Jox – Joxifications (1982, LP, France)

Tracklist:
A1. Dessous les lauriers blancs (6:26)
A2. Promenade au gre des vagues (4:25)
A3. Millesime 80 (7:50)
A4. Metig (4:15)
B1. Projet pour une ballade sur les cimes (7:54)
B2. Sequences (7:05)
B3. Secondes Noces (6:03)
B4. Effervescence (3:28)

Musicians:

Bass, Vocals – Jean-Claude Larrieu

Flute [Irish], Oboe, Electric Guitar, Vocals – Thierry Flajoliet

Guitar [Electroacoustic], Twelve-string Guitar, Vocals – Jean-François Quinchon

Piano, Synthesizer – Jean-Michel Grosgurin

An obscure French band that only released 1 album, Joxifixations (1982), Jox has been compared to GENTLE GIANT and GRYPHON, but also show influences from progressive masters like YES and their fair share of celtic folk rock pioneers like HORSLIPS and, closer to home, TRI YANN. They play an eclectic, mostly instrumental brand of progressive folk incorporating a debonair je ne sais quoi that only the French possess.

LE GRAND NEBULEUX ET LES LAVEURS DE CONSCIENCES-LES PIRATES DU CORTEX (1978, LP, FRANCE)

Interesting and complex jazz rock album with some freer structures. It tends to get a bit shreiky in the sax department and the compositions stray towards the unhinged. But that’s not to say their aren’t some stellar moments as well. Rhythm section is super tight, and the guitar playing sometimes has an acidic tone, which is more than welcome. Best track, and at complete odds with the rest of the material, is a mellow hand-percussion / flute piece with quirky French voices. Had the album been more composed and less improvised, it would’ve been a monster. As it stands, it’s still quite good. (OMD)
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RATIONAL DIET-S/T (2007, CD, BIELORUSSIA)

The following is taken from the press release about the band from their label AltrOck:"Belarus group Rational Diet proposes an unusual mix of styles and sounds: Chamber music, rock, theatre and improvisation, supported by the amazingly instrumental abilities of their components. It’s difficult to define the mood of such music, which goes from dark atmosphere to grotesque, powerful or oniric, sometimes even humoristic. Violin, cello, bassoon, saxes and accordion - besides the traditional rock instruments - chase each other along the dizzy instrumental plots, or sustain the dazed texts by the Russian avant-garde poets Daniil Charms and Alexei Kruchenykh. Influences: Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Webern, Ives, King Crimson, Henry Cow, Art Bears, Univers Zero, Present, Debile Menthol"(Progarchives)
Fantastic R.I.O.!!!
link ...Buy it!

Jacques Thollot ‎– Cinq Hops (1978, CD, France)

Man, I must be getting old. All these things from 25-30-35 years ago that I remember and own or owned are now being touted as lost classics. "Lost?, I've owned that for...uh...years...uh...never mind..." Anyway, this is a very good French jazz/rock/zeuhl album from 1978 that came out on the short-lived Free Bird label. Thollot is a drummer who played with some noted free and avant jazz players in the 60s and 70s, such as Sonny Sharrock, Sam Rivers, Don Cherry, Eric Dolphy, Jac Berrocal and many others. This title however is completely different. The record label hype, all in French that I can read badly suggests that it's meeting of a trilogy of styles: the jazz/rock universe, such as Weather Report, French classical music as typified by Poulenc and Debussy and lastly rock in opposition sounds of Art Bears and John Greaves. I really don't hear rock in opposition at all, but eliminate them and throw in Zeuhl via Zao, Yochk'o Seffer, Alain Eckert Quartet (will THAT album ever be reissued on CD?) and I'd agree pretty strongly with their take on this. The lineup is Elise Ross-vocals, Francois Jeanneau-soprano sax & flute, Michel Grailler-piano, Yamaha electronic piano, Francois Couturier-keyboards, Jean Paul Celea-double bass and Jacques Thollot on drums, percussion and keyboards. Elise sings in a rather classical style and these are obviously jazz and jazz/rock players but it's pretty strongly zeuhl, baby. Very nice and great to see this available again! (Wayside) Great crazy prog!!!! here

LOUIS SCLAVIS QUINTET-ROUGE (1992, CD, FRANCE)

Louis Sclavis (b. Lyon, France, February 2, 1953) is a French jazz musician. He performs on clarinet, bass clarinet, and soprano saxophone in a variety of contexts, including jazz and free jazz. His music shows great creativity and a lively sense of humor.
Sclavis began his musical education at the conservatoire de Lyon at age 9, where he studied clarinet. He began performing with the Lyon Workshop, where he met Michel Portal and Bernard Lubat. He then joined the Brotherhood of Breath of Chris McGregor, and later the Henri Texier quartet.
He began his work as a leader in 1987, with his first album Chine. The track Duguesclin has actually been a hit in France, due to its lively, middle-age inspiration. In 1995, he created, along with Henri Texier and Aldo Romano, a trio named the African trio which achieved considerable success, even outside of the French jazz community.
He frequently performs with the cellist Ernst Reijseger and was one of the first to combine jazz with French folk music, working most prominently with the hurdy-gurdy player Valentin Clastrier. (Wikipedia)
Great music!! Here

Henry Cow - Live In Sweden (1977, bootleg)

This is a fantastic performance from Henry Cow. This concert was recording from a Swedish radio in 1977 and broadcast by "Radio Popolare di Milano" (when "Radio Popolare" broadcast still good music .....).

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