Jazz Archives

This out-of-print LP (one of several from the Prestige and Milestone catalog that are long overdue to be reissued on CD) was one of the finest of altoist Gary Bartz's early years. The 24-minute multi-movement "Another Earth" is a stormy affair matching Bartz with trumpeter Charles Tolliver, the fiery tenor Pharoah Sanders, pianist Stanley Cowell, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Freddy Waits. The flip side of the record has three quartet outings by Bartz, Cowell, Workman and Waits, including the mysterious ballad "Dark Nebula" and an uptempo blues, "UFO," plus a Bartz-Workman duet on "Lost in the Stars." Well worth searching for, this adventurous music is quite colorful and always holds one's interest.

:::Review by Scott Yanow:::

Gary Bartz - Another Earth (1968)

1. Another Earth 23:46
2. Dark Nebula 5:04
3. Ufo 4:49
4. Lost In The Stars 4:04
5. Perihelion And Aphelion 3:47

Credits
Charles Tolliver (trumpet),
Gary Bartz (alto sax),
Pharoah Sanders (tenor sax),
Stanley Cowell (piano),
Reggie Workman (bass),
Freddie Waits (drums)

Alto saxophonist Elton Dean and bassist Hugh Hopper established their reputations with the groundbreaking jazz-rock band Soft Machine in the '70s and have continued to be strong forces in the British free-jazz scene. On this excel1ent 1995 release, they team up with pianist Keith Tippett and drummer Joe Gallivan to create a wide-ranging program of bristling, exploratory jazz and innovative electronic music. Gallivan plays synthesizer in addition to his propulsive, pulse-oriented drums, and on several cuts ("Jannakota" and "Rocky Recluse") the music drifts into beguiling electronic soundscapes. These serve as interludes for the more energetic and fiery pieces featuring Dean's singular sax and Tippett's dense, multilayered piano. Dean's distinctive alto and the seldom-played saxello both project a plaintive, vocalized sound, equally adaptable to the frenzy of "Seven Drones" or the calm of "Echoes." This ability to shift emotional gears, shared by the group as a whole, results in a collective music that is both spontaneous and cohesive.

:::Review by Wally Shoup:::

Hopper, Dean, Tippett, Gallivan - Cruel But Fair (1976)

1. Seven Drones 8:30
Written-By – Hugh Hopper
2. Jannakota 4:36
Written-By – Dean, Gallivan
3. Echoes 8:43
Written-By – Keith Tippett
4. Square Enough Fire 9:23
Written-By – Dean, Hopper, Gallivan, Tippett
5. Rocky Recluse 2:24
Written-By – Gallivan, Tippett
6. Bjorn Free 2:18
Written-By – Dean, Hopper, Gallivan, Tippett
7. Soul Fate 5:38
Written-By – Dean, Hopper, Gallivan, Tippett

Credits
Alto Saxophone, Saxello – Elton Dean
Bass – Hugh Hopper
Drums, Percussion, Synthesizer – Joe Gallivan
Piano – Keith Tippett

Originally a two-fer on vinyl and now on one CD, Shaw's debut as a leader is one of the first "free bop" sessions, in many ways his answer to Bitches Brew. The trumpeter's ensemble extracts dense, energetic, meaty collective sounds based in pure improvisation with a skeleton of a rhythmic framework to expound upon. Saxophonists Gary Bartz & Bennie Maupin, electric pianist George Cables, twin bassists Ron Carter and Clint Houston, and drummer Lenny White respond to Shaw's heavy direction, making for some of the most kinetic jazz heard in that period of early fusion. Shaw's bright melodicism, hard edged swing and refusal to compromise are his greatest assets. They come shining through on tuneful classics like the unstoppable "Think On Me" and stop-start gymnastics of "Boo-Ann's Grand." It represents the progressive bop aesthetic at a fever pitch. The title track is as wild and wooly as Woody could be, while "Lost & Found" is free bop at its finest. "New World" is a free funk number, quite a trend setter for its time, while "A Deed For Dolphy" shows an abstract, no-time side rarely heard from Shaw. All tunes are quite lengthy, no shorter than nine, no longer than seventeen minutes. This allows the band to develop their ideas and interact in a manner more akin to a concert setting. Bartz (alto and soprano saxophone) and Maupin (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet and flute) consistently show why they are two of the best improvising jazzmen out there. As much as the music is the thing, it is the singular presence of Shaw that refracts many colors of light and dark, like a multi-hued beacon directing many ships to port. There is not a better example of this music from its inception, documented on tape, than this other worldly session that brought the trumpeter to the jazz world's attention. Furthermore, few have done it better since. Truly a landmark recording, and a pivot point in the history of post-modern music.

:::Review by Michael G. Nastos:::

Woody Shaw - Blackstone Legacy (1970)

1. Blackstone Legacy 16:08
2. Think On Me 10:49
3. Lost And Found 10:45
4. New World 17:06
5. Boo-Ann's Grand 14:25
6. A Deed For Dolphy 8:56

Credits
Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Gary Bartz
Bass – Ron Carter
Bass [Electric] – Clint Houston
Drums – Lenny White
Piano, Piano [Electric] – George Cables
Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet [Bass], Flute – Bennie Maupin
Trumpet – Woody Shaw

Godzik Pink was a RIO/Avant-Prog band formed in 1996 in Los Angeles, California. The band consisted of Ara Shirinyan (guitar), Eric Kiersnowski (bass), Jonathan Silberman (tenor saxophone), and Nigel Lundemo (drums). Godzik Pink blended alternative rock, jazz and pop to create their complex and highly original sound. They released three EP albums before disbanding. This high energy band is recommended to fans of punk-prog aka pronk and avantjazz.

