GROBSCHNITT Turn “Solar Music Live” Into Immersive Experience

December 27, 2024

Issued in the wake of sensational “Rockpommel’s Land” album, 1978’s “Solar Music Live” was GROBSCHNITT‘s first concert offering, a spellbinding document of the German ensemble’s fantastic stage show that may have stood the test of time, yet left the musicians somewhat dissatisfied with what started to feel sonically outdated as the years went by. The feeling remained even after thirteen minutes of the original recording which didn’t make the cut back in the day got restored for CD editions in the last decades – and this is why a remixed version of the classic emerged about a couple of weeks ago.

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GENTLE GIANT Restore “Playing The Fool” To Powerful Glory

December 25, 2024

There have been quite a few GENTLE GIANT concert recordings released over the last couple of decades, yet none of those packed the same punch as the only live album the British ensemble issued during their existence: “Playing The Fool” from 1977. For all its deficiencies related to the limitations of vinyl, which resulted in the discarding of some material and the overall flattening of the band’s sonic panorama, this platter introduced too many a listener to the collective’s onstage image to not remain so dear to many a heart. Still, the veterans felt it didn’t reflect their full intent – and that’s why spring of 2025 will see its full-on, immersive reemergence.

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Wait And See: Albert Lee

December 24, 2024

It’s been almost a decade after this scribe last spoke to the great Albert Lee – at least, at some length, before the guitarist graced the stage of Toronto’s “Hugh’s Room” with his own band, because we also exchanged a few words a year later, when the veteran’s returned to the venerated Canadian venue in the company of Peter Asher. Then, when asked how much more music the artist still had in him, Albert laughed and replied, “A lot more I hope. I have five kids and six grandkids: there’s a lot of bills to pay. But to make some good music – that’s the idea.” And the idea was good, as 2024 saw the legendary musician, who turned 81 on December 21st, issue a fresh album, titled "Lay It Down" and featuring both covers and originals, while January 25th, 2025 will find him in “Hugh’s Room” once again.

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Fernando Perdomo And Matt Tecu Heat It Up On Second Joint Effort

December 23, 2024

One of the criminally underestimated, even obscure, delights this year brought about was "Art": a fusion-focused album that turned out to be only the first undiluted experiment between two old friends, Fernando Perdomo and Matt Tecu. “Undiluted – because there were no other musician involved in the recording, but also because it was born as a result of a high-octane, yet emotionally charged, jam. And this is the method the pair returned two recently to produce another platter.

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Crowdfunding Of Brian Auger Documentary Gets Underway

December 21, 2024

A rhythm-and-blues supremo, a fusion pioneer, a master of roaring Hammond: Brian Auger is all that and so much more – plus he’s a great storyteller, and undoubtedlym quite a few stories can be told about him as well. Here’s why a documentary on the veteran’s life seems long overdue, and the film which may become a great addition to the footage of Auger’s performances with TRINITY, OBLIVION EXPRESS and other ensembles he fronted – the footage that’s always been in circulation and the “lost” footage that keeps on appearing once in a while – has become a tangible possibility.

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