(56:27; Frontiers Music) OK, now this is getting ridiculous. When I reviewed 2020's 'Tragic Separation' a year after it was released, I said I could not believe it had taken ten albums for me to come across them, as here was a band approaching the genre from AOR and with a heavy appreciation of Stratovarius. I put the review on ProgArchives and was amazed to see it was the only review of the album there. Fast forward to 2023’s ‘Separation’ and when I placed that review on the site, I noticed there were still no reviews for the former album, and none for this one either. Now here we are with what is probably their best album I have come across and yet again no review for this one yet, and still none for the others, what is going on? Imagine if you will an Italian prog metal band who are not taking any influences from their own country but instead are taking the metallic approach of Stratovarius and then blending it with classic Spock’s Beard and Kansas to produce something w...

(49:44; ArtBeat Music) Compassionizer are back with their fourth full-length album, with the same core line-up as the last one, namely Serghei Liubcenco (guitars, bass, rubab, drums, doira and other percussion), Leonid Perevalov (bass clarinet), Ivan Rozmainsky (spinet, synths, kalimba) and AndRey Stefinoff (clarinet) along with some guests. The only way to describe this is by saying it is progressive, truly progressive, as there is an awful lot going on. In fact, so much I am not even sure how to start. It’s instrumental, classical (with a concentration on chamber music), contains Russian folk and ethnic influences, avant garde and so much more. It is also incredibly enthralling as one never knows where the journey is going to lead, just that it is going to be fascinating. I have followed Ivan Rozmainsky and his musical outpourings for many years and his relationship with Serghei and Leonid has created something very special indeed. It is music which must be played on headphones and o...

(37:48; Castle Records) 1979 saw the release of the second album, originally titled ‘Clef de Ciel’ (‘Key of Heaven’). Yet again this reissue has been retitled, the running order changed, and a track dropped, which all seems very strange indeed to me, making me wonder if there was some sort of licencing issue. While the Llabador brothers were of course at the helm, bassist Barreda had departed while drummer Catlado is credited now with percussion. The rest of the band at this point were Michel Montoyat (bass), Joel Allouche (drums) and Olivier Chabrol (saxophone, piano). The guys were obviously looking to switch musical tack at this point as the keyboards are becoming more dominant, while percussion is also very important as they try to bring in more of a South American and Latin feel. However, the lack of musical direction hurts them as there is no way I can imagine the band from 1973 playing “Si T’es Reggae / Digging Reggae?”. It is almost as if they have heard “Dreadlock Holiday” and...

(28:12; Castle Records) By the time of the debut album in 1977 there had been some changes in that they were now wholly instrumental and had dropped to a quartet of Jean-Pierre (guitars), Jean-Claude (keyboards, guitars) Jean-Pierre Barreda (bass) and Jacky Cataldo (drums). When it was released, it was self-named, but for some reason it has now been given the title ‘Put On Your Glasses And Listen To How Good It Smells Vol.1’ and a new cover, and I have no idea why. Also, not only has the sequence been amended but we now have just six songs instead of the original seven, with what was the longest track on the album, “Il Pleut Sur La Ville”, being inexplicably missed off so the total length of this is just 28 minutes. This album feels far more polished and controlled than the live one, which is probably to be expected, but the lack of woodwind definitely strikes into its enjoyment as I miss the additional melodic interplay. Cataldo is a fine jazz drummer, while Barreda is a superb bassis...

(49:28; Castle Records) Coincidence were a jazz rock fusion band formed by the Llabador brothers, Jean-Pierre (guitars, vocals) and Jean-Claude (guitars, keyboards, vocals) in France in the Seventies. They released two studio albums, but Jean-Claude was sadly killed in a car accident which led Jean-Pierre to then work as a solo artist, his debut solo album being called ‘Coincidences’ to show where he came from. Now, more than 40 years since that release, Castle Records are looking back at the legacy of the band with a previously unavailable live recording plus a reissue of the two studio albums. I have no idea why there are six people on the cover of this release, as according to the label the rest of the band at this time were Dominique Frasson-Cochet (flute, saxophone, vocals), André Simantirakis (bass, vocals) and René Mirguet (drums, percussion). The highlight of this set is opener “Glimpses” which is more than 30 minutes in length, containing lots of influences by Focus, Soft Mach...

(39:33; Unit Records) Track list: 1. Plato’s Clave 4:24 2. Ancestral Drift 6:20 3. Sao Paulo 4:37 4. Helio 4:09 5. Wren Song 6:26 6. Radar 4:14 7. Winged Travelers 4:43 8. Mr. Busyman Goes On Holiday 4:40 Line-up: Charley Rose - saxophones Fabio Gouvea - guitars Jeremie Krüttli - bass Lorenzo Vitolo - fender rhodes Marton Juhasz - drums Prolusion. Hungarian artist and composer Marton Juhasz has a career that goes back 15 years and a bit, and have participated on a number of different recordings over the years in addition to releasing solo albums along the way. His latest solo album is called "Metropolis", and was released through the label Unit Records in February 2025. Analysis. While it is safe to state that jazz is the main style explored on this instrumental production, this is also a creation that ventures into the jazzrock realm on regular occasions. While perhaps not a purebred example of the latter, depending on subjective point of view, it is most certainly a product...