:::Review by Evolutionary Sleeper:::

Godzik Pink - Es Em, Ekel Em (2009)

1. Lifting for the Lord (2:55)
2. Fardray'n Akopf (1:29)
3. Several dogs (1:53)
4. Sonna Vonda Beech (2:03)
5. Es Em, Ekel Em (2:18)
6. Mourning Wood (2:50)
7. You're in the Jungle Baby (3:23)


Credits
- Ara Shirinyan / guitar
- Eric Kiersnowski / bass
- Jonathan Silberman / tenor saxophone
- Nigel Lundemo / drums

Carl Orff (July 10, 1895(1895-07-10) – March 29, 1982) was a 20th-century German composer, most famous for Carmina Burana (1937). He has also become very influential in the field of music education for his pedagogic methods, which survive through Orff Schulwerk.
Orff was born in Munich on 10 July, 1895, and came from a Bavarian family that was very active in the German military. His father's regimental band had supposedly played the compositions of young Orff. Moser's Musik-Lexikon states that Orff studied at the Munich Academy of Music until 1914. He then served in the military during World War I. Afterwards, he held various positions at opera houses in Mannheim and Darmstadt, later returning to Munich to pursue his music studies.
As of 1925, and for the rest of his life, Orff was the head of a department and co-founder of the Guenther School for gymnastics, music, and dance in Munich, where he worked with musical beginners. Having constant contact with children, this is where he developed his theories in music education.
Carl Orff burial location in Andechs Orff's association with the Nazi party has been alleged, but never conclusively established. His Carmina Burana was hugely popular in Nazi Germany after its premiere in Frankfurt in 1937, receiving numerous performances. But the composition with its unfamiliar rhythms was also denounced with racist taunts. He was one of the few German composers under the Nazi regime who responded to the official call to write new music for A Midsummer Night's Dream after the music of Felix Mendelssohn had been banned — others refused to cooperate in this. But Orff had already composed music for this play as early as 1917 and 1927, long before this was a favour for the Nazi government.
Orff was a personal friend of Kurt Huber, one of the founders of the resistance movement Die Weiße Rose (the White Rose), who was condemned to death by the Volksgerichtshof and executed by the Nazis in 1943. Orff by happenstance called at Huber’s house on the day after his arrest. Huber’s distraught wife begged Orff to use his influence to help her husband, but Orff denied her request. If his friendship with Huber came out, he told her, he would be “ruined”. Huber’s wife never saw Orff again. Wracked by guilt, Orff would later write a fictitious letter to his late friend Huber, imploring him for forgiveness.
After World War II, Orff, faced with the possible loss of royalties from Carmina Burina, claimed to a de-nazification officer that he was a member of the White Rose, and was himself involved in the resistance. There was no evidence for this other than his own word, and other sources dispute his claim. Canadian historian Michael H. Kater made in earlier writings a particularly strong case that Orff collaborated with Nazi authorities, but in his most recent publication "Composers of the Nazi Era: Eight Portraits" (2000) Kater has taken back his earlier accusations to some extent. Orff's assertion that he had been anti-Nazi during the war was accepted by the American de-nazification authorities, who changed his previous category of "gray unacceptable" to "gray acceptable", enabling him to continue to compose for public presentation.
Orff died at the age of 86 and is buried in the Baroque church of the beer-brewing Benedictine priory of Andechs, south of Munich. His tombstone bears his name, his dates of birth and death, and the Latin inscription "Summus Finis" ("The ultimate goal").

Carl Orff - Carmina Burana

1. Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi: O Fortuna
2. Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi: Fortune plango vulnera
3. Primo vere: Veris leta facies
4. Primo vere: Omnia sol temperat
5. Primo vere: Ecce gratum
6. Uf dem anger: Tanz
7. Uf dem anger: Floret Silva
8. Uf dem anger: Chramer, gip die varwe mir
9. Uf dem anger: Reie
10. Uf dem anger: Were diu werlt alle min
11. In taberna: Estuans interius
12. In taberna: Olim lacus colueram
13. In taberna: Ego sum abbas
14. In taberna: In taberna quando sumus
15. Cour d'amours: Amor volat undique
16. Cour d'amours: Dies, nox et omnia
17. Cour d'amours: Stetit puella
18. Cour d'amours: Circa mea pectora
19. Cour d'amours: Si puer cum puellula
20. Cour d'amours: Veni, veni, venias
21. Cour d'amours: In trutina
22. Cour d'amours: Tempus est iocundum
23. Cour d'amours: Dulcissime
24. Blanziflor et Helena: Ave formosissima
25. Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi: O Fortuna

Credits
Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus, Orquesta Sinfónica de Chicago, James Levine, 1985

Zeuhl was genial Magma's invention in its time, and genre's influence is really important in prog history. I really like some early Magma's albums, but very soon formula's potential was exploited till borderlines, and all later trying to dig deeper doesn't sound so attractive for me. I can really enjoy zeuhl with jazz fusion elements, some playful moments, experimental sound and rhythm,interesting composition structures.
Unhappily from some point Magma and big part of their followers/related projects became more "thing inside itself". Dark, totalitarian chamber music with repeating formula very soon missed its attraction (for me). Then, it's really great that there exists some different zeuhl streams around. Some years ago I discovered really original and interesting (at that time) Japanese brutal noisy zeuhl ( which possibly mostly burned its potential till now as well).
Another interesting discovery is Universal Total Orchestra. Side-project of more boring and less interesting Italian zeuhl band Runaway Totem, UTO is real breath of fresh air!
Second band's album (released 9 years after their debut) is great confirmation zeuhl isn't term for museums. Their chamber music is heavily scented with jazz fusion and that unique Italian elegant beauty you can find on best RPI classic albums. Ana Torres Fraile's operatic vocals is that rare case when such element sounds absolutely organic in rock music. Keyboards sound doesn't press you as Teutonic boot, but remind more prog rock great legacy (ELP or Yes, but without bombastic). Rhythm section is pure fusion, and it gives to all music lightness, dynamics and even groove. Guitar is pure rock, and it sounds powerful and controlled at the same time.Compositions are very professional and never boring.
Great zeuhl album for XXI century! My rating is 5! Excellent!

