ProgressoR / Uzbekistan Progressive Rock Pages

News of Prog

October 2009 | September | August | July | June | May | April | March | February | January | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |

31.X+ Rush
31.X+ Europe
31.X+ Beatles
31.X+ Mystery
31.X+ Mastermind
31.X+ Hostsonaten
31.X+ Steve Hillage
31.X+ Big-Big Train
31.X+ Jupiter Society
31.X+ John Payne’s Asia
31.X+ Relocator
31.X+ Chickenfoot
31.X+ Pietro Ratto
31.X+ Steven Conte
31.X+ The Graviators
31.X+ MALS Records
31.X+ Galileo Records
27.IX+ Progrock Records
27.IX+ Cuneiform Records
27.IX+ Metal Mind Records


BANDS & PERFORMERS:

Rush
(Canada) / October 31, 2009

New release:

Anthem Entertainment has announced the release of “Working Men”, the first 'best of' live performance compilation from renowned rock trio Rush. Released in the UK on Monday November 16th, this outstanding live collection is available on CD and digital download by Atlantic Records. Culled from Anthem Entertainment and Zo? Vision's three other Rush releases – “Rush in Rio”, “R30” and “Snakes & Arrows Live”, the “Working Men” album features live recordings of the band's greatest hits as well as one previously unreleased track, ‘One Little Victory’. Rush – Geddy Lee (vocals, bass, keyboards), Alex Lifeson (guitars, vocals), and Neil Peart (drums, percussion) – is one of the most inventive and compelling groups in rock and roll, equally famed for both their virtuoso musicianship and provocative songwriting.

Related Links:
“Working Men”

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Europe
(Finland) / October 31, 2009

Latest news:

Europe has launched their “official” media blog to tie in with their forthcoming “Last Look at Eden” tour dates. The blog features the latest news, reviews and interviews, including an interview with lead singer Joey Tempest’s on Frank Skinner’s Saturday morning radio show on Absolute Radio, Classic Rock Magazine’s “Gig of the Week”, a Swedish TV commercial for ‘Eden’ album, plus coverage in various hard rock magazines and websites. Europe performs a sold out concert at the London Relentless Garage on Sunday November 1st. The concert follows the band’s triumphant headline performance at the Bloodstock Festival earlier this summer, and their critically acclaimed new album ‘Last Look at Eden’ featuring the upcoming single ‘New Love in Town’.

Related Links:
Europe

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The Beatles
(UK) / October 31, 2009

‘New’ release:

‘Box of Vision’ is the deluxe companion to the newly re-mastered Beatles CDs and will be available as the ultimate Beatles gift in the UK and Europe this Christmas from Box Of Vision and Hard Days Night Shop, plus select retailers. Officially licensed by The Beatles’ Apple Corps Ltd., the stunning collection, previously only available in North America, includes the following Beatles’ collectible content: The first book in the box is the LP Sized Album Artwork Book includes 200 pages of the Beatles’ LP artwork – the first time all the Beatles’ UK and US album artwork has been collected together in one LP sized book. The Album Artwork book includes front and back covers, gatefolds, inserts and the complete LP booklets from Magical Mystery Tour and many more. The second book, ‘The Catalography’, is an extensive, all-new, full-colour guide jam-packed with photos, text and track-listings providing the first-ever side-by-side presentation of the U.K. albums and their US counterparts. The third book is entitled the ‘The Box of Vision Storage Book’ – a highly collectible, unique and stylish way for Beatles fans to organize and display all 32 discs of The Beatles’ core catalog. Beatles fans will have the opportunity to insert CDs and booklets from their existing Beatles collections or the recently released digitally re-mastered versions. Ideal for fans, collectors and Christmas gift giving, all three Beatles books are housed in an elegant black, linen-covered box with silver embossed Beatles logos and faux Beatles LP spines. The 13x13 box features the iconic image of The Beatles photographed by Robert Freeman.

