The end of the 60s was an important period in jazz, as well as rock music, in Poland and the rest of the world, with the development of many styles and trends in popular music. In 1970 the jazz rock fusion band, Laboratorium was formed in Kraków. Their music soon developed in jazz rock fusion, and so were pioneers in this music in Poland. In their first years, Laboratorium's music was acoustic, cleverly avoiding any limiting definitions. At the beginning of the 70's there was very limited access to Western recordings but this did not prove an obstacle for the band, because of the musicians searching and experimenting in the field. On the contrary and because of their relative isolation, Laboratorium developed an unique sound which was often noted in various critical reviews…

Although Charlie Byrd recorded dozens of quality albums, the 1960s weren't one of his best decades. Although his guitar work was excellent, as always, it tended to get buried in awkward arrangements of the latest Beatles' songs. As a result, his music often sounded cheesy. It's a rare pleasure, then, to listen to Solo Flight, which was recorded for Riverside in 1965. With no distracting accompaniment, Byrd cuts to the musical chase and delivers 11 lovely, succinct guitar suites. He combines a smooth blend of chords and solo runs, much as Joe Pass would later do, on favorites like "Satin Doll" and "Easy Living," along with fun oddities like "House of the Rising Sun." Unlike Pass, Byrd approaches a song like "Am I Blue" in a fairly simple, straightforward manner, more interested in the melody than virtuosity…

The City of Derby is inextricably rich in railway history - it was Midland Railway's headquarters after all. Not exactly 'Grand Music Central', yet Saturday, 8 April 1995 saw 29 year-old Andy Pickford launching his new 'contemporary instrumental electronic music' album, "Maelstrom", with an ambitious concert at Derby Cathedral. This event was well attended by over 400 people.
Pickford himself cites as artistic influences artists such as Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis, The Orb, Boards of Canada, and various progressive rock bands…

Formed in 1968 in Warwick, England, the Edgar Broughton Band were part of the late 60s British underground blues boom. Led by the Broughton brothers, vocalist/guitarist Edgar Broughton and drummer Steve Broughton, and fleshed out by bassist Arthur Grant and guitarist Victor Unitt (who also briefly served with The Pretty Things), they were contemporaries of Groundhogs, Hawkwind, and The Pink Fairies, but were unique within the movement due to their radical political consciousness. In May 1971 they released possibly their finest work: their eponymous third album, which contained the classic "Evening Over Rooftops" (with strings by David Bedford which Edgar Broughton called "stunning"). Mike Oldfield also featured on "Thinking Of You".

Tenor saxophonist Eli Degibri brings a seasoned and somewhat unique approach to his debut recording, In The Beginning. While its impressive that the Israeli native performed in circles with names such as Herbie Hancock, Al Foster, and the Mingus Big Band, it is more impressive to hear his own style and development come to the forefront. Paying your dues on the bandstand is one thingbut leading a band and creating your own music is quite another.
While In The Beginning rings with the familiar Coltrane sound, the music is delivered with thoughtful and refined performances that help to distinguish Degibri from other tenor saxophonists. Its not necessarily the sound of his horn, but more the other aspects of his style which captures attention…

The two albums by Pythagoras sound totally different and a bit simple but very tasteful: the first is cosmic oriented synthesizer music and their second is a wonderful blend of some spacey synthesizer - and classical music with bombastic symphonic rock featuring Arjen Lucassen (who later got fame with his Ayreon project) delivering a Gilmourian guitar solo and Michel Van Wassem (who recently plays in the new Plackband line-up) with some majestic Mellotron eruptions.

In 1972, pre-heavy metal legend Neil Merryweather took the musicans from Mama Lion with the exception of Lynn Carey, entered the studio and laid down two albums, "Heavy Cruiser" and "Lucky Dog" under the name of Heavy Cruiser.
Artie Ripp (record producer) stopped the band from putting their names on the record cover because he didn’t want it to interfere with his main act, Mama Lion.
The same thing happened when Neil did more of his songs with the band and produced a second “Heavy Cruiser” album called “Lucky Dog” - band members’ names were left off the cover.