:::Review by snobb:::

Universal Totem Orchestra - The Magus (2007)

1. De Astrologia (19:30)
2. Coerenza Della Percentuali (17:32)
3. Les Plantes Magiques (7:35)
4. Ato Piradime (15:51)
5. Mors, Ultima Linea Rerum (6:06)
6. Vento Madre (13.24)

Credits
- Yanik Lorenzo Andreatta / bass
- Antonio Fedeli / saxophone
- Ana Torres Fraile / vocals
- Uto Giorgio Golin / drums, percussion
- Fabrizio Mattuzzi / keyboards, electric piano
- Daniele Valle / guitar

Guest singers
- Francesco Festi / vocals
- Adriano Vianilli / vocals (6)
- Antonello Cunego and Mario Libera / tenor vocals (3)
- Dante Cavazzoni and Emiliano Modena / baritone vocals (3)

Don't be confused. This is in effect their debut demo Shub-Niggurath cleaned up and released on a CD. An excellent idea, in my view. 

Their debut demo is impossible to find anywhere and the music too good to disappear.
Those who knows their debut album knows that this band is not for the faint hearted. Where their debut album was a full frontal attack of infernal claustrophobic darkness, this album is more subtle and more Magma orientated. It still has all the hallmarks of Shub Niggurath though and will please the fans of this band.
The opening track Yog-Sothoth is a hint of things to come on their debut album with it's cascades of claustrophobic sounds, driven by a piano acting as a bass. The only hint, in fact. The other tracks is more subtle with more gentle use of keys, guitars and female vocals. But the dark claustrophobic music is still present. But dare I whisper it, this album is actually beautiful at times. In particular the final track In Memoriam which is a lovely funeral dirge. This album still has some distorted guitars and the usual bass like piano and the tortured trombone. But where there is normally darkness, this album also feature a more lyrical side of Shub Niggurath.
Quality wise, you either hate or love Shub Niggurath. I don't think anyone can be indifferent to their music. I am on the love side of this divide. This album is not as good as their debut album Les Morts Vont Vite. But it is still a great album. Hence my sprinkling of stars.

:::Review by toroddfuglesteg:::

Shub Niggurath - Introduction (2009)

1. Yog-Sothoth (11:27 )
2. Entresol (5:48)
3. Introduction (3:22)
4. Barback (15:16)
5. In Memoriam (5:22)


Credits
- Franck William Fromy / guitars, percussion
- Franck Coulaud / drums
- Allain Ballaud / bass
- Jean-Luc Hervé / harmonium, piano
- Ann Stewart / vocals
- Véronique Verdier / trombone

Info
The band's debut cassette of 1982 remastered by Udi Koomran and published by Soleil Zeuhl (first time on CD).

You can find it here.

An amazing archival release, released by Jannick (Magma bass god supreme) on his own label, all in much better sound than you would expect given the rarity & 70's recording dates. This is the first legit release of a legendary recording which was the very 1st recording of De Futura, live 10/16/75 by a big band version of Magma! This is a famed & mythic recording, & is rounded out by the rehearsal for the show and more rare Jannick materials, including 3 amazing live Magma pieces that feature Jannick at his most over-the-top best (including two versions of the piece featured on Inedits, but in MUCH better sound quality!) A Magma must-own!!

:::Review by waysidemusic:::

Utopic Sporadic Orchestra - Nancy 75 (2001)

1. De Futura (Rehearsal - 16 Oct 75 Nancy) (23:40)
2. De Futura (Live - 17 Oct 75 Nancy) (25:12)
Bonus Tracks
3. KMX E XII Opus 3 (6 Feb 74 Bremen) (6:33)
4. La Musique Des Sphères / Part 2 (31 Oct 76 Paris) (10:00)
5. KMX E XII Opus 3 (Holland 74) (8:00)

Credits
- Jannick Top / bass
- Christian Vander / drums
- Jean Schultheis / drums
- Chris Stassinopoulos / percussion
- Jean-Pierre Sabartet / piano
- Gérard Bikialo / keyboards
- Philippe Briche / keyboards
- Sauveur Mallia / cello bass
- Denis Lable / guitar
- Josselin Piccende / guitar
- Georges Gasky / synthesizer
- Didier Lockwood / violin
- Michel Ripoche / violin
- Mohamed Larbi Ouchni / Tunisian violin
- Frédérique Gegenbach / voices
- Stella Vander / voices
- Martine Toureil / voices
- Hervé Derien / cello

PigSoul is a experimental rock group from Sao Paulo-Brazil. The group was formed in 2009 by Daniel Brita (guitar and trombone), Rafael Montorfano (Synth and piano), Gustavo Boni (bass) and Luis André "Gigante" (drums), all brazilian musicians. The band members were influenced by Brazilian, Latin Music, Rock and 20th century's composers. The band's first album was released independently in 2010 and is called "Chorume da Alma", an instrumental "Rock In Opposition" piece.

:::Review by pigsoul:::

Pig Soul - Chorume da Alma (2011)

1. Intro (11)3142212X 4:19
2. Chorume Da Alma 5:05
3. Koentro 3:07
4. Rãño 3:54
5. Romanza 4:01
6. L'Amour 2:21
7. Wa A Api Vini 1:18
8. Cocktail 1:26
9. Epílogo 2:15
10. Taking Waves 5:03

Credits
Drums, Producer, Composed By – Luis André "Gigante"
Electric Bass, Producer, Composed By – Gustavo Boni
Electric Guitar, Trombone, Producer, Composed By, Mixed By, Mastered By – Daniel "Brita"
Synthesizer, Piano, Producer, Composed By – Rafael Montorfano

