National Health

A quartet from Athens-Georgia, this group managed two albums in the late 90's, but haven't been heard since. Actually, the usual prog quartet (with the bassist also doubling on sax) had started as a quintet as they also aligned a cellist, but by the debut album's release, he was gone. Their music is a rather quiet English jazz-rock, not far from Canterbury groups like Hatfield and National Health, but retaining its own spirit as well. Voted by many specialized mags, "The Uncertainty Principle" was in a lot of "top 10 of 97" lists, while the following "Memoirs" is actually a retrospective which contains the band's 1996 cassette tape debut in its entirety, along with three additional tracks.

The Steve Howe Album is the title of Yes guitarist Steve Howe's second solo album. It was released in 1979. The album featured current (Alan White) and former (Bill Bruford and Patrick Moraz) Yes band members.

Beginnings is the title of Yes guitarist Steve Howe's first solo album. It was released in 1975. The five Yes band members each released a solo album in 1975/6. Members Alan White and Patrick Moraz from that line-up guest on Beginnings, while Howe performed on White's Ramshackled album. The album also features former Yes band-member and drummer Bill Bruford on "Pleasure Stole the Night" and "Break Away From It All". There are also members of the English medieval progressive rock band Gryphon, Graeme Taylor, Malcolm Bennett, Dave Oberlé on one of the songs.

It's easy to overlook Hatfield and the North, because their music refuses to be pompous. Not for them the grand dramatic gestures of Yes, Genesis or ELP. Even when you compare them with other Canterbury bands, they may seem anonymous, since they didn't have a vocalist singing moving little ballads, like Robert Wyatt from Soft Machine or Pye Hastings from Caravan…

French based multi-instrumentalist and composer Tom Penaguin presents his spectacular self-titled debut album. The album showcases some of the most impressive Canterbury Scene progressive rock sounds since the genre’s inception in the 1970s. Tom (guitarist of Djiin and former keyboardist of Orgöne), began playing guitar at the age of 6 and later learnt how to play drums, piano and organ to a professional standard by the age of 15. Influenced by the likes of Frank Zappa and the Canterbury Scene, Tom set out to build an analog music studio in his house in 2020, where he recorded the entire album using a plethora of vintage studio hardware and equipment. The result is a masterful ode to bands like Egg and National Health. The songs are complex in structure, with Stravinsky-inspired patterns, glorious melodies, whilst allowing room for lengthy improvisations akin to the fusion scene of the early 70s.

A year and 5 albums after he has brought the Manna/Mirage project to a close, ex-Muffins musician / composer Dave Newhouse has produced a new album under the moniker of 'Dave Newhouse', this one titled “Natura Morta”, Latin for Still Life. Many of the same musical suspects (guest musicians) from around the world are involved, this one is a bit longer than the aforementioned Manna/Mirage albums clocking in at around 43 minutes. It still has that signature AmeriCanterbury / Muffins compositional ethic as well as fast and furious examples of fusion / jazz rock, RIO, World Music, Americana, and alt-jazz. Even John Greaves (Henry Cow / Kew Rhône / National Health) makes a lovely appearance here. as does Guy Segers (Univers Zero / Eclectic Maybe Band).

Almost stereotypically overreaching early-'70s progressive rock; quasi-operatic vocals, spinning guitar solos, lengthy suite-like tracks on the order of "Stargazers" and "Hollow Stone (incl. Escape of the Space Pilots)." The highlight is Stewart's effervescent organ work during the gentle and meditative passages. An obscure footnote of early-'70s British art rock, Khan featured guitarist Steve Hillage, keyboardist Dave Stewart, and ex-Crazy World of Arthur Brown bassist Nick Greenwood. Their sole album from 1972 was dominated by Hillage's lengthy, ambitious compositions and Stewart's organ, which owed much to the Canterbury Scene of British prog rock. The group didn't offer much to distinguish themselves from the many other British outfits exploring similar territory, and disbanded after one LP. Hillage went on to join Kevin Ayers and Gong before establishing a solo career; Stewart played with Hatfield & the North and National Health.

With a strong Canterbury influence implanted into their sound, Egg's first album has the band looking to establish their niche as a progressive group, with Dave Stewart's sharp, effective keyboard work outlining much of the album's overall feel. Mixing jazz and progressive rock drifts, the tracks on Egg contain rhythms and meters that are never at a standstill, with ongoing instrumental action encompassing nearly every track. Numerous classical overtones make for a familiar listen against a backdrop of loose-ended jazz fusion and an unordered yet inviting array of haphazard progressive spillages.