Piano Choir's two albums Handscapes from 1973 and 1975

Honestly the days where we'd discover such pure progressive lost album treasures / pleasures are long gone, for the most part, and sadly so.  I did do a review of this way back when in 2015 but oddly enough never shared it, which doesn't do it justice.  It's a brilliant pair of albums, databased here, that showcases really stunning playing plus some pretty original composition as well, though at times, the numbers of hands/fingers creates a kind of jumbled up, garbled sound of mumbo-jumbo. Admittedly there are some improvised or free jazz tracks, but especially when they pull out the synths or electric keys there are some really great passages, recalling the beautiful George Gruntz Piano Conclave and 2001 Keys albums.

Here's the review from back in the day:

The group consists of the following musicians: Danny Mixon, Harold Mabern, Hugh Lawson, Nat Jones, Sonelius Smith, Stanley Cowell, Webster Lewis.  The full information can be found on discogs.  First of all going quickly over that tracklist you can be sure we are dealing with some very ambitious progressive music here, just from perusing the titles.  The wonderfully named Hugh Lawson composition Ballad For The Beast From Bali-Bali starts with grand piano and synth noodling, but without hesitation moves into the arena of George Gruntz's wonderful piano conclave: intense, odd, fusiony, and oh-so interesting.  The track that follows, Sonelius Smith's The Need to Smile threw me to the floor with the opening mellotron strings soprano touches, as an electric piano plays an almost dissonant obligato in a different key, the different keyboards (electric, synth, acoustic) charm us with their weaving together of a complex pattern, like one of those richly hued arab carpets full of colors and geometry:





And that title!  yes, listening to these consummate artists, there is indeed a need to smile...

Barbara Ann is a gospel, Keith Jarrett-influenced acoustic composition by Webster Lewis.  This track and the first of side b were posted on soundcloud by Gianni.  The Prayer for Peace by Stanley Cowell, the last track, will shock you like an electrocution if you love polytonality and advanced-level, postgraduate composition.  It's a stunner.  I recommend it for teaching purposes at university schools of music-- advanced composition classes only for the most highly talented please.






"...seven consummate keyboard artists...together as one, and as one, together."

Their first record, a double LP, was available online and for me is somewhat more disappointing.  It's more meandering, sometimes completely free and improvised and less cohesively progressive.  Less generously it could be described as all over the place.