The French RIO band Zaar were created from the crumbled ashes left behind after the demise of Sotos, a fine band that were around in the late 90's playing music with a sound not unlike bands such as Univers Zero, Magma, KIng Crimson, Present, Gentle Giant, and The Mahavishnu Orchestra. With the formation of Zaar, the RIO and chamber rock sounds remain, and leaders Yan Hazera (guitars) and Michael Hazera (drums) decided to find a new bass player in Pairbon, and replace the violin/cello player from Sotos with someone on hurdy gurdy, that person being Cosia. The end result is no less complex, with majestic passages mixed with dissonant harmonies, as the musicians weave intricate lines around each other, giving the music an overall mysterious and ominous sound.
The CD was engineered by none other than Bob Drake, himself a well-known recording artist on the ReR Megacorp label and also producer to such acts as Sotos, Nebelnest, Thinking Plague, and Hamster Theater. Zaar couldn't have found a more perfect fit for their debut.
If you have the patience for this sort of music, the album will work wonders for you if you give it a few spins, as the oddball melodies and complex passages merge with the crisp production to give the listener a sense of warmth not heard on many releases these days.
I'll be the first to tell you I have no idea of how to play a hurdy gurdy, and until compiling information to do this review I had never even see one. Thanks to some wonderful web pages on the Internet I was able to get an idea of the workings of this instrument.
Needless to say, once you listen to Cosia's playing on this album you will wonder how someone can get such lovely and soaring sounds on what looks like a very cumbersome instrument. Basically, the hurdy gurdy sounds like a combination of a violin and cello, but it is shaped almost like a large box with a small neck on it, a little bit larger than a violin with a beefy wooden body. However, if you didn't read the liner notes of the CD you could swear the band had a cello and violin player. Cosia opens up the epic opening track "Sefir" with ragged, almost distrorted lines on the hurdy gurdy before the band lurches in with plenty of dark and dissonant melodies, punctuated by the effects laden bass notes from Pairbon. From there it's a long and adventurous ride through "rock in opposition" and "Zeuhl" heaven. There are two main epic tracks, and a batch of shorter pieces, plus the hard rocking, almost King Crimson-ish "Scherzo # C", which is a really good workout for guitarist Yan Hazera as he gets to show off his muscular side. 

If you are open minded in regards to avant-garde instrumental progressive rock, then give this debut from Zaar a try. I think this band will be around for a while, maturing and honing their brand of experimental and dark music for today's modern prog audience. Good stuff!

:::Review by Pete Pardo:::

Zaar - Zaar (2009)

1. Sëfir (20:07)
2. Zolg (1:59)
3. Ce n'est pas triste (2:42)
4. Tougoudougoum (1:29)
5. Discasambo (3:23)
6. Omk (17:20)
7. Scherzaaah (0:38)
8. Scherzo # C (4:45)
9. [...] (1:34)

Credits
- Yan Hazera / guitar
- Michael Hazera / drums
- Cosia / Hurdy Gurdy
- Pairbon / bass, double-bass

What a strange, undefinable music. Need to say that this is my first "Runaway Totem" release I've tasted and to be honest, I don't really know what to think. Which is bad, because I mostly do know. Um, so we have ubiquitous music, this can be a good thing, don't worry. First track, Alle Sorgenti di Kronos quite a disappointed me. Full of thin narrating line, atmospheric sound which unfortunately failed to provide prog masterpiece. More like experimental occasional jamming to me from some Liquid Tension-like group.
Second one, Aevum is better, because it gives to us, listeners some things where we can hook on. It (have to admit that also certain parts of first song. After all, it's over 20 minutes of music), uses complex layering structure, where music graduates towards the end in every part (see tracklist).
Also have to mention important fact that this music is quite extraordinary. You'll for sure feel like listening "how-to-done-in-different-way" Zeuhl, than you were used to listen from Magma. After all, you probably should have this fact on mind when listening such album, it's Zeuhl music, so rules are changed, sound is twisted to The Greater Good and we're happy, aren't we ? Last track then continues in similar tone as previous one.
4(-), interesting one, but certainly needs more listens to prove it's strength.

:::Review by Marty McFly:::

Runaway Totem - Manu Menes (2009)

1. Alle Sorgenti di Kronos (24:28)
2. Aevum (21:38)
Tempo Alato
Il Tempo cos'è?
3. Phi-Ur (26:20)
L'Essere e il Non Essere
La Liberazione
Abbandono in Manu

Credits
- Cahal De Bêtêl / vocals, guitars, synthguitars, piano, keyboards, synthesizer, atmosphere noise
- Tipheret / drums, percussions, gamelan, piano, keyboards, voice
- Dauno Giuseppe Buttiglione / telluric bass
- Issirias Moira Dusatti / vocals

Guests
- Mirco Pedrotti / vibraphone
- Anna Boschi ANNA BOSCHI / flute
- Nadia Bortolamedi / clarinet

