Breath

An album that fuses the influence of African music, jazz-rock, and free improvisation, Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath shares affinities with the '70s music of Don Cherry and Miles Davis. Somewhat of a legendary album amongst collectors of British jazz and fusion, the LP was originally released in the '70s and in early 2002 finally became reissued by the Italian label Akarma. Enlisted on the session were the talents of a group of extraordinary musicians from the free jazz, progressive rock, and improvisation scenes. Chris McGregor led the group on piano and African xylophone with Malcolm Griffiths and Nick Evans on trombones, Mongezi Feza on pocket trumpet and Indian flute, Mark Charig on cornet, Harry Beckett on trumpet, and Dudu Pukwana on alto saxophone. Ronnie Beer's tenor saxophone is outstanding, and pitched up against Alan Skidmore's tenor and soprano saxophone, completing a massive horn section, are two bigger names: '70s U.K. jazzman Mike Osborne on alto saxophone and clarinet and John Surman on baritone and soprano saxophone.

Those connecting Faithful Breath from Bochum with hard rock are right as regards their later works. In the beginning, however, they played psychedelia, then, initiated by their keyboarder Manfred von Buttlar, symphonic rock dominated by Mellotron. Their first LP is considered to be their best work: "Fading Beauty", recorded at the end of 1973 and released as a private pressing in early 1974. Especially the long track "Tharsis", occupying an entire side of the LP, is a real masterpiece. Already in 1991, the LP was released as a CD in the U.S. As it was no longer available, however, a re-release was overdue, which has been made from the master tape. In the 32-page booklet, there is the usual detailed band history and discography as well as plenty of cover and label reproductions and photographs of the artists…

This is one of the first Symphonic albums to come out of Germany. And it's nothing like TRIUMVIRAT or even NOVALIS for that matter.This is melancholic and plodding with plenty of synths and mellotron. There are basically two side long suites with the first side being divided into two parts…