Akahige Red Beard

Spock's Beard began in 1992 when brothers Neal (lead vocals) and Al Morse (guitar) teamed up with drummer Nick D'Virgilio. After self-financing their first album, bassist Dave Meros joined, and The Light was recorded in 1994. Consisting of four lengthy songs, this debut album was well received by progressive rock fans, but received little public acclaim…

This is a nice early concert from Spock's Beard, recorded at Progfest in 1995, between the release of their first album, "The Light" and "Beware Of Darkness"…

In the blues world it's OK to be a late bloomer, and when it came to recording, Joe Beard was exactly that. The charismatic singer/guitarist, whose influences range from Jimmy Reed to Lightnin' Hopkins, worked "day gigs" when his kids were growing up and didn't start to build a catalog until he was in his fifties. Blues lovers who heard Beard's AudioQuest dates of the '90s found themselves saying, "Hey, this guy is very talented; why haven't I heard of him until now?" And, of course, the answer to that question is that his nine-to-fives and family life had kept him from being a full-time bluesman. But when his kids reached adulthood, the Mississippi native turned Rochester, NY, resident had more time to devote to music. Recorded in April 2000 (when he was 62), Dealin' is Beard's third CD for AudioQuest and underscores his ability to handle a variety of electric blues styles.

Although Joe Beard is a country-based bluesman and fellow guitarist Ronnie Earl (who brought along his Broadcasters for this set) is strictly city, they work together quite well. The emphasis is often on Beard's expressive vocals (which sometimes look toward John Lee Hooker and Lightnin' Hopkins but display their own personality). Beard and Earl contribute contrasting guitar solos, pianist-organist Bruce Katz fuels a grooving rhythm section, tenor saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman has a couple of cameos and the harmonica of Joe Dubuc is a strong asset on three songs. Even with its nods toward the past, this release is a fine example of blues in the mid-'90s.

Ladies & gentlemen put your hands together for SPOCK'S BEARD. Yes it is a 2 CD live album covering many of the BEARDS greatest tunes of all time. The songs are slightly varied and offer some real live energy. This album covers the musical highlights from 2 seperate concerts but actually runs like one fluid show and without any overdubs or unnecessary after mix touchups…

U.S. progressive rockers Spock's Beard released their 13th studio album, "Noise Floor". For this disc, Ted Leonard, Alan Morse, Dave Meros and Ryo Okumoto are joined in the studio once again by drummer and original member Nick D'Virgilio. Spock's Beard is a band that is in a continual state of evolution, as is always the case with genuinely creative musicians. And "Noise Floor" fits perfectly into this process. "We are always about evolution, not revolution. But what we have done this time is make the songs more melodic," believes vocalist/guitarist Ted Leonard. "We still love our crazy prog, but now appreciate how important it is to grab people's attention early on."
As with all Spock's Beard songs, most of the new album was written by the individual members, and then brought to the rest of the band as high-quality demos…

From the Vault is a neat little rarities collection from Spock's Beard originally released in 1998. The CD contains demos, alternate mixes, live cuts, one Japanese bonus track, and two cover songs. For the Spock's Beard completist, From the Vault is a must have…

Bassist Red Mitchell, who had led two fairly obscure sessions for Bethlehem in 1955, came up with a gem on his lone Contemporary set as a leader. Based in Los Angeles at the time, Mitchell utilized pianist Lorraine Geller and two up-and-coming players: James Clay (who splits his time between tenor and flute) and, in one of his first recording sessions, drummer Billy Higgins. The quartet performs then-recent tunes by Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Clifford Brown ("Sandu"), a pair of Mitchell originals, "Scrapple From the Apple" and "Cheek to Cheek." Despite Higgins' and (to a lesser extent) Clay's connections with Ornette Coleman, the music is strictly high-quality modern mainstream bop of the era. Easily recommended to collectors of straight-ahead jazz.