Yoshiyuki Nakajima's brilliant and refined keyboard sounds can lead all of other instruments and listeners into the darkness.
A keen hit of his piano opens the curtain of the AMYGDALA's Complex Combat show. Over 45 minutes you cannot breathe well, and your brain will be broken and melted down by lacking of oxygen and high fever of your passion. As above mentioned, the star of the show is Yoshiyuki, a keyboardist and a bassist. That is, he can play most of AMYGDALA's important roles. He writes all tracks and scripts, plays as not only the the leading actor but another supporting one. With hearing me saying that, you may assume that he should have the show all to himself... No! The important point is that two (plus one) other supporting member, a speedy and sharp guitarist Yoshihiro Yamaji, a strict and steady but much flexible drummer Daniel Jeand'heur, and a terrific KENSO's synth player Ken'ichi Oguchi (track 3 and 4) as a special guest. Such characteristic players can play together without blurring. Can you feel what a wonderful show this be? Oh yes, I could shout so in spite of myself hahhaha...
From start to finish, around the show is dark atmosphere. Not fuzzy or cloudy, but clearly and spiritually dark atmosphere, on it. The act one Double Army is a 12 minute scene without letting us feel the length. Absolutely dangerous keyboard and earachy guitar sounds with drums aggressively flunged can heat our mind and smash our brain to pieces. The sharp-edged darkness and painful killa flavour can remind us the sounds of King Crimson in the Starless And Bible Black era. I'm sure their play and stage should be with full of passion and full of coolness.
After the first act, we should be deeply sunk with the next one, without any short breath and teardrops. This Theatre Anatomy is a surrealistic pillow. Some dry coughs should mean what? The deeper we go backstage or inside of the theatre, the dustier the dressing rooms may be...? Very mysterious and spiritual world we can feel. The strings sounds in the middle part can make the backstage air itself more risky and more dangerous. Where will we go from now? I dunno, I'll never know!
Wow, we should be surprised at a Mole's Egg in the deeply underground theatre. What do this close-to-the-cliff keyboard shouts express? Should it show a mole baby born from the egg? How terribly the shouts be growling! It might kill us at a glance...how fearful! The scene is finished with heartbeat-confusing guitar squeaks. At last, a terrible beast has come here!
Ozy we can find from the title some mysterious stuffs in the stage and the scene. More improvised and more let-us-crazy style the actors can have and give to us. The magical world occupied with devils should get darker and more despaired, as the track be, I always feel. But not always there are killer sounds only but calm and solemn ones sometimes, though the result be same...dark and dangerous.
This song and scene is the most improvised and wonderful one in this album and this show I consider.
The last scene Logos gets started with more rigorous and tougher sounds of keyboards and guitars. Well we are remarkably amazed at the star Yoshiyuki and the keyboard plays shining and getting sharper. Although the other instruments can make such an effort - the guitars are loud and impressive, and the drum and percussion are very strict and very serious - as hard as the star keyboard, they should be hidden behind the star player! The leading actor can play his role so gracefully but much violently. THIS IS AMYGDALA SHOW, YOU, BURN IT INTO YOUR EYES AND BRAIN OVER!
Sorry but I can't say anymore. Huh, I'm comfortably tired. And this show's highly recommended naturally!

:::Review by DamoXt7942:::

Amygdala - Complex Combat (2008)

1. Double Army (12:08)
2. Theatre Anatomy (8:49)
3. Mole's Egg (7:35)
4. Ozy (9:33)
5. Logos (8:53)

Credits
- Yoshiyuki Nakajima / keyboards
- Yoshihiro Yamaji / bass, guitar
- Daniel Jeand'heur / drums
- Kenichi Oguchi / synths (2)

The best album of the year
Wow... What a music!? I think we have finally found the best album of the year and probably one of the best albums of the decade, if not the best! My touch with zeuhl is very poor to date, but I have to change this. Ëmëhntëhtt-Rê is just unthinkable music. It's like a jewel - rare and prime. It personifies the word art - and explains some other words: perfection, unique, profound and made with wish. I think that's enough for the portrait of the album.
Now it's time to talk about the essence of Ëmëhntëhtt-Rê. This is an album with perfect musicianship and extremely extraordinary songwriting. There aren't peak moments and culmination, because the whole album is a culmination. All around the album the themes are connected logically and precise. Probably there are the culminations - at the end of Ëmëhntëhtt-Rê II and at the end of Ëmëhntëhtt-Rê III, but as I said everything else is like a culmination, too.
Kobaïan language is again rulling over the album. The constructed (by Christian Vander) language sounds very ancient-like and helps the album being some more impressive. All the instruments are just divine. Drum, bass, piano and guitar are all incredible. I would like to mention two names: Philippe Bussonnet (bass player) and, of course, Christian Vander - who doesn't need introduction. They both play remarkable all around the album. The combination of all the instruments is highly impressive. It reveals the balance and synchronize of Ëmëhntëhtt-Rê. I won't forget to talk about the vocals. The specific choir vocals brings more volumed and dinamic sound plus darkened suspense. Lead vocals made by Christian Vander and Stella Vander remind me opera singing and contribute to more classic sound of the album. 

:::Review by poslednijat_colobar:::

Magma - Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré (2009)

1. Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré I (6:53)
2. Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré II (22:25)
3. Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré III (13:06)
4. Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré IV (3:54)
5. Funëhrarïum Kanht (4:19)
6. Sêhë (0:27)

Credits
- Christian Vander / drums, voices, piano, Fender Rhodes, clavinet, percussions
- Stella Vander / voices, percussions
- Isabelle Feuillebois / voices
- Hervé Aknin / voices
- Benoît Alziary / vibraphone
- James Mac Gaw / guitar
- Bruno Ruder / Fender Rhodes
- Philippe Bussonnet / bass

With

- Emmanuel Borghi / piano
- Himiko Paganotti, Antoine Paganotti, Claude Lamamy, Marcus Linon and Pierre-- Michel Sivadier / voices

