Surprieze 1973

Vangelis is one of the most celebrated electronic musicians ever. His albums feature symphony orchestras to augment his electronics. His older discs are classics in the symphonic synthesizer style. L'Apocalypse Des Animaux is one of his earliest albums. It is the soundtrack to the Frederic Rossi film of the same name. The LP is short (35 minutes), as it was originally recorded in the analog domain. Vangelis has always had the innate ability to paint pictures with his music. The atmospheres are lush and full, and deep listeners will see the music.

Vangelis is one of the most celebrated electronic musicians ever. His albums feature symphony orchestras to augment his electronics. His older discs are classics in the symphonic synthesizer style. L'Apocalypse Des Animaux is one of his earliest albums. It is the soundtrack to the Frederic Rossi film of the same name. The LP is short (35 minutes), as it was originally recorded in the analog domain. Vangelis has always had the innate ability to paint pictures with his music. The atmospheres are lush and full, and deep listeners will see the music.

Despite the fact that pianist and composer Paul Bley had been a renowned and innovative jazzman for nearly 20 years, 1973 saw the release of his most mature and visionary work. This is one of the most influential solo piano recordings in jazz history, and certainly one that defined the sound of the German label ECM. Consisting of seven tracks, five of which were composed by Carla Bley (his ex-wife) and Annette Peacock (soon to be his ex-wife), and two originals, Bley showcased his newfound penchant for the spatial pointillism and use of silence that came to define his mature work. In Carla Bley's "Ida Lupino," the pianist took the song's harmonics and unwound them from their source, deepening the blues elements, brushing the Errol Garnerish ostinato with pastoral shades and textures of timbral elegance, and reaching the tonic chords in the middle register just as he forced the improvisation just barely into the abstract with his right hand…

This is one of Jimmy Heath's more unusual and versatile records, and fortunately it has been reissued on CD. Heath switches between tenor, soprano and flute on a diverse program (five originals plus Duke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood") that ranges from hard bop to light funk and R&Bish jazz. Heath's sidemen (trombonist Curtis Fuller, cellist Bernard Fennell, keyboardist Stanley Cowell, electric bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Billy Higgins) sound quite inspired by the material and Heath plays at his most inventive throughout the underrated set.

One of the pioneers of the progressive rock genre. The first official rehearsal of the band was on January 13, 1969. The first line-up comprised guitarist Robert Fripp, lyricist and lighting man Peter Sinfield (who “invented” the name of the band), composer and multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, bassist and vocalist Greg Lake, and drummer Michael Giles…