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"A short lived Italian band only releasing two albums. [Inferno] featuring great use of the Moog as well as other amazing keyboard work. The band puts together an album length suite that is one of the classics in the history of symphonic progressive...

This is a live CD, recorded in Rome in December 2004, in the church of S. Galla using the pipe organ and acoustic instruments (during the time that the group reformed and played some high profile gigs, including NEARFest). Why it took 7 years for this...

Jim Anderson - bass
John Mabry - vocals
Greg Miller - drums
Malcolm Smith - guitar
Marc Spooner - keyboards

Old school style progressive rock, influenced most obviously by Gentle Giant and Genesis. Solidly in the style and nicely done.

“Metaphor's 4th release, The Pearl, is full of unexpected twists and turns, changing time signatures, interesting and thought-provoking lyrical excursions, and unusual arrangements. Superb musicianship and creative, quirky compositi

Neil Metcalfe flute and John Rangecroft clarinet. "A collection of 29 short and beautiful improvisations by two masters of the art revelling in each other's inventivene...

“Broadcast live on WBCN-FM radio, this performance captures Pat Metheny at a fascinating point in his career. His debut album, the classic Bright Size Life, had recently been released, but he'd already moved on, forming a quartet for the forthcoming Watercolors LP, issued in 1977.
Featuring material from both albums, it showcases the guitarist at his youthful best and is presented here with background notes and images.”

"Metheny’s final ECM disc reflected a growing interest in South American rhythms and introduced Argentinean percussionist/singer Pedro Aznar to the group."

"First Circle" is, in my opinion not just Pat Matheny's best CD, but one of the top CDs in...

“The concert was recorded for radio in Tokyo in 1985, where the band asserts its worldwide success. It is one of the only jazz bands that were able to fill stadiums in the 80s! Of course, since the 1970s, the music of Metheny and Mays has evolved quite a bit, with synthesizers, influences from + to + Latin (Pedro Aznar with percussion). But it remains of a fairly exceptional level and has not aged poorly.
Titles like Are you going with me? remain decades after real masterpieces. This CD is properly...

"For this 1979 recording, Pat Metheny tried something very different: a solo CD with extensive overdubs that put the emphasis on his acoustic guitar playing. It's in an idiom all its own, mixing the open harmonies of country music with some flamenco...

"Ever curious, courageous and endlessly creative, virtuoso guitarist and musical mastermind Pat Metheny takes on John Zorn’s Masada songbook to create some of the most soulful and adventurous sounds yet heard in the Book of Angels series. Turn up the...

Pat Metheny: 6 & 12 string guitars, harp guitar
Lyle Mays: piano
Eberhard Weber: bass
Danny Gottlieb: drums

‘“Guitar wonder Metheny has made an astoundingly tasteful and free flowing record here” the Massachusetts Valley Advocatedeclared. “Metheny’s compositions are perfect vehicles for his guitar, which blends smoothly with the breathtaking ensemble work.” The recording is the first of Pat’s albums to feature Lyle Mays, an important partner for the work ahead: “You can hear them ...

“This set captures great live performances of the Pat Metheny Group during their Brazilian-influenced era, one of my favorites.
The performances here are more up tempo and looser than the versions from The Road To You and capture more of the crowd.
If you're looking for the best fidelity, this recording is lacking (after all, this came from an FM broadcast) but nevertheless it is decent and the performances are definitely engaging. I found myself just sitting back and enjoying the music - both..

"Metronome the City is a rare find: a band able to maintain a unified sound whilst jumping between disparate genres and tempos without missing a beat. The intricate stylings of this New Orleans-based group were first brought to my attention by a friend...

Second and latest album by this eclectric progressive band from New Orleans.

"This is the second disc from the little-known New Orleans prog band, whose first disc was praised here when they left us with copies a couple of years back. Great...

It doesn’t really sound LIKE This Heat at their most ‘rock trio’ fronted by John Lydon circa Metal Box, but it sounds like This Heat fronted by John Lydon…

“Strange Peace was recorded in Chicago, live off the floor to tape with Steve Albini. The result is a distinct artistic maturation into new and alarming territory, frantically pushing past where the band has gone before, while capturing the notorious intensity of their live show. The trio continued to assemble the album (including hom

Bernhard Meyer electric bass, fx
John Hollenbeck drums, percussion, prepared piano

“It may not seem that way – there’s a mix of soft rock-oriented and minimal atmospheres all along this record,sometimes making us think of the quietest instrumental moments conjured by Tame Impala or even Cigarettes After Sex –, but both Bernhard Meyer and John Hollenbeck are jazz musicians. With no overdub, this duo sounds like much more than two players at work, and that's because of the different sound...