Cold Coming is the story of Marie. Born on the near west side of Chicago to a single mother who couldn’t care for her. Orphaned, adopted, abused, and addicted, she finds herself alone and forgotten. A reflection of our times. And that’s where her odyssey begins…
If you're looking for entertaining progressive rock music, Chicago's Zip Tang are a recommended choice indeed. Definitely experienced, since this will be album number six in the meanwhile.

From the same sessions that resulted in Homeless, the free jazz tenor saxophonist Charles Gayle pushes himself and his listeners on this rather intense set. With support by bassist Sirone and drummer Dave Pleasant, Gayle is unremittingly passionate on seven of his originals, including the lengthy "Spirits Before." The themes are discarded quickly, with the music focusing on group interaction, often violent screaming tenor, and fire. Depending on how open one's ears are, the results are either revelatory or unlistenable! However, one cannot doubt Gayle's sincerity, musicianship, and courage.

Already an obscure record when it was initially released in 1980, Harald Grosskopf's Synthesist has become something of a cult item, the kind of album that inspires devotion in aficionados of early electronica and German music. Grosskopf himself has kept steadily busy as a solo musician and session drummer since the late '60s, being associated with early lineups of the Scorpions and Wallenstein and working with Lilli Berlin and Cosmic Jokers, among many others. But despite his long underground career, his debut solo Synthesist may ultimately stand as his defining work and as a key representation of the path of electronic music.

This is the debut album of The McBroom Sisters called "Black Floyd". The McBroom Sisters are Durga McBroom and Lorelei McBroom, former backing vocalists for the legendary Pink Floyd and many others. On this album they sing both lead and backing vocals on a combination of classic Pink Floyd covers and their own original songs co-written with Jon Carin, Guy Pratt, Lemmy Kilmister, Paul Litteral, Dave Kerzner and more.

Magenta follow up 2017's much-praised "We Are Legend" with a brand new studio album "Masters of Illusion". The 60 minute album consists of six songs, including the 17 minute title track. The album’s theme is based around the lives of six famous horror actors of the 1950s and 1960s. The six songs on "Masters of Illusion" produce a combined multi-chromatic palette of colors that are as varied as the rainbow. From granite grey funk to sparkling pink pop, from the black depths of regret to the triumphant feel of, well, magenta, it is all to be found here. Melody and harmony create vivid colors on this album. Exactly why the Reed brothers selected the horror actor theme to be their next choice of concept becomes, quite frankly, immaterial. More to the point is that the concept has led Magenta to deliver a collection of Prog songs that will galvanize any melodic Prog fan-base.

A New Sound… A New Star… (subtitled Jimmy Smith at the Organ Vol. 1) is the debut album by Jimmy Smith featuring performances recorded in 1956 and released on the Blue Note label. The album was rereleased on CD combined with Smith's following two LP's A New Sound A New Star: Jimmy Smith at the Organ Volume 2 and The Incredible Jimmy Smith at the Organ.
With less of an emphasis of low-key blues numbers than subsequent albums, the work here is informed by the energy and harmonic sophistication of bebop, and Smith is incandescent throughout…

Cybotron was an electronic music duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, by expatriate German Steve Braund (aka Steve Maxwell Von Braund) and Geoff Green in 1975. The group draws heavily on synthesisers, electronic and acoustic percussion, plus saxophone and played minimalist, repetitive progressive-style electronica in a style that emulated the direction of the 1970's German cosmic sounds. The second album, "Colossus" - arguably the peak for Cybotron - was released in 1978. Soundscapes displayed here are very similar to Tangerine Dream (Froese/Franke/Baumann period), but in a more melodic and symphonic way, with more distinct and rythmic parts, and less trance and repetitive loops. Furthermore, Cybotron introduces an instrument not very much used by electronic bands at this moment: the sax! This adds quite a refreshing feeling to the music.

After a pair of solo efforts that veered from eccentric yet inspired (Monkey Grip) to eccentric and uninspired (Stone Alone), Bill Wyman (The Rolling Stones) perfected his blend of rock & roll and oddball humor into one solid album on 1982's Bill Wyman. Instead of utilizing the all-star group of backup musicians that dominated his previous solo outings, Bill Wyman found the veteran rocker handling much of the instrumentation himself, with only a rhythm section and a few guest stars pitching in. The result is a crisp, consistent sound that mixes the electronic edge of new wave with good, old-fashioned rock & roll production values…