Aguaviva – Cosmonauta (1971, LP, Spain)

Tracklist:
A1 Estallido Del Miedo 5:40
A2 Estallido De La Luz 5:02
B1 Estallido De La Maquina 5:46
B2 Estallido Del Silencio 7:42

Musicians:
Ensemble – Aguaviva
Music By, Directed By – José Nieto
Narrator – José Antonio Muñoz
Orchestra – Orquesta Sinfónica De La Sociedad Española De Radiodifusión
Soprano Vocals – Mercedes Valimaña

Really amazing and obscure lp by this spanish band led by legendary producer Manolo Diaz. A mixture of avantgarde and serious composition with pop instrumentation, this is a a really amazing lp which borders the outer- space exotica field.

Describing the mystic impressions of an astronaut as he¿s trapped into serious trouble while orbiting¿ An unknown album even in Spain which will come as a big surprise to many a record collector. Another early 70s lost prog gem, another goldmine for beats and samples.

Enrico Intra – Oltre Il Tempo Oltre Lo Spazio (1978, LP, Italy)

Tracklist:
A1 Kyrie (Missa De Angelis) 2:52
A2 Puer Natus (In Nativitate Domini) 3:35
A3 Haec Dies (Dominica Resurrectionis) 2:05
A4 Sanctus (Missa De Angelis) 2:32
A5 Salve Regina (In Honorem B. M. Virginis) 3:25
B1 Nobody Knows The Trouble I'Ve Seen (Negro Spirituals) 3:10
B2 Preghiera 2:30
B3 Parole Non Abbiamo 2:26
B4 Pastorale Op. 28 In Re 2:10
B5 Cantico Dei Cantici 2:58

Musicians:
Coro – Coro Alessandroni
Directed By, Arranged By – Enrico Intra
Vocals, Soloist – Edda dell'Orso

Tyondai Braxton – Central Market (2009, CD, Usa)

Tracklist:

1 Opening Bell 5:02

2 Uffe's Woodshop 3:11

3 The Duck And The Butcher 5:25

4 Platinum Rows 10:25

5 Unfurling 3:38

6 J. City 6:17

7 Dead Strings 8:41

Musicians:

Guitar, Bass Guitar, Kazoo, Synthesizer, Piano, Harpsichord [Electric], Electronics – Composed By, Producer – Tyondai Braxton

Cello – Brian Snow (1, 4, 7), Clarice Jensen (1, 4, 7)

Clarinet [Bb, Bass] – Eileen Mack (1, 4, 7)

Composed By, Producer – Tyondai Braxton

Double Bass – Eleonore Oppenheim (1, 4, 7), Kris Saebo (1, 4, 7)

Drums, Percussion – Ian Antonio

Glockenspiel, Xylophone – Hans Ennan (1, 4, 7)

Harp – Chirpenclerk Mitzwaldi (1, 4, 7)

Horn – Kate Sheera (1, 4, 7), Matt Marks (1, 4, 7)

Piccolo Flute, Flute – Kelli Kathman (1, 4, 7)

Strings – Wordless Music Orchestra (1, 4)

Trumpet – Matt Mead (1, 4, 7), Mike Gurfield (1, 4, 7)

Violin – Caroline Chin (1, 4, 7), Pauline Kim (1, 4, 7)

Violin, Viola – Brian Lindgren (1, 4, 7)

Violin, Viola, Waterphone, Conductor [Orchestra Supervisor] – Caleb Burhans (1, 4, 7)

Waterphone – Wordless Music Orchestra (7)

Clubfoot Orchestra – Nosferatu (1989, Cassette, Usa)

Tracklist:
A. Untitled
B. Untitled

Musicians:
Composed By – Gino Robair, Richard Marriott
Orchestra Conducted By – Steed Cowart
Clarinet, Bass Clarinet – Beth Custer
Drums, Marimba, Percussion – Gino Robair
Guitar – Steve Kirk
Tenor Saxophone, Guitar [Hawaiian Guitar] – Josh Ende
Tenor Saxophone, Saxello – Dave Barrett
Trombone, Shakuhachi, Flute, Synthesizer – Richard Marriott
Trumpet – Doug Morton
Tuba, Bass – Bob Lipton
Violin – Kaila Flexer

Nosferatu, directed by FW Murnau in 1922, was the first telling of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" on film. The vampyre was played by Max Streck. Bela Balzacs, a German film writer of Hungarian descent, called the film "a chilly draft from doomsday". A crazed real estate agent in Bremen sends his recently married clerk, Harker, off to Transylvania, to the castle of Nosferatu, to settle some business affairs. The vampyr is attracted to a picture of Harker's wife and leaves for Bremen to find her, leaving a trail of death.

