities in style to both bands. However, Julverne is more like Univers Zero’s happier, more cosmopolitan younger brother. The ensemble’s first album was released in 1979, and unlike their more aggressive musical brethren, Julverne don’t have any drums. In fact, they only seem to be a rock band by comparison, as this truly seems to be a chamber group performing original music with influences of Satie, Bartok, Debussy, and the less dissonant measures of Stravinksy. The instrumentation is typical of chamber music with piano, strings, horns and winds, and these are arranged in many lovely ways over Coulonneux’s ten-track duration. In fact, the similarities to Univers Zero and Art Zoyd are largely the musical format, as this is never angry or strident in the least. However, Julverne was certainly considered an experimental band by the musical collective that made it up, and the compositions reflect an exploratory ethic in their use of keys, modes and arrangements. Without getting into music theory, it can still be said that most of the compositions often start out in a fresh and accessible mode before veering off into a tangent belying the 20th Century influences of the band. It’s a gorgeous album and rather idiosyncratic, even in comparison to the ensemble’s RIO-drafted contemporaries.

A Neuf was an even more mature effort, starting with an ambitious three-piece suite. While Julverne’s chamber music approach implies a sort of serious study, musically there were bits of humor sneaking into the compositions nonetheless, such as the second part of the suite, “Un Peu Pretentieux” (A Bit Pretentious). Musically this is also true, with the ensemble’s occasional tangents into sly, goofy, or zany territory. One may be listening to some beautiful arranged chamber piece before the whole group speeds off in another direction, as if Bugs Bunny was yet again leading Elmer Fudd off on another wild goose chase. In fact, if anything sets apart Julverne from cousins Univers Zero, it’s this omnipresent playfulness. Only a group of skilled musicians and composers could pull off such a thing in such complex and involved compositions. Not a piece of music is anything but entertaining here, rich in ideas, spontaneity, dynamic diversity and mood. Perhaps it’s more a tribute to such classy music that Julverne finds itself in such company with bands like Univers Zero in Belgium’s most interesting lineage of experimental chamber music ensembles.

While the first two albums by Julverne might be considered the formative work of the ensemble, the band would release two more albums, 1983’s Emballade and 1986’s Ne Parlons Pas de Mahleur, before dissolving. In 1992, the Igloo label would release a retrospective of these albums (Le Retour du Captain Nemo) including a great deal of music from the early albums. Julverne also reformed recently to release 2000’s Le Pavillion des Passions Humanies. -GNOSIS-

1. Ne ParJons Pas de Mahieur (J. Gillis)
2. Theibald Brehm (P. Coulon)
3. Catherine En Campagne (C. Loos)
4. Claementine (C. Laos)
5. Danse Syldave (J. Gillis)
6. Soupe Au Crapaud (M. Berckmans)
7. Le Rose AuxJoues (J. Gillis)
8. La Fille Aux Cheveux Gras (P. Coulon)

Lucie Graumon: voix
Pierre Coulon: flutes, sax alto
Dirk Deschemaeker: clarinet, bass clarinet
Michel Berckmans: basson
Jean-Paul Laurent: piano
Jeannot Gillis: violin, cuivres
Wiet van de Leest: viola
Claudine Steenackers: cello
André Klenes: contrabass
Jacqueline Rosenfeld: violin, viola
Charles Loos: piano

Simon Steensland – Led Circus (Sweden 1999) [Avant-Prog] @320

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Simon STEENSLAND music is based upon unusual instrumentation (marimbas, accordion, harmonium, keyboards, bass, violin etc.) and perpetuates with success the tradition from UNIVERS ZERO, ART ZOYD, Frank ZAPPA and other audacious composers.Cutting edge, unpretentious and imaginative are three words that describe this offering by Swedish multi-instrumentalist and composer Simon Steensland. Mixing elements of rock, neo-classical, jazz, some folk and sensible sonic experimentation, Steensland has created album of great depth and emotion, yet it maintains a sensibility of variety throughout. Any general comparisons are not easy, as the music keeps taking different turns in many directions: On most tracks, Steensland plays percussion, keyboards, and mallets (or samples thereof), plus occasional cello, fuzzbass, accordion, berimbau and other exotics. He is joined by a rotating guest list providing additional keyboards, guitar, bass, violin, cello and accordion.

01. Instant Jesus (Captain’s Custer’s Last Crusade)
02. Pinving
03. The Song Of The Fourth Monkey
04. The Dance Itself
05. Psychlone
06. Angels Without Eyes
07. Dwarf Suite

Simon Steensland: drums, percussion, keyboards, guitar, banjo, violin, cello, bass, flute, harmonica

guests:

Mats Öberg: keyboards, harmonica
Morgan Ågren: drums
Mats Gustafsson: sax
Agneta Hellström: recorder
Mikke Rönnkvist: guitar, mandolin
Joakim Marsch: guitar
Amit Sen: cello
Erik Hammarström: drums
Reuben Sallmander: vocals
Halla Margret Johannisdottir: vocals
Anna Takanen: vocals
Helena Ahlböck: vocals
Elisabet Carlsson: vocals
Kristina Forsman: vocals
Felicia Cederlund: vocals

Kontraburger – Kontraburger (Poland 2002) [Avant-Prog/Folk] @192

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The Warsaw artfolk formation Kontraburger have released their debut album. Worth waiting for! Every one of the tracks is somehow different, but at the same time the record makes a unified whole. Built from artrock sounds with a heavy dose of folk energy (harsh singing, flutes, afro-roots, the fantastic violin of Sylwia Swiatkowska), ethno-jazz and poetic texts create for the listener a surrealistic world of flying cats, dwarves, and the ominous Bida. But that’s not all – in the excellent lyrics everyday life meets fantasy in new ways. There is also inspiration from the motifs of Tolkien (suite – Dragon, Dwarves, Bird) and Bulgakov (the brilliant track Margharita). Maga’s splendid warm voice and Gosia Madejska’s rough folk singing (an original combination!) add to the undoubted beauty of this excellent record. An additional attraction is the effective colourful graphics, based on the painter Arcimboldo, matching the Kontraburger’s lyrical and musical atmosphere.

01. Dziwny (4:15)
02. Biznesmen (4:41)
03. Bida (2:54)
04. Smok (8:17)
05. Krasnoludy (3:12)
06. Ptak (6:08)
07. Pieknie jest (5:04)
08. Karnawal (3:21)
09. Malgorzata (6:23)
10. San Marino (2:53)

Maga: vocals
Malgorzata Litwinowicz: flute
Sylwia Swiatkowska: violin
Jarek Kaczmarek: guitar
Wojciech Stasiak: guitar
Tomasz Zur: bass
Janusz Kossakowski: percussion

Guest musicians:
Malgorzata Madejska: vocals