Horned Prog: Set 10: On the Jazz
by nielskunze on March 15, 2019
The Jaan Kuman Instrumental Ensemble, represented by the bald guy with the trumpet in the album collage, is one of those eastern bloc recordings that doesn’t have a bad minute on it. It’s just great jazz the whole way through.
Often, jazz can be a very polarizing genre of music. Folks tend to really love it or really hate it. And I have one foot in either camp. Hardcore avant-garde jazz that’s dissonant and meandering, lacking a discernible rhythm or melody, tends to piss me off after a couple of minutes. I like my jazz to have recognizable moments of true musicality, something for my brain to latch onto. I guess you could say that I like my jazz to be smooth– but not slip-in-your-own-vomit smooth. It has to have a bit of an edge, a definite groove.
This set is classic– yet somewhat obscure– pure jazz… just the way I like it!
Tracks:
- Uskaw -FEZ
- Hey Boys Try Harder -Jaan Kuman Instrumental Ensemble
- Hulk -Archie Whitewater
- Cross Country -Archie Whitewater
- A New Way -Eela Craig
- Pass the Plate -The Crusaders
- Caprice -Jaan Kuman Instrumental Ensemble
- The City -Mark Almond
- Terminus -Jaan Kuman Instrumental Ensemble
- Faidadiesis -Bella Band
Tracks:
- Latin Dippy Doo -Flight
- Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance -Ed Palermo Big Band
- I Met a Man -Head
- Song for the Bearded Lady -Nucleus
- G.B.H. -Head
- Contrasts -Jaan Kuman Instrumental Ensemble
- Loneliness Is Just a Word -Chicago
- Aire -Chicago
- Flying South in Winter -Tonton Macoute
- Happy ‘Cause I’m Going Home -Chicago
Go to Set 9: On the Rocks
Horned Prog: Set 9: On the Rocks
by nielskunze on March 13, 2019
This one leans to the rock side of prog… with a bit of orchestral fun to begin. The opening song by Renaissance reminds us that the human voice is the ultimate “horn”. Annie Haslam is simply superb!
Hour 18 gets a bit proggy in the middle while still maintaining its rock orientation… a little foreshadowing of things to come…
Tracks:
- Prologue -Renaissance
- The First Ring Made of Clay -Roger Glover
- Cemetery Junction 1 & 2 -Room
- Satisfaction -Collective Consciousness Society
- Revolution’s Eve -Alquin
- Just Lay Back and Enjoy It -Satisfaction
- Mississippi Delta City Blues -Chicago (scratch track)
- Smutsig Jord -Splash
- Real Cool World -Greatest Show On Earth
- Rockin’ Chair -Lighthouse
- Magic’s in the Dance -Lighthouse
- Vehicle -The Ides of March
Tracks:
- Genesis -McCully Workshop
- Kids Hunting -Missing Link
- Frankenstein -The Edgar Winter Group
- Blue Space -Window
- Inter Galactic Cosmic Triolet -Christian Boule
- Infinity Machine -Passport
- Naissance -Carpe Diem
- La Vaca Roja -Bubu
- Talle -Missus Beastly
- Pastorale -Galliard
- Home Again -Trifle
- Dirty Old Town -Trifle
- Spectaculum -Ardo Dombec
- House of the King -Focus
Go to Set 8: Lunch in Chicago
Go to Set 10: On the Jazz
Horned Prog: Set 8: Lunch in Chicago
by nielskunze on March 13, 2019
My list of songs had grown to more than 300. Each set would use no more than 30. The last set, “Quirky Jerky”, had given me an idea for better organization. I grouped the potential “Horned Prog” songs into 4 sub-sub-genres: Rock, Jazz, Funk and Prog. Each of the remaining sets will predominantly belong to one subset of these four.
Additionally, I had noticed that since the earliest sets I had amassed quite the list of Chicago songs too. Remember when I said this all began with the search for songs I could mix with Chicago? It was time to do just that.
(If you’re wondering which of the Chicago albums are the ones worth purchasing, that would be Chicago I, II, III, V & VII. For Chicago II, I would highly recommend the Steven Wilson remix from 2017.)
Prior to 1978, Chicago was one thing. And after January 23, 1978, Chicago was quite another thing. The two versions do not compare.
