Friday 29 December 2023
Rafael Rabello in 3 (Tributo a Garoto, Sete Cordas, and interpreta Radames Gnattali)
Tuesday 26 December 2023
Jerzy Gorka Artkiestra, 2018, limited time only
He was the drummer in the Golem band from the last post. Amazingly his album is almost as good as the other one. It does have a discogs page, this time, here.
Consider the opener:
Subsequently on the title track, note the opening amped up tritone-playing string mellotron or imitation thereof (?) like Watcher of the Skies, leading into a nice doomy synth riff that explores more interesting dissonance before finishing off with some classic KC style (Larks Tongue) guitar arpeggios:
Thanks to everyone who helped, finding this on youtube, downloading, etc.
What a joy to find this one too. I recommend folks purchase the cd!
Sunday 24 December 2023
A wonderful Xmas present, 1997 Golem
Will prog wonders never cease?
Unfortunately due to the commonness of the word Golem it's almost impossible to search for information, and I draw a blank on discogs although I'm pretty sure it must be in there somewhere.
Right from the start you'll fall off your chair here. It starts out like this with a track translated as Nasty Guy, appropriately enough:
I love the fake (digital) string keyboards, which reminds of so much later symphonic fusion like Russian Horizont's Summer in Town, so many Germanic bands of course, but the layering of a thick electric guitar riff with dissonances on top is just like heaven for me.
Bez odjazdu [Without Departure] features all the hallmarks of progressive music with arpeggiated riffs full of dissonance, abrupt figures and melodies, changes in keys and rhythm, you get the point:
From a commenter (many thanks):
GOLEM is an interesting but little known group from Andrychów (Poland), playing progressive rock - one of the oldest and overall best bands of the 1980s in Poland.
Przemyslaw Rams - guitar
Piotr Rupik - keyboards
Wlodzimierz Marczak - bass
Jerzy Gorka - drums
Friday 22 December 2023
Guitar Worshop in Rio, 1991
Here in Rio as expected we have the light tropical salsa etc. styles of music and very little of the fusion that excites me so much. On the other hand, compositions are very strong here and there. The amazing Ulisses Rocha with his Yasei no Kaze:
Wednesday 20 December 2023
Guitar Workshop in Toyko, 1989
Monday 18 December 2023
Guitar Workshop in Hawai'i, 1989
A total change in direction for this one with the more tropical Hawaiian sounds featured, mostly misses but some hits, as in Kapono Beaner's Girls with the Golden Tans, a title which so makes me want to go back on holidays somewhere warm:
Saturday 16 December 2023
Guitar Work Shop Vol. 3, Direct to Disc, 1980
I guess this one (with info here) was the most disappointing for me with nothing too special to hold onto.
The first track is Yamagishi's Bagoon:
Thursday 14 December 2023
Requested Tomas Band Vol. 1 Andersen, from Japan 1976
Information (scant) here. Here's a true rarity which was pointed out to us by Destroyer... it's mostly basic big band and/or fusion jazz with female vocals, but relatively well done, super professionally played, and interesting. And best of all ultra rare of course. Now you can listen without worrying about the hundred dollar price tag of the vinyl or the complications of getting it delivered from East Asia.
Track 6 [ 海 ] has such a nice progressive feeling to it although the track doesn't develop as creatively or originally as it promised to:
For the more upbeat funky side of the band, the next track [サッド・トーマス]-- meaning?:
Wednesday 13 December 2023
Guitar Workshop (Work Shop) Part 1, the already posted albums
A compiled database of the series, likely incomplete however, can be found here. Note that the two words Work and Shop are kept apart in some releases, despite the usual English convention.
The first album was the LA one because it featured Buzzy Feiten, although it was a bit disappointing, it's here. For the multiple Watanabe packages the first one appeared here, and then recently for J. Yamagishi there were posts here.
As you probably realize, there were great tracks here and there on all these albums. I'll get to the remainder that are available next. On the first one the standout of course was K. Watanabe, with the wonderful funky fusion sounds, a bit of late 70s George Benson which is always a good thing of course, for ex. on Neptune:
Of course Vol. 2 the follow up was more disappointing, but there was Rhythm Road by Omura which oddly enough was different from the version on the 1979 LP:
Monday 11 December 2023
Friday 8 December 2023
Back to Theo Jorgensmann with the Clarinet Summit in You Better Fly Away 1980
It's a series, as you can see discogged here.
Info for this one:
Clarinet Summit, You Better Fly Away - 1979 live baden baden (with aldo romano & gianluigi trovesi)
live in New Jazz Meeting Baden-Baden Nov. 1979, record released in 1980, no re-issues exist), produced by Joachim Berendt.
Featured clarinet players (also doubling on bass & contrabass cls + Romanian flute:
John Carter, Perry Robinson, Theo Jörgensmann, Bernd Konrad, Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, Gianluigi Trovesi
Backing band: Didier Lockwood (vl), Eje Thelin (tb), Stan Tracey (p), J-F Jenny-Clark & Kai Kanthak (b), Aldo Romano & Günter Sommer (d).
Although one would expect regular contemporary jazz with overlong improvisations bordering on the tedious and mentally / physically taxing like a 2-week long holter monitor checking your heart rhythm, the music is actually quite interesting, shockingly creative and well composed. Note the great violinist Didier Lockwood is on here too.
Consider just the opener / title track:
Truly a much underrated album here, along with the Go Ahead Clarinet from earlier. Very well composed music.
Wednesday 6 December 2023
Another one from K. Akiyama, 1982's Zoomin'
Here's one more from him that was missing. In the end I really enjoyed his work (placed here) and find it tragic he is so unknown. This one is less exemplary, having less of the high-energy fusion and really original songwriting compared to its predecessor. The track called Dawn starts off so auspiciously but is not developed in as progressive a manner as one would have hoped:
Monday 4 December 2023
Back to the Theo Jorgensmann Quartet with Straightout (1977) and Song of Bowaje (1981)
What an incredible cover for Bowaje! Very similar to the preceding posts.
From Straightout, Call and Response: