(Klaus Lenz) Modern Soul (Big) Band in 1974 and 1976

Not surprisingly, the earlier 1974 album is the better of the two, with Lenz still involved as leader.  Curiously, and to their detriment in my opinion, both of these are live albums.

But the track Fusion is magnificent, with its classical compositional intro developing the theme:

Oddly enough this track or at least its name reappears in a 1978 album by the same name when the band is rechristened the Jazz and Rock Machine (like Dauner's United Jazz and Rock Ensemble, though Machine is definitely much punchier).  I couldn't tell if it's the same song or a different one.

For the 1976 album there is no sample, and that says it all.

Meeting with GDR's Modern Soul Band (1979)

OK, here we go with more large German soul-rock bands with one foot in the fusion scene, the other in a commercial cesspooled septic tank.

This is an offshoot of the Klaus Lenz project Modern Soul Big Band...  Klaus Lenz was presented here earlier as a master of GDR fusion with his two big mid-seventies masterpieces, and accompanying Uschi on a 1974 record that proved slightly disappointing.  I presented his bio in that earlier, earliest post and won't repeat it here.

On this record there is a Klaus, but it's a Nowodworski (specifically, on vocals), not a Lenz.  Note also that arranging credits are ascribed to one Gerhard Laartz and compositional credits to a number of musicians: Gerhard Laartz, Joachim Schmauch, and Wolfgang Nicklisch.  So Lenz no more.  However, they did have an ST release 3 years before which seems to have involved him.  I'm not so sure, since his presence usually brings more creativity, of which that ST is lacking.

But the stunning closing instrumental Meeting hits all the right notes both musically and fusionally:



To summarize or perhaps to clarify from the above random notes, there are two related albums, the ST Modern Soul Band from 1976 and the original from 1974, which was called Klaus Lenz' Modern Soul Big Band (the better album).  Both I have and can post on request.