Guitar player Terry Kath was obviously the band’s “coolness factor.” It was Kath who gave them that rough edge, the jagged groove, that was integral to their classic seventies sound. When on that fateful January day in 1978 Terry accidentally took his own life through an act of morbid stupidity, that classic– progressive– sound was extinguished.
The band would go on to enjoy numerous top-forty hits thereafter, but they were of a style that left prog heads like me cold and disappointed. It was in January of 1978 that the music officially died. And Terry was the symbol, the sacrifice, defining that awful moment in music history.
Tracks:
- Poem for the People -Chicago
- Street Music (Parts 1,2 & 3) -Prague Big Band
- Phantom -Window
- Goodbye -Chicago
- Nightwatch -Window
- Sing a Mean Tune Kid -Chicago
- Introduction -Chicago
- To Mrs. V -East of Eden
- Ella Banta Dum Bundy/Very Last Time -Rock Workshop
- New Dawn Breaking -Galliard
Tracks:
- Spinal Tap excerpt -Nigel on “sustain”
- Listen -Chicago
- Alibi Annie -Trifle
- Lowdown -Chicago
- The Climb -Fungkus
- Second Chance -Daddy Cool & the Groove Bug
- Drivin’ -Daddy Cool & the Groove Bug
- Vyrodok -Soviet Funk Volume 1
- Living Reason -Rock Workshop
- Farandole -Bob James
- Something Going On -Galliard
- Now That You’ve Gone -Chicago
- Oh What a Feeling -Crowbar
- While the City Sleeps -Chicago
- Green Side Up -The Web
- Prelude to Freedom -The Ides of March
Go to Set 7: Quirky Jerky
Go to Set 9: On the Rocks
Horned Prog: Set 7: Quirky Jerky
by nielskunze on March 13, 2019
It’s hard to precisely put my finger on what exactly makes a song “quirky” in my mind. Even though they’re musically sound, they’re hard to take seriously.
As the Horned Prog endeavour progressed I seemed to amass a long list of songs which I considered quirky– but worthy. Eventually I decided I’d have to dedicate a whole set to the expression of this aural weirdness. And this is it!
A song like “I Talk to the Wind” may seem anything but quirky… until we view it from a historic perspective. The rendition featured here is one which predates the famous version that would appear on the eponymous 1969 album which seemed to define the prog genre thereafter. (I’ll let you figure out what album I might be referring to.)
Tracks:
- Locomotive Breath -Jethro Tull
- Digging My Lawn/Little Children -Giles Giles & Fripp
- Mom and Dad/Oh No -Ed Palermo Big Band
- Rose Garden -3rd Avenue Blues Band
- Aquarius (Let the Sunshine In) -5th Dimension
- I Talk to the Wind -Giles Giles & Fripp
- Crazy Daisy -East of Eden
- Spring Theme-Summer Theme -Dr. Dopo Jam
- Sabre Dance -Ekseption
- Maudie James -Samurai
- Look at the Animals -Jethro Tull
- Iguana -Iguana
- Tapeworm -Creative Rock
Tracks:
- The Dog Breath Variations -Ed Palermo Big Band
- The News -Window
- New Religion -Trifle
- Reverend T. McKinnon -The Web
- Old Fashioned Prayer Meeting -Trifle
- Spiritual Rebate for the Stoned Zen Pimp -Peter Berkow & Friends
- Aquaman -Fungkus
- Robin the Boy Wonder -The Marketts
- 5 Degree Ocean -Christian Boule
- Too Loose to Get Tight -Sod
- Pass the Pencil -Daddy Cool & the Groove Bug
- Lady Pig -Creative Rock
- America Drinks and Goes Home -Ed Palermo Big Band
- Why You Bustin’ My Balls? -Ed Palermo
Go to Set 6: Hot Coffee & Cold Fusion
Go to Set 8: Lunch in Chicago
Horned Prog: Set 6: Hot Coffee & Cold Fusion
by nielskunze on March 13, 2019
It was at this point that I learned that Quebec had a burgeoning prog scene during the seventies too. What’s odd is that I’m Canadian, and despite being a total prog head since my early teens, I had no idea that our provincial neighbours were tearing it up.