The score, written by Richard Marriott with contributions by Gino Robair, was premiered at San Francisco State University for the BAVAC Awards Ceremony, April 16, 1989. The next two evenings it was persented at the Castro Theatre, San Francisco. Later that year it was featured on "Entertainment Tonight" with Leonard Maltin and performed at New Music America in New York.

Keith Emerson – Nighthawks (Original Soundtrack) (1981, LP, England)

Tracklist:

A1 Nighthawks (Main Title Theme) - 2:25
A2 Mean Stalkin' - 2:22
A3 The Bust - 2:07
A4 Nighthawking - 6:18
A5 The Chase - 6:04
B1 I'm A Man - 4:19
B2 The Chopper 3:03
B3 Tramway 3:24
B4 I'm Comin' In - 3:04
B5 Face To Face - 2:51
B6 The Flight Of A Hawk - 3:09

Musicians:

Bass – Kendall Stubbs
Drums – Neil Symonette
Keyboards, Performer, Producer, Music By – Keith Emerson
Percussion – Frank Scully
Percussion [Orchestral] – Tristen Fry
Saxophone – Jerome Richardson
Trumpet – Greg Bowen

Vocals – Paulette McWilliams (A4), Keith Emerson (B1)

The Michael Gordon Philharmonic ‎– The Michael Gordon Philharmonic (1987, LP, Usa)

Tracklist:

A1. Strange Quiet (13:31)

Bass Clarinet – Evan Ziporyn

Clarinet – Evan Ziporyn

Engineer – David Avidor

Guitar – Bob Loughlin

Keyboards – Michael Gordon

Percussion – Michael Pugliese

Producer – Steve Cellum

Viola – John Lad

Violin – Ted Kuhn

A2. Acid Rain (7:42)

Cello – Rohan de Saram

Clarinet – David Campbell

Conductor – Guy Protheroe

Double Bass – Roger Dean

Flute – Philippa Davies

Keyboards – Yvar Mikhashoff

Recorded By – Aaron Heller

Viola – Levine Andrade

Violin – Miranda Fulleylove

 

B. Thou Shalt! / Thou Shalt Not! (18:09)

Bass Clarinet – Evan Ziporyn

Clarinet – Evan Ziporyn

Engineer – Eric Liljestrand

Guitar – Jon Fields

Keyboards – Michael Gordon

Percussion – Michael Pugliese

Viola – John Lad

Violin – Ted Kuhn

Michael Gordon is a founding member of Bang on a Can, and also has a few albums under his name. This is the only LP, that I'm aware of, under the Michael Gordon Philharmonic moniker. It's also his first LP. This is the pure definition of what we now call Avant Progressive or what we used to call RIO influenced chamber rock. Gordon is the keyboardist, and you can tell his fondness / training for minimalism. The Philharmonic part is the classically oriented music, but there's a rock backbone, thus pushing the album into our scope. Recommended for fans of The Alain Eckert Quartet, Wittox O'Hara and Chris Lemon. Neat WPA era artwork.

M. Zalla ‎– Mondo Inquieto (1974, LP, Italy)

Maestro Piero Umiliani returns in the alter ego guise of M. Zalla for the 1974 compositional library piece Mondo Inquieto (‘Restless World’) via his far reaching, experimentalist imprint Sound Work Shop. Ambient tensions are represented via a dramatic cross fertilisation of orchestral strings, layered synths and primeval percussion with the Maestro on moody, reflective compositional duties. Stand out cut Strategia (‘Strategy’) harnesses the dopest Wu Tang Beats alongside swathes of high end electro blankets and is a sample classic aching to be reworked into further outer cosmos soundscapes.

Janko Nilovic ‎– Concerto Pour Un Fou (1977, LP, Montenegro/France)

Tracklist
A1. Moog Bach (2:23)
A2. Dans Ma Tristesse (3:35)
A3. Mexican Puppet (3:40)
A4. Toi Que J’aimais (3:48)
A5. L’enfance (3:30)
A6. Seuls Les Anges Sont Éternels (2:08)
B1. Concerto Pour Un Fou (2:45)
B2. From The Hill (3:15)
B3. Oh My Soul (4:20)
B4. Un Violon C’est Un Arbre (3:13)
B5. L’amour N’a Pas De Saison (2:55)
B6. Adios Bambina (2:20)


Recording sessions at the Hoche / Barclay studio. I used for the first time the Moog (big one!). More than an hour to install it! On this record, I had fun while keeping my seriousness because the keyboard partition was not caviar! I got out of it anyway. Like Giant, it was produced for commercial reasons but as we only sold five and a half copies, the big boss realized there and then a Library version (MP 82) which had success in that form. (J. Nilovic)

Accademia ‎– Accademia (1981, LP, Italy)

Tracklist:

A1. Il Cavaliere Del Vento (4:27)

A2. E La Mente Va (4:20)

A3. Va Come Va (3:28)

A4. Dietro L'Angolo (4:13)

B1. Conservatorio (4:24)

B2. Un Passo E Poi (3:35)

B3. La Città (4:15)

B4. Biancaneve (4:52)

Musicians: Leonardo Schiavone, Claudio Frigerio, Rino Trasi, Giuseppe Cattaneo, Giulio Di Benedetto, Leonardo Ristè

You can find the Accademia albums listed from Disco-Pop to even Symphonic Prog around the net, but the truth is this band from Italy, active between 1980 and 1985, was playing somekind of Classical-drenched Pop with big orchestral moves and melodic sensibilities on vocals, akin to 80's Eurovision contest's groups.Their arsenal included guitars, bass, drums and cellos and the result on their debut (apparently also in the following four albums) is full-on orchestrated Pop Rock with emphasis on the unusual string parts and the polyphonic choruses.Completely cheesy at moments, but instrumentally they had their own style indeed. apps79 (RYM)

Leonardo Schiavone (Gli Accademia)
Leonardo Schiavone, si è diplomato in Clarinetto presso il Conservatorio G. Verdi nel 1976 a Milano e si è perfezionato con il Maestro A. Prisco. Ha studiato Pianoforte, composizione con il maestro Mariani. Ha suonato in molte orchestre Italiane (RAI, Angelicum, Pomeriggi musicali Comunale di Parma, ecc.) e tenuto molti concerti come solista in tutta Italia. Ha vinto il primo premio al concorso internazionale di Stresa nella categoria musica d’insieme e come solista. 

Ha inciso nel 1975 il suo primo lp con i Maxophone gruppo di rock jazz progressivo,conosciuto e venduto in tutto il mondo e tuttora molto ricercato nel web. Ha suonato al festival jazz di Montreaux e fatto tournè molto importanti al seguito di grossi nomi della musica leggera italiana. Ha inciso con il gruppo degli Stormy Six l'lp Macchina Maccheronica e fatto concerti in tutta Italia e in Europa. Dal 1980 al 1985 ha inciso 5 lp con gli ACCADEMIA, ottenendo un grande successo di critica e di vendita, è stato sigla del festival bar per due anni consecutivi e invitato nelle maggiori televisioni di tutta Europa , ha partecipato a programmi televisivi di successo come (Domenica in, Discoring, Festival bar e tante altre trasmissioni televisive di successo ecc.). 

Con gli stessi Accademia ha vinto il disco verde come miglior gruppo esordiente nel 1981. Ha composto musiche per la RAI (Documentari, telefilm, ecc) e composto vari spot pubblicitari; per vari anni è stato presidente e giurato alla fiera di Milano per il concorso rock Milano musica. Oggi è docente di ruolo di Clarinetto presso la S.M.S. G. Verga di Milano, insegna al liceo Musicale Tenca di Milano, e presidente dell’ A.A.M.B. “Associazione Amici della Musica Bicocca”. 

Dal 2004 si dedica alla ricerca di nuovi artisti da promuovere con l’edizione Casa discografica e partecipa in qualità di Direttore artistico e presidente della giuria.

Janko Nilovic ‎– Rythmes Contemporains (1974, LP, Montenegro/France)

Tracklist:
A1. Black On A White Ground  (6:32)
A2. Giant Locomotion  (8:10)
A3. Xenos Cosmos  (4:50)
B1. Underground Session  (10:10)
B2. Mouvements Aquatiles  (2:30)
B3. The Savage Rose  (5:04)

Musicians:
Bass – Antonio Rubio
Bass Trombone – Gérard Massot, Maurice Cevrero
Cello – Roland Pidoux
Choir – Giant
Drums – André Ceccarelli
Flute, Saxophone, Clarinet – Alain Hatot, Franck Torre, J.-Louis Chautemps, J. Calmette, Pierre Holassian
Guitar – Gérard Kawzenski, Jacky Giraudo, Jean-Pierre Alarcen, José Souk
Organ, Piano – Graziella
Percussion – Emile Serre, Jean Schultheis, Michel Zalonghi
Trombone – Daniel Bruley, Jacques Bolognesi, Pierre Goasguen
Trumpet – Freddy Hovsepian, Michel Barrot, Michel Poli, Pierre Gauthier, Tony Brenes, Tony Russo
Viola – Pierre Llinares
Violin – Catherine Bodet
Violin – Mireille Pidoux
Woodwind – J. J. Justafré, Yves Valada

Originally recorded for the Montparnasse 2000 Radio/TV/Film library with 45 of the then best French musicians in 1972-73 at the 'Des Dames Et Hoche', Paris. Here we have an obscure record of epic proportions. A Funky, Big Band Jazz onslaught of the highest standard. This is one of the most renowned ‘Library’ records to come out of Europe in the seventies.

Montenegrin poet, composer and pianist Janko Nilovic worked mostly on TV series soundtracks etc and most of his work was never actually released to public.
On ‘Rhythmes Contemporains’ we find an explosive presentation of masterful arrangements that are mostly Funk driven. Nilovic hand picked a massive 45 of the best musicians in France to work with on these sessions which explains the spectacular sounds and huge dynamic range of this very haunting and monumental recording.
The liner notes explain “Nilovic isolated himself from the rest of the world to create his own universe in a Parisian suburb, consisting of his instruments, local musicians and composers. At least 10 hours a day of experimenting and searching for the right composition”.
This record has been sampled a gazillion times throughout the decades and is a favorite amongst record collectors. A very unique record well worth checking out. I have not been able to source the names of the personnel who played on this record, but all songs were arranged by Janko Nilovic himself.

Maurizio Fabrizio - Movimenti nel cielo (1978, Italy)

Maurizio Fabrizio è conosciuto soprattutto per la sua lunga collaborazione con molti artisti del panorama pop italiano (Angelo Branduardi, Mia Martini, Mina, Antonello Venditti, ecc.).

Sin dagli anni '70 collabora come compositore, arrangiatore e musicista in diversi album di Angelo Branduardi (La luna, nel 1975, Alla fiera dell'est nel 1976, La pulce d'acqua nel 1977, Cogli la prima mela nel 1979 e Concerto nel 1980).

Proprio durante questo sodalizio artistico nel 1978 incide "Movimenti nel cielo", un disco di forte ispirazione progressive, un autentico gioiello imperniato su una "suite astrale" per gruppo Rock e Orchestra (L'Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano). Il risultato è un lavoro molto raffinato e lussureggiante, che mescola in modo sublime ed armonioso le caratteristiche tipiche del Progressive Rock italiano con le atmosfere mediterranee e suoni neoclassici derivanti dal proprio background musicale acquisito presso il Conservatorio 'Giuseppe Verdi' di Milano.

Un lavoro di classe, ispirato e coinvolgente, tecnicamente impeccabile e suggestivo, di altissimo livello emotivo.

A causa di problemi contrattuali con l'etichetta di registrazione l'album purtroppo non ha avuto una giusta promozione, rimanendo per molto tempo nascosto e sconosciuto ai più.

Ancor oggi viene catalogato come un disco per 'completisti' e presente solo nelle 'vinyl room' di amanti e/o esperti del settore...

Mai pubblicato su cd, fino al 2010, quando la Universal lo ha miracolosamente inserito all'interno della Collana Progressive Italia: Gli Anni '70 Vol. 6 - The Universal Music Collection - Limited Edition (6 CD) (qui si trova ancora ad un prezzo decente).


Di certo un'edizione spartana, poco curata e senza il giusto rilievo che avrebbe meritato.

Di più recente pubblicazione (2014) è la ristampa in vinile Deluxe Limited Silver Edition.

Reputandolo un disco da avere assolutamente, consiglio a tutti gli amanti della buona musica che passano da queste parti di accaparrarsi, a seconda dei propri gusti (vinilici o digitali) una delle edizioni disponibili sul mercato, e non accontentarsi di un file liquido ed impalpabile...