Leblanc & Carr Midnight Light (1977)

Recorded in 1960. Classic straight forward roots blues. This is a wonderful cd of "true" blues with no fluff or frills. Nothing but acoustic duets using vocals, guitar and harmonica with astonishing results. The subject matte of the songs go to the hard basics of black southern life with references both lyrical and Sonny's wonderful "field hollers", whoops, and their combined work chants. Sonny and Brownie represented a strong link to where the modern blues came from and gave a path to how it developed, and this cd is an excellent example of that. A treasure for any real blues lover or anyone interested in understanding the genre.

Listening to this album is always a strange experience for any Yes fan. Clearly Starcastle are following Yes. But did Yes then follow Starcastle? Probably not…but released a year before Yes' Tormato, this album's thin synth sound and electric timbre seem to foretell Yes' fate, even as it mimics the polyrhythms and vocal phrasings of Yes from years gone by. Still, the album has its own charms, largely due to the tight unison work of the rhythm section: Stephen Tasster's cascading tom fills in "Fountains" and Gary Strater's supple bass behind the delicate opening of "Portraits" are both marvelous. Herb Schildt's synth sounds, on the other hand, haven't always aged well. Still, he leads the band into some rousing instrumentals in the latter halves of "True to the Light" and "Diamond Song."

Magic Is a Child was released in 1977, the debut for new Nektar guitarist Dave Nelson. Carrying on, though, from where their last set left off, Nektar's fascination with shorter, punchier songs continued unabated, even while the keyboards continued to swell and the guitars shifted ever more toward the symphonic. Nektar's brightening vistas were new, however, and a fatal flaw as far as their fans were concerned. They didn't want breezy pop, and breezy pop fans didn't want Nektar, while the band's new label, Polydor, apparently didn't care either way. The art department did spring for the 13-year-old Brooke Shields to appear on the front cover, but that was it in terms of promotion. Thematically, too, little about Magic Is a Child recalls Nektar's days as prog darlings…

Starting his brilliant career in late 1960's, Stanko Quartet's alumni Zbigniew Seifert, quickly became leading European Jazz voice and the first violist capable to transcend the spirit of Coltrane music. Born June 6th, 1946, he began studying the violin at the age of six and ten years later also took up the saxophone. He studied violin at the University of Krakow, while also playing alto in his jazz group. The music of John Coltrane proved to be a strong influence throughout Seifert's career. As Scott Yanow observed: "Zbigniew Seifert was the violin what John Coltrane was to the saxophone". From an early age and later on as a member of Stanko's Quintet (1969-1973), he had made a name for himself in Europe…

The group's third album is another Yes-like affair, Herb Schildt's keyboards dominating the sound in the best sub-Rick Wakeman manner while Steve Tassler's drumming holds the band's sound together. Terry Luttrell can't quite hit Jon Anderson's high notes, but coupled with the backup singing by Tassler, bassist Gary Strater, and guitarists Matt Stewart and Steve Hagler, the Yes illusion is maintained, especially when Hagler's angular lead playing comes in, as on "Shadows of Song." "Change in Time" is the best of the Yes-style numbers here, a driving little tune with gorgeous choruses and soaring synthesizer breaks. The two most interesting numbers, however, are "Can't Think Twice" and "Could This Be Love," serious attempts at catchy Top 40-type tunes that reconsider the group's whole progressive sound, and which hold the group's talents in check in service of an unchallenging AM approach…

Ian Carr records have long been difficult to find in the U.S., but tend to be worth the search. At the time that this LP was recorded, Carr was leading a quintet called Nucleus and was very much under the influence of fusion-era Miles Davis. With Brian Smith adding some capable tenor and soprano, the keyboards of Geoff Castle, electric bassist Bill Kristian and drummer Roger Sellers, Carr performs four lengthy group originals, including the 16-minute title cut. The dated music sometimes rambles, but does include some worthy trumpet solos and interesting vamps.