Nord Pass

Prudence was one the most important bands on the Norwegian prog scene in the '70's, which included the likes of Aunt Mary, Junipher Greene, Titanic, Popol Vuh (Ace), Ruphus, Folque and HØST. They fused rock with old party/dance music from Trøndelag and (on their last album) sang in their local dialect, and thereby created a rock style dubbed Trønderrock.

This collection of vintage performances (with Chet Baker, Gary Burton, Herb Geller, Johnny Griffin, Joe Pass and others) by the Nord Deutscher Rundfunk Bigband is a powerful testimonial to the extremely high standard of German musicianship and is also a tribute to the enlightened policy of German public service radio stations of supporting permanent staff big bands.
The NDR Bigband began life as a dance band in 1945 - one of the first of several German regional radio stations to establish a staff orchestra. The band started to play jazz regularly at the end of the Sixties, and when Wolfgang Kunert took over as producer in 1971, he determined to concentrate more and more on jazz repertoire…

Lazuli are a French rock ensemble, currently recognized as an arousing, enchanting and vigorous prog rock value. Formed in 1998, their musical debut was tough and unoriginal, but in the next years, revealing a promising number of shows and a music undergoing a quality transition, they earned the appreciation those bands capable of making unusual, very pleasant or promptly fresh music usually receive. In their music, Lazuli do a relaxed blend of prog rock (classic, retro and modern spots altogether), instrumental songs and alternative/warm world music - the edge between pop and rock being, mostly, a good one. Numb folk, heavy beats or rich samples are fairly used. Their artistic top quality is not so much the high-striking, elaborate or attractive tones and prog-generating sensations, as the inspired songs and instrumental intermissions…