Notoriously creating a side project called Weidorje, together with other great Magma friends, and filling it with a wonderful taste of dark, bass-driven, improvisational prog rock, Bernard Paganotti also had in mind, around the mid-80s, to make a solo project, with a music of original (or not) motions. Joined notably by Gauthier or Goude back then, Paga is probably Paganotti's strongest and liveliest album, crafted in 1984 - and re-released in 1991, between his other two works. By the next album, the mixture of jazz-rock and Zeuhl(-rock) stops being such a pure and significantly double-sided virtue, and the crystallization towards the first begins to take its effect. Haunted from 1988 is, not at all absurdly, different from Paga, the band itself becoming Paga Group, by losing on the efforts by Gauthier, Goude, Popkiewicz, Leroux or the Guillard brother, instead making stronger the sympathetic collaboration with drummer Salmieri or with vocalist Klaus Basquiz. With Bertrand Lajudie and Basquiz being on both Paga Group albums, Paganotti only invites a new drummer and a new talented saxophone player on Gnosis, and also seeks a perfectly jazz-istic sound rather than a stylish confrontation between his two past musical sides. If the three albums Paganotti worked on are really a trilogy of sorts, then Gnosis, as the third and last, is a moment of jazz clarity, modern as time, casual as sensation, decent or good as quality and verve.
With Urantia, the margin between Zeuhl and clear jazz can be more than obvious. The wonderful original piece (from 1984's Paga) is taken into a more subtle, but also skinnier form, the conversion amazing with piano melodies and calm beats where, previously, there was an electricity governed by groove, with sugar vocals where the hysterical ones were more fitting, or with a dreamy beautiful work of jazz where the rush of Zeuhl and rock were interestingly frenetic. The new Urantia is good, powerful in some ways and edgy only because of a fusion keyboards improvisation that primates, the adaption into jazz and soft moods just speaks for itself. Jazzobizz is "more like it", though it depends: from an angle, a bit of Paganotti's spirit into music is visible, rhythms and grooves pushing the beauty of the sound into something special, but from another viewpoint, the piece is a long and complex jazz improvisation, starting from bass glassy chords (perhaps the Chapman Stick, in a moment of high pitches?) and wobbling fusion to a interesting and not very usual long drift of spice, beats, "sax songs" and jazz arches. Tasteful is the middle part, full of energy and bitterly extroverted.
Casual for any jazzy taste, it's a better piece in the album.
The middle pieces are strong, especially if the mood asks for a fast-rhythm that needn't mean a jazz ecstasy, such as in Caravan, or for a return to some unusual, bit chromatic fusion, as in Coupe de Blues. The difficulty would be the soft vocals in the first, while the ambiance in the second, even intensified along the way or worked through a kaleidoscopic instrumentality ("bits and pieces" creating effects or static twists), is just okay. Again, regarding Coupe de Blues, Paganotti's memorable bass-guitar gift can crash and burn, if your mind is really set on expecting some "modern Zeuhl" ruts. Going back to the over-10 minutes delights (though, honestly, Gnosis is entirely an album of long pieces), Niklaw has, again, a very casual jazz movement, but is definitely worth a listen, going from smooth oozes to hard eruptions. Not as much of a goody as Jazzobizz, this piece is still worth a pleasant spin, good music being a thing of passionate interpretation and easy art, for once. Zigzag ends Gnosis, with a circle of ambitious improvisations starting from an ambiance of keyboards and drums, the wind instrumentality being special, while the piano sound creates a both complex and complicated atmosphere. Tough opinion to make about the sharp keys-fusion that springs all over again at one point, but in the end an influence taken from ol' Zawinul's awe-sounding music could be noted.
Without being the jazz side of Zeuhl, Gnosis is the jazz side of Bernard Paganotti, with a newer group and spirit than last time, making fine music, but overall missing the essential core; his (their) second album is nice, whiskering a couple of inspiring and elegant moments.

:::Review by Ricochet:::

Paga Group - Gnosis (1993)

1. Urantia (10:43)
2. Jazzobizz (11:07)
3. Caravan (9:26)
4. Coup de Blues (8:36)
5. Niklaw (11:11)
6. Zigzag (7:24)

Credits
-Bernard Paganotti / bass, stick, vocals
-Éric Séva / tenor & soprano saxophones
-Bertrand Lajudie /piano, keyboards, Hammond B3
-Francois Laizeau / drums, percussions
-Klaus Blasquiz / vocals, percussions

Scherzoo is the new quintet of composer/drummer/multi-instrumentalist François Thollot. He is a real talent and he has two previous albums on SZ that are both really good, but this is the first album where he has had the involvement of a band from the conception forward, and it shows by being his best release yet! This is a very fine modern Zeuhl/jazz rock album.
"Scherzoo is François Thollot's 3rd CD, with a new band, featuring Anthony Béard (bass), François Mignot (guitar), Jeremy Van Quackebeke (piano), Guillaume Lagache (sax alto) & François Thollot (drums). This is his most accomplished effort so far, the band plays tight & the music is an unlikely fusion of Zeuhl & mid/late period of Soft Machine. 6 tracks (including a 19 minutes re-written version of "Voyage au bout de la nuit" which was part of Thollot's first CD - in 2002, then recorded alone as a multi instrumentist)." 

:::Review by waysidemusic:::

Scherzoo (François Thollot) - 01 (2011)

1. Enilek (8:25)
2. Douz (7:16)
3. L'an 01 (6:27)
4. Béba (8:41)
5. Ceux D'en Face (6:39)
6. Voyage Au Bout De La Nuit (19:16)

Credits
- Anthony Béard / bass
- Francois Mignot / guitar
- Jeremy Van Quackebeke / piano
- Guillaume Lagache / alto saxophone
- François Thollot / drums

Francois Thollot's debut album is an entirely solo effort on which the man himself plays guitar, bass, piano and drums. The sound is similar to some of the jazzier Magma spin offs and acolytes of the 1970s such as Potemkine and Zao, with a touch of more recent zeuhl like NeBeLNeST. Although he's clearly a highly gifted musician and composer, there's often a feeling that the music would have benefited from the input of other players.
The drawbacks of his solo recording become apparent almost immediately. His guitar work is extremely fluid, and the tone is reminiscent of Robert Fripp and Richard Pinhas, while his piano work is solid and he mostly plays chunky chords to underpin the main melody. He manages the bubbling, high end bass that Bernard Paganotti and (to a lesser extent) Jannick Top contributed to Magma in their prime, but doesn't quite pull off the growling low end sound and rhythmic undertow that both players also excelled at. The real shortcoming, however, is in his drumming; while he's never less than competent the drumming never swings as it should, and although his concentration on the upper part of the kit is probably wise the cymbal work is often overdone. Having said all that, the compositions themselves are of a generally high standard and there are some inspired passages here and there, such as the brief vibes-driven coda to Enilek. The stand out is probably Marilyn-Antoinette, where the guitar dominates and there is a definite hint of King Crimson circa Fracture/FraKctured.
Ceux d'en Face promises rather more than it actually delivers, particularly when subjected to detailed listening, but it also hints at possible greatness to come. With the right band the music could sound brilliant, but this album sounds more like a series of high quality demos than a fully realised piece of work. 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 for Marilyn Antoinette. 

:::Review by Syzygy:::

François Thollot - Ceux D'en Face (2002)

1. Ceux D'en Face (4:31)
2. Enilek (6:26)
3. Invasion (4:51)
4. Expérimentations Sentimentales (6:08)
5. Marilyn-Antoinette (6:04)
6. Vingt Trois (5:47)
7. Voyage Au Bout De La Nuit (12:15)

Credits
- François Thollot / guitar, bass, drums, piano

Way back in 1982 French musician Jean-Paul Prat released the Zeuhl inspired album Masal. Up to fourteen musicians helped him out on that album and went on to perform with stalwarts including Magma, Soft Machine and Gong. Fast forward to 2009 and we have the follow up album Galgal to sink our teeth into. The music Prat presents us this time around is not Zeuhl but mostly jazz rock with occasional elements of the Canterbury style. The album can be slightly dissonant at times and the music has an eclectic feel. Jean-Paul Prat's piano is an integral part of the musical landscape as every song is driven by his playing which I have to say is very good. It's a very jazzy sounding disc with the sounds sometimes hard to get, as the melodies do not jump out upon the first one or two listens. No, this music takes a little effort but will be worth it in the end.
Another integral component is the saxophone play of Richard Héritier who puts his stamp all over this disc. Song after song he demonstrates what an excellent player he is as his sax adds texture to Prats's pleasant piano stylings. It should be noted that although the musicianship is very good, the emphasis is on the arrangements and not so much on individual solos and showy play. This clearly has the feel of a band effort.
The first five songs are enjoyable slices of well composed jazz rock, but nothing truly blew me away. The short "Prélude et fantaisie espagnols" is a bit different from the others as it is an all piano track that really features Prat's talent. That being said, Masal saves the best for last with the fourteen minute epic "Talitha Coumi". Again, the two main ingredients are piano and sax, however, this time the Canterbury inspired melodies really work. This is a light and airy piece and is surely the most melodic on the album. An excellent song and a fine way to end the album.
So there you have it. I am sure Galgal will sit well with anyone who appreciates good jazz musicianship. Although not completely accessible upon first listen, the music sounds quite fresh after a few spins. Recommended for jazz fans, but should have cross over appeal for progressive music fans as well.

:::Review by Jon Neudorf:::

Masal - Galgal (2009)

1. Banzaï (5:27)
2. Galgal I (6:09)
3. Galgal II (7:01)
4. Intergalactic Tango (5:46)
5. Prélude et Fantaisie espagnols (2:36)
6. Talitha Coumi (14:49)

Credits
- Jean-Paul Prat  / piano, guitars (1-4), bass (1), synthesizer (1)
- Jean Prat  / drums
- Julien Sarazin / bass (2-4,6)
- Richard Héritier / saxophones (1-4,6)
- Alain Debiossat / saxophones (6)
- Olivier Louvel  / guitar (6)

In the early part of the 21st century, Japan is making a serious run at Italy and Sweden for my favorite sources of new music. Bondage Fruit is the clear flagship for that run. One of the few bands, in my opinion, that has yet to put out a questionable effort. Their fourth album may in fact be their best.
Known as a key piece in the Japanese Zeuhl movement for their earlier works, BF has strayed from those comparisons after dropping their vocalists. Being a fan of instrumental music, I am generally not hurt by such a move. But BF's vocalists were basically instruments rather than a source of prose. I was admittedly disappointed when I learned of their departure. But one listen of BF-IV indicated a stylistic shift that would not accommodate vocals. The underlying punkiness that coursed through eastern influenced rock of the first 2 albums had begun to fade with BF-III and all but disappeared with IV. The band now incorporates a more Westernized approach. By Westernized I mean adaptations of more blues oriented riffs, country influence and psychedelia.
The structure of the album is a masterfully constructed roller coaster of grand excitement and laid back haze. The opener, Minus One, is a percussive blast through abrupt starts and stops with funky fat guitar tones from Kido Natsuki. Prayer is reminiscent of the musical stylings of the background of a '70's cop drama. Screen Game is like a thrashing, toe-tapping bluegrass number that you can't help but smile at. Precision slop with twisted slide guitar and wailing fiddle. Storm Bird, Storm Dreamer slows the pace back down for all but Natsuki, who maintains a rapid shuffle strum throughout this soft ambient piece. Yuji provides an enchanting melody on violin. Sono-Bank is a 19 minute frantic blast of psychotic wah guitar and multi-percussion outrageousness. Old Blind Cat is a cute little song that sounds like continental drift had suddenly thrust Louisiana into India.
This is one of the finest, most tasteful and eclectic blends of international style ever created. A high 5 stars, absolutely essential.  

:::Review by Tapfret:::

Bondage Fruit - IV (1999)

1. Minus One (6:46)
2. Prayer (9:18)
3. Screen Game (acoustic) (5:16)
4. Storm Bird Storm Dreamer (11:54)
5. Sono-bank (19:08)
6. Old Blind Cat (4:47)

Credits
- Kido Natsuki / guitar, synthesizers
- Okabe Youichi / trap drum, percussion
- Ohtsubo Hirohiko / bass
- Takara Kumiko / vibraphone, percussion, organ
- Katsui Yuji / violin, vocal