Szilárd MEZEI viola; Bogdan RANKOVIÆ alto sax, bass clarinet; Branislav AKSIN trombone; Albert MÁRKOS violoncello; Kornél PÁPISTA tuba; Ervin MALINA double bass; István CSÍK drums.

"100 tû hossza (Length of 100 Needles), recorded in Germany...

Aaron Bennett tenor saxophone
John Finkbeiner electric guitar
William Winant vibraphone, percussion, Foley
Lisa Mezzacappa acoustic bass, samples
Tim Perkis electronics
Jordan Glenn drums
"San Francisco Bay Area bassist and composer Lisa Mezzacappa draws inspiration from a wide range of sources in her music, from film to visual art to science. Her newest release, avantNOIR, is a suite of compositions for jazz sextet based on noir crime fiction—classic works by Dashiell Hamme

"'I am doing what a woman can hardly ever do . . . ,' wrote British world traveler Isabella Bird in an 1872 letter from Hawaii. 'And I can fall, I can fall into anything.' San Francisco Bay Area composer, acoustic bassist, and bandleader, Lisa Mezzacappa used those lines -- and more from the writings of Bird and other women adventurers of the 19th and early 20th centuries -- to fashion lyrics for her ten-part 'panoramic song cycle for improvisers.' Sung by the extraordinary vocalist Fay Victor, those...

Aaron Bennett, tenor saxophone / John Finkbeiner, guitar / Lisa Mezzacappa, double bass / Vijay Anderson, drums.

A jazz record on Clean Feed with a cover of "Lick My Decals Off, Baby"? What more could you possibly need to know?...

"Follow-up to the excellent "Visible" showcases Mezzanotte's superb keyboard work. This is really the Italian Return To Forever! Still present is the excellent work of Massimiliano Rosati who sounds like a cross between Al DiMeola & Allan Holdsworth...

Personel: Curt Newton (d), Nate McBride (b), Pandelis Karayorgis (p),

"You won’t get much luck if you search the Net looking for the mi3 band recorded in this CD. Websites about the third sequel of the movie “Mission Impossible,” with the...

Personel: Curt Newton (d), Nate McBride (b), Pandelis Karayorgis (org),

"In the winter of 2002 Nate McBride and I started a weekly jazz and improvised music series at the Abbey Lounge in Cambridge, Mass., which he named "mim" (for modern...

You only *think* you don't know who this is. Miasma is a side project of Guapo who have released this, their first album. Operating to my ears in a more straight-forwardly RIO/avant progressive style than Guapo and with a lot more European folk touches...

Very pretty and pretty unusual quiet music for accordion, violin & bowed contrabass. This is very organic and flowing; the closest comparison I can make is to some of Gavin Bryars' work, esp. his original version of The Sinking Of The Titantic. If you ...

First-ever legit reissue from this really underground, American progressive/hard rock band, who released this, their only release in 1971. If you dig this raw, heavy sound, this is highly recommended.

"Micah is a very little-known American...

Fine collection of solo piano works by some great 20th century composers (Charles Ives 'Study No. 20', Iannix Xenakis 'Herma', John Cage 'In A Landscape', Giacinto Scelsi 'Aitsi') with interspersed with improvisations by the pianist that fit right in. ...

''One of the most versatile masters of the koto, Michiyo Yagi has performed in rock bands, jazz groups, movie soundtracks, classical ensembles, noise improvisations and of course Japanese traditional and folk groups. Here, using both orthodox and unort...

Ken Matsutani – guitar
Inage Louis – bass
Hiroshi Hasegawa - electronics, field recordings
Rinji Fukuoka - drums, percussion, voice

“Instrumental psych from Japan. Ken Matsutani was manager of the legendary Captain Trip Records. Japanese guitarist and vocalist, best known as the leader of Marble Sheep, he has also participated in several other Japanese rock underground groups including AOR and Cement Women (1982), Onna (1985), White Heaven (1986). Rinji Fukuoka is a Tokyo-based...

This is an ambient-drone guitar album by Ken Matsutani, formerly of the legendary Japanese group Marble Sheep who is joined here by the the former drummer of Marble Sheep, Soichrou Nakamura, who acted as the engineer and producer. This is one continuous..

Really excellent debut release by a quintet of young, mostly classically trained players on viola, cello, french horn, oboe and synthesizer. This manages to combine elements of contemporary classical and minimalism with electronic music in a very...

''Otomo Yoshihide (turntables) and Tenko (vocals) are two of the most internationally acclaimed performers to emerge from the Tokyo underground, and have worked with some of the best musicians from around the world. Collaborating together in bands, imp...



Phillip Johnston – soprano saxophone
Don Davis – alto saxophone
Mike Hashim – tenor saxophone
Dave Sewelson – baritone saxophone
Joel Forrester – piano
Dave Hofstra – bass
Richard Dworkin – drums
It takes an unusual band to make news out of the blues, and The Microscopic Septet deliver a gripping investigation of the form on Been Up So Long It Looks Like Down to Me: The Micros Play the Blues, which conti

Since its founding in 1980, under the co-leadership and co-compositional duties of soprano saxophonist Phillip Johnston and pianist Joel Forrester, "the Micros" have been "New York's most famous unknown band"; since 1990, the catchy, film noir theme...

Originally active from 1980-1992, the "Micros" started with a basic reeds-and-rhythm texture that was sonically similar to the sound of the Swing Era, but used influences from the entire continuum of jazz. The result was a brilliant blend of fresh...

Voted the #5 jazz group in the 59th Annual DownBeat Critic's Poll.

"They're still the finest retro-futurists around." – The Village Voice

"...they remain one of New York's most distinctive and entertaining groups." – All About Jazz New York

"...splendid fun." – JazzTimes

"...equal parts zaniness and braininess..." – The New Yorker

Active for a dozen years, the Microscopic Septet were widely recognized as "New York's Most Famous Unknown Band." The group started with a basic reeds-and-rhythm texture (soprano, alto, tenor and baritone sax, piano, bass and drums) that was sonically...

Stephan Micus; raj nplaim, bass zither, chord zither, bavarian zither, nohkan, shô, voice, kalimba, shakuhachi, sinding.

“The idea of sitting down at a table and making a composition on paper is totally foreign to me. To come up with a piece...

17th ECM album from this German musician who uses instruments from cultures from all over the world in a uniquely personal way. He's one of the earliest artists to record for ECM who is still making records for the label, and he's also one of the most...

Stephan Micus-voice, steeldrums, sinding, shakuhachi, suling, nay, tin whistles, percussion.

"This extraordinary multi-instrumentalist is actually one of the few to have grasped in its essence what was the song of the world. With him there exist.

This is the fourth album by this Japanese quartet of vocals/violin/guitar, keyboards, bass/synths and drums whose history goes all the way back into the mid 1980's. An excellent quality live recording of symphonic progressive, done Japanese style. "Mid...

This is the second album by this Japanese quartet of vocals/violin/guitar, keyboards, stick/bass and drums whose history goes all the way back into the mid 1980's. "Midas were one of the unheralded "Made In Japan" groups who recorded their debut album ...

"Somewhere among the sonic synchronicity that binds together the forty-two minutes of Midday Veil’s animated and eloquent new album “This Wilderness,” attentive listeners will be struck by the realization that the human organism embodied by the listener is an integral part of an interconnected ecosystem.

It’s a realization about self, size and scope, and like the album itself, it’s massive. Midday Veil have long found themselves comfortable creating colossal concerns, as recorded on the band’s...


"Formerly known as The Rainbow Band, this legendary Danish band blended elements of rock, prog, jazz, and psychedelia to powerful effect, with especially impressive guitar work by Peer Frost Johansson. Walking Circles is their second LP, which marked...

First, very good release by a three acoustic guitar ensemble who are reminiscent in many ways of the California Guitar Trio, but they've got their own sound. On some tracks they are joined by an electric bass, which fattens up the sound as well. I've s...

MC3
Second, excellent and best-yet release by a three acoustic guitar ensemble who are reminsicent in many ways of the California Guitar Trio, but they've got their own sound. On some tracks they are joined by an electric bass, which fattens up the sound as..

"A reissue of Mighty Baby's A Jug Of Love, originally released in 1971. This beautifully uplifting collection barely reached the shops in 1971, but has gone on to become one of the best-loved cult albums of all time. Produced by Mike Vernon (David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Ten Years After), A Jug Of Love showcases Mighty Baby's fluid, expressive musicianship and the astonishing guitar playing of Martin Stone to glorious effect.
This long-awaited reissue has been assembled with their full involvement and..

"This hour-long CD is one of the best bodies of British psychedelia ever released. It contains the complete Mighty Baby album from Head Records, expanded to 13 tracks with the addition of five tracks cut by the Action during its 1967 transition period. The opening number, "Egyptian Tomb," sets the tone for the entire album -- in terms of content, structure, and beat, it sounds like the early Allman Brothers, or maybe the Grateful Dead in one of their harder-rocking moments, jamming with Crosby, Stills...