Related Links:
Box of Vision

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Mystery
(Canada) / October 31, 2009

Latest news:

RoSfest is extremely pleased to announce Montreal-based band Mystery as part of the Rosfest 2010 Friday night lineup. Mystery was founded in 1986 by Michel St-Pere as a studio project; the project gradually turned into a fully fledged band which successfully toured through Quebec and released several albums which were favorably reviewed by several magazines and websites all over the world. In 1995, Michel founded Unicorn Records to help promote the music of Mystery; the label later became a driving force in progressive rock, highlighting some of the finest bands from inside and outside Canada. After the departure of lead singer Gary Savoie in 1999, St-P?re convinced Benoit David, who was then already singing Yes material in a tribute band, to join the band. Besides Michel St-Pere (guitar/bass/keyboards) and Benoit David (vocals), Mystery’s lineup consists of Steve Gagne (drums), Benoit Dupuis (keyboards), Dean Baldwin (guitar/keys) and Francois Fournier (bass). The band released their 5th studio album “Beneath the Veil of Winter’s Face” in 2007, and is currently working on a new release that should be released prior RoSfest 2010.

Related Links:
Mystery

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Mastermind
(USA) / October 31, 2009

Related Links:
Mastermind

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Hostsonaten
(Italy) / October 31, 2009

Related Links:
Fabio Zuffanti

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Steve Hillage Band
(UK) / October 31, 2009

Related Links:
Gong tour

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Big Big Train
(UK) / October 31, 2009

Related Links:
Big Big Train

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Jupiter Society
(Sweden) / October 31, 2009

Related Links:
Jupiter Society

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Asia Featuring John Payne
(UK) / October 31, 2009

Related Links:
Asia Featuring John Payne

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Relocator
(Germany) / October 31, 2009

Related Links:
Relocator

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Chickenfoot
(UK) / October 31, 2009

Related Links:
Chickenfoot

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Pietro Ratto
(Italy) / October 31, 2009

Related Links:
Aton’s

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Steve Conte
(USA) / October 31, 2009

Related Links:
Steve Conte

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The Graviators
(Sweden) / October 31, 2009

Related Links:
Record Heaven Music

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RECORDING COMPANIES:

MALS Records
(Russia) / October 31, 2009

Related Links:
MALS Records

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Galileo Records
(Switzerland) / October 31, 2009

Related Links:
Galileo Records

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Progrock Records
(USA) / October 31, 2009

Latest news:

Now Progrock Records own an iTunes store type service called Mindawn that has a huge collection of prog, they have over 500 artists from Musea alone, but also all of the Unicorn Digital, Progress, Transubstans, Lion Music, Moonjune and Progrock Records catalogs, as well as other selected and unique material from Mastermind, Vince DiCola, Magellan and others. You can get a lossless (CD quality) album for just $8.99 and a lossy for $6.99. You can hear any song up to 3 times without having to purchase or anything else. Progrock Records’ releases will often show up on Mindawn weeks before the CD is shipping. In these tough economic times, this can be a great option to collect music cheaply. A CD quality download is only 6 euro for example. We're available anywhere in the world and our audio will play on any device with a step or two, with no DRM and it works with Linux, Windows and Macs.

Related Links:
Progrock Records

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Cuneiform Records
(USA) / October 31, 2009

New releases:

  • Beat Circus (USA) – “Boy from the Black Mountain”
  • Wadada Leo Smith (USA) – “Spiritual Dimensions”
  • Jason Adasiewich’s Rolldown (USA) – “Variant”
  • Ergo (USA) – “Multitude Solitude”
  • Zevious (USA) – “After the Air Aid”

