ENTRANCE

Again I'm educating both myself and the rest of you by reviewing -- with the help of YouTube -- a yet-unreviewed artist unfamiliar to me too. ENTRANCE was a Copenhagen-based fusion group active mainly in the late 70's, featuring seasoned musicians of the Danish jazz/fusion/prog scene, such as pianist Kenneth Knudsen (SECRET OYSTER) and saxophonist/flautist Jesper Nehammer (THORS HAMMER).

The names of two of the other members rang a bell for me: trumpetist Palle Mikkelborg whose solo album Song... Tread Lightly (2000) I've enjoyed, and pianist/percussionist Kasper Winding: I used to have a single in which the composer and multi-instrumentalist collaborates with vocalist Murray Head on 'Please Don't Leave Me Now' (taken from a 1985 soundtrack album The Flying Devils). But back to the subject. Entrance (1977) is the group's debut album, roughly 36 minutes in total, containing eight pieces of rather regular length. The composition credits are shared by Mikkelborg, Winding and Knudsen, but I have no access to writing credits for individual pieces.

The opener '543' is a funk-flavoured lively piece quite typical for the late 70's fusion genre. Synths are very central in the sound. Very dynamic 'Parapella Dance' has a lot going on with several instruments playing solos. 'Poor Kathy' features quite intense synth soloing. I bet 'Glassprince' was composed by Palle Mikkelborg: his trumpet is at the centre of the sound and the spacey atmosphere reminds me of his aforementioned solo album.

Also 'Italian Slides' and 'Cream' bring mellow nuances to the energetic album. The latter is a short, calm piece focusing on bass and almost New Age-y synths. The album is closed by 'Tropical Song' which is coloured by bizarre vocalising. The slightly hollow production is perhaps the weakest link when estimating how well this album has stood the test of time, because there's so much of better produced instrumental fusion music to be found. But an enjoyable album nevertheless, and for the compositions it stands proudly against the bigger names of the era. In the end there's rewardingly less of the funk flavour than on the bulk the typical late 70's fusion. Recommended if you like proggy fusion with plenty of synths.