I’ve always appreciated Quebec’s “fuck you!” attitude. Nearly all French-Canadian bands refused to sing in English. That left them with rather insular careers. Many were fabulously famous in their home province but virtually unknown in the rest of the country. Europe provided an alternate marketplace where language wasn’t such a deal-breaker.
There’s only a couple of francophone bands featured here, and only one with lyrics, but this begins to set the stage for many foreign language bands yet to come.
Tracks:
- Provisoir -Opus-5
- La Ville -Syncope
- Sea Monsters excerpt -Flame Dream
- Life Can Be Like Music -Maxophone
- Kaleidophonia -Maxophone
- Actions -Messengers
- La Matanza -Messengers
- A Time A Place -Brainchild
- Stormy Weather Friend -Clareon
- Harmonies II -Freeport
- Take Off -Perigeo
Tracks:
- Follow That with Your Performing Seals -If
- Two Bad Days -Brainchild
- Intro (Übermorgen) -Surgery
- The Empyreal Ballet -Window
- Ebony Variations -Audience
- Nothing You Do -Audience
- Wishing Well -Kallabash Corp
- What Did I Say About the Box, Jack? -If
- Change -The Keef Hartley Band
- Rage -Syncope
- Bottle Mind -Ekseption
- Desserts/Forest Flower-Picking/Prelude -Dr. Dopo Jam
- Photo Musik -Christian Boule
Go to Set 5: Pop Rocks & Other Unsavoury Snacks
Go to Set 7: Quirky Jerky
Horned Prog: Set 5: Pop Rocks & Other Unsavoury Snacks
by nielskunze on March 12, 2019
This one has been a Snickelfrizz favourite ever since it was first posted a few months ago. It’s poppy; it’s catchy. But first, it’s classy.
In keeping with the piano intro tradition, this time I excerpted a true classic, Keith Jarrett. On the 24th of January of 1975, jazz history was made at the Köln Opera House in Germany.
As legend has it, the show very nearly never happened. Due to a miscommunication, the baby grand provided to Jarrett for the performance was clearly the wrong one. When Keith arrived, it was out of tune and the pedals didn’t work properly. It was the old practice piano for the opera singers’ rehearsals.
The world-renowned jazz pianist was clearly accustomed to a much higher standard. Keith was road weary. His back was terribly sore. The show was scheduled to begin shortly before midnight– after the local opera performance. It was too late to get another piano.
But the show was sold out. The concert promoter, a young German girl, allegedly begged and pleaded and even shed a few tears, until the good-natured Jarrett agreed to “make do.”
As he explained afterward, his playing that night– strictly improvisational– was affected by the limitations presented by the subpar baby grand. He worked his magic within the limitations he was given. They did manage to properly tune it up, but the pedals couldn’t be fixed in time. The result?
The Köln Concert by Keith Jarrett has sold nearly four million copies, making it the single best-selling jazz soloist album of all time! How’s that for making the most of a bad situation!
(This video has restricted visibility due to copyright claims– although every individual track can be found on Youtube. We’re trying to be compliant here. Sorry for any inconvenience, but it’s not my call.)
Tracks:
- Köln Concert excerpt -Keith Jarrett (Blocked worldwide due to copyright restrictions!)
- What’s This World Coming To? (rehearsal) -Chicago
- Sunny Days -Lighthouse
- Time For Thinking -The Ides of March
- She’s Learning -Brainchild
- I’m Not More Than a Sign -Mr. Albert Show
- Symphony For Eleanor -The Ides of March
- Freedom Sweet -The Ides of March
- Free -Chicago
- One Fine Morning -Lighthouse
- Superman -The Ides of March
- Spinning Wheel -Blood Sweat & Tears
- Dance Through a Storm -Window
- Drageur -Syncope
Tracks:
- Sing Sing Sing -Lighthouse
- Giddy-Up Ride Me -The Ides of March
- The Country Song -Lighthouse
- Belladonna Moonshine -Audience
- Skillet -Galliard
- Conquistador -Procol Harum & Edmonton Symphony
- White Buffalo -Lighthouse
- The Time Is Near -The Keef Hartley Band
- Mister Hero -Birth Control
- The Sky Is Falling -The Ides of March
- Fly My Airplane -Lighthouse
- Set the Stage -Lighthouse
- The Approaching Storm -Chicago
- An Hour in the Shower -Chicago (Terry Kath rehearsal)
Horned Prog: Set 4: Proven in the Groovin’
by nielskunze on March 12, 2019
At this point I need to mention the Germans. Germany during the seventies was a hotbed of progressive music. And it seems as though every other band had a sax player– if not a full-blown horn section (pun intended).
Although “krautrock” is a narrowly-defined sub-genre of prog, there’s no denying that those krauts knew how to rock! (For the PC crowd: it’s okay, I’m German. I can say “kraut”.)
Tracks:
- If I Come This Way -Tierra
- Autobiography -Brainchild
- Boulevard -Altona
- Concerto No. 2 -St. Helena
- Premonition -The Keef Hartley Band
- Questions 67 & 68 -Chicago
- Take What’s Yours -Tierra
- Roundabout -The Keef Hartley Band
- Clown -The Flock
- Karmic Delights -Forgas Band Phenomena
- Healing of the Lunatic Owl -Brainchild
- Smilin’ -Emergency
Tracks:
- Alive Again -Chicago
- Open Up Your Mind -Galliard
- Did You Really Find Somebody? -Mr. Albert Show
- Tierra -Tierra
- Microfilm -Randy Pie
- Can’t Live Without You -Altona
- 7/4 -Altona
- Hide Yourself -Altona
- Weird Song #1/Run Back to Mama -Chase
- Close Up Tight -Chase
- Glad -Traffic
- Watch Time Flow By -Fashion Pink
Go to Set 3: Zappa’d
Horned Prog: Set 3: Zappa’d
by nielskunze on March 11, 2019
Though Frank’s was known to be lumpy, this gravy is groovy.
Even though there are no Zappa songs played by Zappa anywhere in these mixes, I cannot listen to this Set without thinking of Frank… often. Also of note, “King Kong” comes up on three separate occasions during these hours. That wasn’t planned; it’s purely coincidence. Go figure.
Tracks:
- Undone -The Guess Who
- Arranha Ceu -Deodato
- Southeast Bound -Blue Effect
- Rondo -Lokomotive Kreuzberg
- Also Sprach Zarathustra -Deodato
- Fair Stood the Wind -Ginhouse
- King Kong -Good God
- That’s What She Said -George Duke
- Drinking No Wine -Madura
- Moving Away -Malo
- Fat Dogs and Danishmen -Dr. Dopo Jam
- Catherine’s Wig -Alquin
Tracks:
- Entree -Dr. Dopo Jam
- Cowboy Song -Dr. Dopo Jam
- You Can’t Take It With You -The Keef Hartley Band
- Marin County -The Keef Hartley Band
- Smilin’ Phases -Blood Sweat & Tears
- Why Am I Doin’ It? -Emergency
- Natron -Creative Rock
- Put It Where You Want It -The Crusaders
- Dreams -Madura
- Still You Turn Me On -Emerson Lake & Palmer
- Time Bomb -The Crusaders
- Street Man -Malo
- Another Time Another Place -The Keef Hartley Band
Go to Set 2: “Sometimes the Horns Are Implied,” said the Prog
Horned Prog: Set 2: “Sometimes the Horns Are Implied,” said the Prog
by nielskunze on March 11, 2019
Defining a new genre is always risky business. “Push the limits early,” is my best strategy. It looks like the Horned Prog progect will come in upwards of thirty hours in total. That’s a big progect! And even at that enormity, it barely scratches the surface of what’s available!
So what is “Horned Prog” anyway?
Brass rock? Jazz rock? Fusion? Progressive rock? Anything featuring wind instruments? Or just a certain vibe?
Yes! All of these.
In these mixes, I deliberately chose songs which weren’t obviously horny… along with ones that obviously were. I don’t like to paint myself into corners. And I don’t take kindly to rules in general. It is my hope that the listener will be able to discern a particular vibe running through all of the songs within the Horned Prog sub-genre, even if they don’t feature horns or other wind instruments. And keep in mind that the human voice is the horniest and windiest of them all!
Just as a quirky thing peculiar to just me, I’ve started all of the Sets (the odd numbered hours) with an acoustic piano introduction. This is in keeping with the song which kicked off Set 1: Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? by Chicago. On the album, there’s a piano intro. On the radio, no one ever played the piano intro, so most folks don’t know it exists. By following through on this newly minted “tradition”, I’m drawing attention to the long lost piano intro.