    Beat Circus – “Boy from the Mountain”
    The Boston-based band Beat Circus is the brainchild of mavrick multi-instrumentalist / singer-songwriter Brian Carpenter. The band's music bridges disparate genres and divers strains of Americana, encompassing cabaret, circus music, Appalachian string music, bluegrass, old-time music, Southern Gospel, funereal traditionals, experimental music, and more. Boy from the Black Mountain is the second installation in Beat Circus' “Weird American Gothic" trilogy. (Cuneiform released the trilogy's first CD, Dreamland, in 2008). Born and raised in Florida, Carpenter – a Southern native transplanted to the urban North – conceived the album as a tale of family and roots, interweaving past, present and future. Many of the songs were written during and inspired by his son's diagnosis of and treatment for autism in late 2006. Other songs, titled after classic Southern Gothic literature, were inspired by Carpenter's father and grandparents, who were watermelon farmers in the South's rural Bible Belt. The album was produced by Brian Carpenter and Bryce Goggin (Akron/Family, Antony and the Johnsons, Bishop Allen). Carpenter assembled a new Beat Circus lineup for this CD, that includes violinist Paran Amirinazari and violist Jordan Voelker (both also on vocals), trombonist Doug LaRosa, and a rockabilly-style rhythm section featuring bassist Paul Dilley (Reverend Glasseye), guitarist/banjoist Andrew Stern, and drummer Gavin McCarthy (Karate). Singer Larkin Grimm (Young God Records) and cellist Julia Kent (Antony and the Johnsons) guest throughout the album. The CD features cover art and booklet illustrations by Carson Ellis, a children's book illustrator best known for her work on The Decemberists' albums. An artful-yet-accessible album with great lyrics, memorable songs and rich orchestrations, Boy from Black Mountain would appeal to those who like: Nick Cave, Ennio Morricone, Warren Ellis, Wovenhand, Johnny Cash, and Sixteen Horsepower.

    Wadada Leo Smith – “Spiritual Dimensions”
    Lauded as “one of the most vital musicians on the planet” by Coda, Wadada Leo Smith is one of the most visionary, boldly original and artistically important figures in contemporary American jazz and free music, and one of the great trumpet players of our time. As a composer, improviser, performer, music theorist/writer and educator, Smith has devoted a lifetime to navigating the emotional heart, spiritual soul, social significance and physical structure of jazz - both free and composed – and world music to create new music of infinite possibility and nuance. Since the 1960s, when Smith became a founding member of AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Music) and debuted as a composer with “The Bell” on Anthony Braxton ’s 1968 Three Compositions of New Jazz, he has released nearly 30 albums under either his own name or his bands’ on ECM, Moers, Black Saint and other labels, including numerous releases on his own Kabell label in the ‘70s-‘80s and on Tzadik, Pi Recordings, Leo, Intakt and Cuneiform in the ‘90s and 2000s. In recent years, a galaxy of new releases and reissues in a wide variety of projects has brought Smith wider attention and world-wide critical acclaim. Smith has begun to receive the recognition long due him; in recent years he’s been interviewed and featured in (and on the cover of) jazz and experimental music magazines worldwide, and has frequently appeared in the Trumpet category of the DownBeat International Critics Poll. Most recently, Smith was awarded a 2009 Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation for his compositional work and was nominated in the 2009 Trumpet category in the 57 th DownBeat International Critics Poll; and in 2008 he received the FONT (Festival of New Trumpet Music) Award of Recognition. Spiritual Dimensions , Smith’s new release on Cuneiform, is a double album that features two groups that have been among the key focal points for Smith’s prolific creativity and compositional and performance activities in recent years. Both groups – Wadada Leo Smith's Golden Quintet and Wadada Leo Smith's Organic – are composed of superb musicians whom Smith carefully selected to interpret and perform his unique compositions, and both were recorded live to capture the energy and spirit of their live performances. Together, this double CD set documents the activities Wadada Leo Smith, one of America’s greatest living jazz musicians, as an ensemble leader, composer, improvisor, and trumpet player during the mature apex of his creative years. Featuring some of Smith’s most accessible, jazz oriented music, Spiritual Dimensions opens the door to Smith’s creative universe in specific and the boundless dimensions of American creative music, inviting listeners to further explore. The Golden Quintet straddles the line between modern/avant jazz and jazz with some electric touches. Organic is fully electric and a different beast; a four guitar, creative, bad-ass beast with slinky grooves. On disc one there is Wadada Leo Smith's Golden Quintet: Wadada Leo Smith: trumpet, Vijay Iyer: piano, synthesizer, John Lindberg: bass, Pheeroan AkLaff: drums, Don Moye: drums. On disc two there is the recorded debut of Wadada Leo Smith's Organic: Wadada Leo Smith: trumpet, Michael Gregory: electric guitar, Brandon Ross: electric guitar, Nels Cline: 6- and 12-string electric guitar, Lamar Smith: electric guitar, Okkyung Lee: cello, Skuli Sverrisson: electric bass, John Lindberg: acoustic bass, Pheeroan AkLaff: drums.

    Jason Adasiewich’s Rolldown – “Variant”
    Jason Adasiewicz’s Rolldown is one of the brightest, hottest, and most coherent and cohesive new constellations to emerge in recent years from Chicago’s ever-expanding jazz galaxy. This jazz quintet is composed of some of the most prolific and talented young players on the scene, including Jason Adasiewicz [a-dah-shev-its] on vibraphone, Josh Berman on cornet, Aram Shelton on alto saxophone and clarinet, Jason Roebke on bass and Frank Rosaly on drums. Under Adasiewicz’s leadership, Rolldown’s sound combines Blue Note's classic, avant-leaning '60s albums with contemporary drive, swing, energy, and attack. Adasiewicz interweaves colors and threads from several generations of Chicago’s avant jazz heritage into new, 21 century compositions that are brought alive by his players’s remarkably tight ensemble work. Nowhere are Adsiewicz’s compositional skills and Rolldown’s breathtaking ensemble work more evident than on Varmint, Rolldown’s second album and first release on Cuneiform. A key member of Chicago's jazz and improvised music scene, Jason Adasiewicz is quickly gaining widespread recognition through his extensive work as a sideman and strong showing in DownBeat 's 2007, 2008 and 2009 "Critics' Poll – Rising Star" Vibes category. He is a member of more than 20 working bands, including Rob Mazurek's Exploding Star Orchestra, the Nicole Mitchell Quartet, Mike Reed's Loose Assembly, the Guillermo Gregorio Trio, and Ken Vandermark's Index Orkest. Adasiewicz formed his Chicago-based jazz quintet, Rolldown, in 2004. Cuneiform's release of Rolldown’s second recording, called Varmint , features six new compositions by Adasiewicz and a tune written by jazz legend Andrew Hill , and features liner notes written by Chicago-based jazz critic Peter Margasak .The music on Varmint is swinging and accessible but also very modern and forward-looking, and would appeal to those who are fans of such jazz legends as Jackie McLean, Bobby Hutcherson, Andrew Hill, Grachan Moncur III, Eric Dolphy, as well as other, newer, post-bop influenced artists in jazz today. Sonically superb, Varmint was recorded in August 2008 by engineer Mark Haines at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studios in Chicago.

    Ergo (USA) – “Multitude Solitude”
    An electro-acoustic sonic arts/jazz trio, Ergo seamlessly interweaves jazz and electronica to create music of stark melodic beauty, enveloping texture, and sonic spaciousness. The New York City based group consists of musicians who have played together in various forms since 2003: composer/leader Brett Sroka on trombone and laptop, Carl Maguire on Rhodes electric piano and analog synth, and Shawn Baltazor on drums. Time Out-NY noted that the three “are all part of a generation for which Autechre and Sigur Ros are as pressing concerns as Armstrong and Sun Ra. That's certainly evident in the band's timbral sophistication, spacey contours and slinky grooves." Drawing from Post-Rock as well as post-Coltrane, remaining oblivious to boundaries of genre or form, and assembling trombones, electronic circuits, drumskins and synths as sonically components on an infinitively textured instrumental palette, Ergo resculpts and edits a widely diverse and musical heritage into a starkly beautiful, and truly ‘cool’ 21 st Century sonic jazz form. Brett Sroka began his music career as a jazz trombonist, composer and band leader. His first CD, called Hearsay, came out on the label Fresh Sound – New Talent in 2002. Shortly after Hearsay’ s release, Sroka became fascinated with electronic music and surrounded himself with synthesizers and software, seeking, “to reconcile the six hundred years of technology between trombone and computer.” He formed Ergo, and in 2006 the group self-released its first CD, Quality Anatomechanical Music. Multitude, Solitude is Ergo's second release and features Ergo coming further into its own. Throughout the CD’s 6 tracks, the band refines its unique style of unadorned melody and intrepid free improvisation, incorporating a sensual approach to such post-modern sonic techniques as sampling, synthesis and signal processing. Ergo has performed at both jazz and electronic music/post-rock festivals including the Williamsburg Jazz Festival (Brooklyn, NY), the Sonic Circuits Festival (Washington D.C.), and the Risonanze festival (Venice, Italy

    Zevious (USA) – “After the Air Aid”
    Zevious is a genre-bursting, out/electric/punk-jazz trio based in New York City. It consists of cousins Mike Eber on guitar and Jeff Eber on drums, and Johnny DeBlase on bass. Zevious’ sound is equally influenced by the improvisational approach of contemporary jazz artists Vijay Iyer and Ben Monder, polymetric metal of bands like Meshuggah, and vintage jazz and rock by such jazz fusion groups as Mahavishnu Orchestra and avant-progressive/Rock in Opposition bands like Magma. Songs wind through odd-metered, groove-laden landscapes that morph into brooding, reflective passages. Interspersed with edgy, hard-riffing contrapuntal guitar and stop-on-a-dime breaks, such tunes tread treacherous sonic grounds and reveal Zevious’ ability to shred. Zevious is one of the most distinctive and aggressive genre-defiant/fusion bands in the burgeoning punk-jazz movement, a 21 century update on the compositional ferocity of bands like Fred Frith’s Massacre, Ronald Shannon Jackson’s Decoding Society, and James Blood Ulmer’s Music Revelation Ensemble. After the Air Raid is Zevious’ second album and its first release on Cuneiform. The culmination of nearly two years of composing and performing, the CD features music that is carefully crafted and exquisitely, yet aggressively played. The music winds through peaks and valleys of odd-metered bass and drum grooves, contrapuntal guitar vamps, poly-metric riffing and hard hitting drum workouts. Coupled with more subtle, introspective, and often brooding segments, After the Air Raid is a record with lasting depth. Beautifully and clearly recorded by Colin Marston (of Behold the Arctopus ), After the Air Raid is masterfully presents Zevious’ powerful live sound.

  • Related Links:
    Cuneiform Records

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    Metal Mind Records
    (Poland) / October 31, 2009

    Forthcoming releases:

  • Osada Vida (Poland) – “Uninvited Dreams” (CD)
  • Dio (USA) – “Evil or Divine – Live in New York City” (DVD)

    As previously announced, the progressive rock band Osada Vida returns in November with their third full-length album entitled “Uninvited Dreams”.

    Ronnie James Dio is without question one of the most famous and respected singers in the entire history of heavy metal. Known from his solo career and such legendary bands as Rainbow and Black Sabbath, Dio is often recognized for his extremely powerful voice, which throughout the years became his trademark. In late 1982 Ronnie James Dio and fellow former Black Sabbath member, drummer Vinny Appice, formed a band that was not meant to be a solo project but a band as a whole. Ronnie recruited an old bassist that had served his time with him in the band Rainbow, Jimmy Bain. Along with a hot new guitarist out of Ireland, Vivian Campbell, this band was to become Dio. This exclusive re-release of “Evil or Divine – Live in New York City” brings a truly unique collection of some of the greatest and most memorable songs in Dio’s catalogue, brilliantly performed at the Roseland ballroom in New York City in 2002. The set list includes songs that span the length of Dio's distinguished career. Though favoring his early solo works, there is a bit of Rainbow, as well as Black Sabbath. Including such remarkable songs as “Heaven and Hell”, “Long Live Rock and Roll”, “Stand Up and Shout”, “Don't Talk to Strangers” and “Holy Diver”, this album is a must-have for all true fans of heavy metal. Metal Mind sets the release date for 2nd November.

  • Related Links:
    Metal Mind Records

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