"Récit" is Bondage Fruit's third album and the first oen without a permanent position in the vocal department. Guitarist-keyboardist-main writer Kido Natsuki persistently provides bizarre ideas for the ensemble to perform in a most defying manner. These guys really can show off their taste for Rio tradition and Zheul ideology without sounding dated, on the contrary, bringing a renewed neurosis and particular spirit to the standards of radical avnt-garde prog. "Récit" is a catalogue of various ideas powerfully adorned and expanded by the robust use of skilfull improvisation. The opener 'Odd-job' starts as a muscular exhibition of psychedelic rock in which the essence of KC, the energy of classic Led Zeppelin and the eerie dementia of Hendrix are fruitfully combined. Then comes a more restratined mid section in which the concise touches of vibes and violin seem to float above the jazzy rhythm section, while the guitar provides weird Frippian atmospheres. At minute 8, the final sections brings a red hot climax, very much in the vein of exotic post-punk (it might remind the average listener of Hoyry-Kone), that culminates in a brief reprise of the initial motif. 'Kagee ka Hieru' sets a more languid pace based on the minimal sounds of vibraphone, upon which the guitar and violin provide nuances effectively counterpointed by normal and programmed drums. Some emotional guitar leads that appear afterwards complete the picture in an amazing way. The final result is like a mixture of Philip Glass and GYBE! - go figure. The less tha 3 minutes long 'Shortwaves from Outer Space' consists of monologues and electronic effects (very sci-fi b-movie, indeed), eventually joined by bizarre percussive storms during the last 45 seconds. The end of this track serves as a prelude to the following one, 'Frost and Fire'. This one retakes and amplifies the full frotnal energy of the opener, with Natsuki's guitar and Youichi's drum kit serving as parellel cornerstones for the whole ensemble's sound. The powerfully demented jam is momentarily interrupted by an industrial-oriented middle section, in which the Rio thing is replaced by the krautrock's walls of pulsation (a-la Can). The namesake track is the losngest one: it lasts 28+ minutes. Its incendiary edge equals that of tracks 1 and 4, albeit with a more pronunced jazz-rock vibe. The inclusion of free jazz elements and alleatory avant-garde (a-la Zappa) enriches the whole thing, in this way taking things to an even more disturbing level of sonic experimentation. The sense of energy provided by the percussive duo of Youichi and Kumiko has to be heard to be believed: these guys manage to become the leading actors in this theater on fire for the first 10 minutes. Their precision and strength are simply ultrahuman!! For this number's calmer passages, the atmosphere shifts to one of unscrutable introspection. Gradually, a tension of war is slowly yet consistently building up under the guidance of the lead guitar, until hell breaks loose toward the exulting, nerve-wrecking reprise of the opening motif. The closing explosion is an evident tribute to King Crimson's 'Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part II'. Finally, the album is closed down by a live rendition of a track from the band's debut, this time in an instrumental format. Being very similar to the predominant violent vibe of most of the srudio material, it is a very coherent closure, indeed. Zheul is not dead, it is still alive and with infinite fire in store for all friendly listeners to discover and enjoy! Check Bondage Fruit, especially this amazing album - "Récit" is a true 4.5 tar-gem of contemporary avant-rock.

:::Review by Cesar Inca:::

Bondage Fruit - III - Récit (1997)

1. Odd-job
2. Kagee ga kieru
3. Shortwave from outer space
4. Frost and fire
5. Récit
6. Kinzoku no taiji live

Credits
- Kido Natsuki / guitar, organ, synthesizers
- Okabe Youichi / trap drums, percussion, electronics
- Ohtsubo Hirohiko / bass
- Takara Kumiko / vibraphone, percussion
- Katsui Yuji / violin, vocals, sampler

"Punky" Zeuhl masterpiece
Sub-genre: Zeuhl (Probably the Bondage Fruit album that holds truest to the traditional Zeuhl definition)
For Fans of: Koenjihyakkei, Ruins, Magma, Zeuhl and RIO with shades of Punk
Vocal Style: Multiple female (occasional male), vocals are not lyrical, just melodic syllables to emphasize the vocals as instruments
Guitar Style: Raw electric distortion with acoustic breaks, as in the entire track Cottleston Pie
Keyboard Style: None
Percussion Style: Dual percussion, rock set, trap drum, congas, bongos and vibes. Most selections have a heavy urgency to the percussion
Bass Style: Electric upright played in various styles from picked jazz to rock.
Other Instruments: Violin played in various styles, acoustic and electric with creative effect usage. Often heavily Eastern influenced, tinged with Goodman/Ponty jazziness

Summary: Bondage Fruit has been a bright spot in the Japanese Progressive/Zeuhl movement, if not the brightest. None of BF's works shine more brilliantly than their second LP, taking the framework of their debut and infusing a more underground flavor to their pieces. The album marks the last that would make extensive use of pseudo-lyrical vocals. The sounds produced by dual female vox with occasional masculine additions by the drummer and bassist are presented with stylistic precision, conveying moods of eeriness, gentility and anger when strong structure demands it. Kido Natsuki's guitar is brilliant as usual. A greater amount of distortion is used than in later works with frequent dissonance which is immediately displayed in the opener, Mobile. Percussion is administered in a highly technical fashion in even the quietest moments. Kodomo No Guntoi is the best example of the psychotic interplay between set drummer Okabe Youichi and multi-percussionist Takara Kumiko. The highlight amongst many bright spots of the album is the closer Terminal Man. The 15+ minute piece opens with thrash/punk style guitar chords that blend out into complex interaction between vibes and violin. The bridge is reminiscent of one of the sinister background sounds heard in the video game "Doom" (Coincidence? The album was released very close to the games surge in popularity), backed by a violin solo not unlike the sounds of the immortal Jerry Goodman. The original verse sequence is recalled with a satisfying key change.
Final Score: While all of the even numbered Bondage Fruit albums are incredible, this one is my favorite. The use of hardcore punk blends into their established Progressive/Zeuhl foundations makes this work essential to those who appreciate Progressive music for its eclecticism. 5 stars.

:::Review by Tapfret:::

Bondage Fruit - II (1996)

1. Mobile (4:57)
2. Daichi No Ko (7:23)
3. Caucus Race (7:26)
4. Cottleston Pie (5:31)
5. Gel-Celloid (3:27)
6. Kodomo No Guntoi (10:00)
7. Terminal Man (15:15)

Credits
- Kido Natsuki / guitar, orgel
- Ohtsubo Hirohiko / bass, vocals
- Okabe Youichi / trap drum, percussion
- Takara Kumiko / vibraphone, marimba, percussion, piano
- Saga Yuki / vocals
- Katsui Yuji / violin, vocals
- Yen Chang / vocals