Tracks:
- Pie -Ekseption
- Zaragoza -Good God
- Tusk -Fleetwood Mac
- Show Me the Way to the War -Sweet Smoke
- Moondance -Van Morrison
- Baby Night -Sweet Smoke
- I Cannot Understand -Ginhouse
- Just Another Empty Dream -Sweet Smoke
- Feelin’ Alright -Traffic
- Dreams of Glass and Sand -Mogul Thrash
- Coloured Armageddon -Grannie
Tracks:
- Believe Me My Friends -Sweet Smoke
- Mittelstreifen/Anima/Bear’s Banquet excerpt/Opossum Novum -Opossum
- The Peruvian Flute -Ekseption
- The House -Ginhouse
- House on the Hill -Audience
- Banquet -Audience
- Saga of the Sad Jester -Grannie
- Waterfall -If
- Living in the Past -Jethro Tull
- Grasshopper -Spin
- Borrowed Time -If
- What’s This I Hear? -Mogul Thrash
Go to Set 1: Breakfast in Prague
Go to Set 3: Zappa’d
Horned Prog: Set 1: Breakfast in Prague
by nielskunze on March 11, 2019
The Horned Prog progect began with the purchase of the 1969 album Chicago Transit Authority. I had heard too many times how essential this album was to any rock music– or even prog rock– collection. Upon listening to the album a dozen times or so, I had to agree. This was genre-bending stuff!
Of course I wasn’t completely new to Chicago; I just hadn’t afforded them much close scrutiny and attention, knowing them mainly from their radio hits from my childhood in the seventies. Once I realized that Chicago were indeed a progressive outfit in the strictest sense, I took it upon myself to invent the Horned Prog sub-genre under the grandiose umbrella of prog music in general. And then I embarked upon a journey to find suitable songs to mix with them for my own unique listening pleasure.
I’ve always been a “mixed tape” guy. I’ve spent a lifetime arranging exhibitions of musical variety in order to satisfy some innate sense of content-in-context… because context is everything. Songs need to be displayed– showcased– in the right manner to capture their historic significance and unique artistic spirit. And listening to complete albums, although having its place– especially in the prep phase, couldn’t satisfy my need for big-picture sculpting. It always seemed to me that the songs “wanted” to be arranged like puzzles, colouring in history and placating some subtle psychological need.
What I didn’t expect at the outset of the Horned Prog progect was the sheer volume of suitable tunes for crafting these tapestries. In recent years, the internet has opened up a world of heretofore hidden treasures, making them accessible to all. What I have done here I have done mainly for my own pleasure, but in the true spirit of music– a thing based firmly in shared experience– I offer these mixes to you.
Although we begin in Chicago, we immediately take flight to the far distant lands of Iron Curtain secrecy, and find, surprisingly, that the music of the times, the early seventies, was just as fresh and exciting in communist regimes as it was in the west. Artists will be artists; the spirit won’t be repressed!
Tracks:
- Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is? -Chicago (Transit Authority)
- Ma Hra (My Game) -Blue Effect
- Pauk (Spider) -Jazz Orkestar Radio-Televizije Beograd
- Globus -Jaan Kuman Instrumental Ensemble
- Shorter -Theo Schumann Formation
- Tentakel -Walter Kubiczeck
- Make Me Smile Medley -Chicago (Tanglewood concert)
- Za Krokem Zen -Blue Effect
- Jazz Comfort -USSR 1979
Tracks:
- Svadbena Igra Kraj Bistrice -Jazz Orkestar Radio-Televizije Beograd
- Clinging Ivy -Blue Effect
- A Hit By Varese -Chicago
- Straight to the Krankenhaus -Secret Oyster
- House Party -Houseband (Dutch Rare Grooves)
- Soul Party -The Free (Dutch Rare Grooves)
- From the Back -Curt Cress Clan
- Fibonacci’s Number -If
- Mother Focus -Focus
- Tamara’s Love -Focus
- I Couldn’t Write and Tell You -If
- Saturday in the Park -Chicago
- Portrait -Prague Big Band
Each instalment of the Horned Prog progect will consist of two one-hour (approximately) sets of mixed music. Strap in for a long and wild ride!