The Blue Orchard

On Culpeper's Orchard self-titled debut album they play a style of heavy psych-prog influenced by a mixture of the proto-prog sounds of the late 1960s and the West Coast folk-rock of the same time period. Gideon's Trap, for instance, sounds uncannily like a slightly harder-rockin' Procol Harum, whilst the brief piece Hey You People features vocal harmonies which put me in mind of a blend between the Moody Blues and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Bookended by the extended jams of Mountain Music, the album visits a range of styles over its running time, with occasional visits to folk and good old-fashioned rock and roll rooted in a psych-prog foundation. The group didn't make a whole lot of note after this, but in terms of artistic accomplishment they didn't really need to - this is a rare example of a "forgotten gem" which really is a gem.

Willie "The Lion" Smith had a career that was somewhat sporadically documented in phonograph records. Living almost until the age of 80, he waxed a fair number of piano solos over many decades and sat in from time to time here and there, but only occasionally led his own bands. The solos greatly outnumber his ensemble recordings, and so it is always interesting to hear this pianist operating as part of a group. On September 29, 1944, a sextet calling itself the Lion's Band cut four sides for the small-time Black & White label in New York. Trumpeter Max Kaminsky, clarinetist Rod Cless, and trombonist Frank Orchard made for a strong front line, perfect for Kid Ory's "Muskrat Ramble" and "Bugle Call Rag." Smith sang on his own sentimental composition, "How Could You Put Me Down"…