VOLKER KRIEGEL

The album must be credited to Don Sugarcane Harris one of the musicians to introduce the violin (amplified) as a rock and blues instrument as a sideman to Johnny Otis (he gave him his nickname), Frank Zappa (Hot Rats) and John Mayall (USA Union) .

The recordings were made during the 1971 Violin Summit at Berlin, Germany - the same event also spawned a second LP named "New Violin Summit" released in 1972, where Harris meets Jean-Luc Ponty, Wolfgang Dauner, Terje Rypdal (again), Robert Wyatt (again) and some others.

Harris was primarily a blues artist who broke down all barriers (like many others at the time) and ventured into jazz fusion, progressive rock and even soul on later albums. On the 1972 album "Fiddler on the Rock" he was accompanied by Harvey Mandel, Larry Taylor and Paul Lagos (Canned Heat, John Mayall). Most of his albums were recorded for MPS in Germany and produced by Joachim-Ernst Berendt. His career was a short outburst (yes, those drugs) between 1969 and 1974 but whatever he recorded in that period is worth searching for.

"Lift !" is such a beautiful track with the soprano sax leading early then it picks up before the violin leads before 2 minutes.The guitar with prominant bass comes in as it settles.The violin is back 3 minutes in then the sax leads again.Violin leads one more time as the tempo speeds up at the 6 minute mark.

"Three Or Two In One" features electric piano, sax, drums and more leading the way. I love this stuff. It's laid back and we get some guitar before 2 minutes leading then the violin with bass, electric piano and cymbals stand out.The sax then replaces the violin. Incredible track !

"Forty Colours" is a slow moving track with the violin leading followed by intricate guitar.

"A Piece With A Chord From A Yorkshire Terrier" is my favourite. I like the electric piano early but it's the electric guitar that starts to solo as the bass and intricate drumming help out that blows me away. Sax replaces the guitar 3 minutes in and the electric piano is prominant too. It settles back before 4 1/2 minutes with the bass leading. Cool !

"Electric Blue" is uptempo and violin led to start.The violin is shredding 2 1/2 minutes in. Sax leads 6 1/2 minutes in as the bass, drums and electric piano also standout. Nice. Big finish on this one.

"The Lame Donkey" is a laid back and intricate guitar led track with flute. "Between The Seasons" has a relaxed sound early then the electric piano leads after a minute and the bass stands out too.Violin 2 1/2 minutes in then the guitar returns.Violin again leads 4 minutes in.

"Blue Titmouse" is uptempo and intricate and perhaps a little known fact is that the blue titmouse actually has blue tits. I kid you not. Okay I lied.

A great album with some killer German and British musicians that will please Jazz / Fusion fans in a big way.

"Slums On Wheels" has such a great sound to start as the sax joins in. Intricate guitar then takes the lead as it settles some.The sax is back then the tempo picks up before 4 1/2 minutes. A calm 6 minutes in as intricate sounds come and go. It's building before 9 minutes and electric piano joins in. Nice. Bass and percussion continue. Sax before 10 1/2 minutes. Drums only from Marshall before 12 1/2 minutes then a full sound. What a way to start !

"The "E" Again" has a good rhythm as sax and guitar do their thing. Dissonant sax before 2 1/2 minutes. Electric piano leads a minute later. Sax is back before 6 1/2 minutes to end it.

"Zanzibar" is led by the bass and drums early then the horns come in just before a minute. The guitar then leads before the horns return before 3 1/2 minutes as it picks up. Some dissonance too. A calm before 5 minutes as bass and a beat with horns lead. It kicks back in before 6 1/2 minutes. Piano leads before 8 minutes and we get some nice bass a minute later. Sax is back 10 minutes in.

"Missing Link" opens with experimental sounds that come and go including vocal expressions. The music comes in after 2 minutes and starts to build. I like the drumming here. The horns start to blast then it settles back. A calm 5 minutes in then it starts to pick up with guitar leading the way. Nice. Horns take a turn before 7 1/2 minutes with lots of dissonance too. A drum show from Marshall 9 minutes in. Great sound before 11 minutes with sax leading then guitar. Killer tune.

The second LP is a little more stripped down but excellent none the less. "Fur Hector" is uptempo and guitar led. Piano takes the lead after 3 1/2 minutes.The guitar is back leading late.

"Remis" is percussion and keyboard led early and the bass is prominant too. The guitar then joins the fray. "Tarang" has a Middle Eastern vibe to it with lots of percussion. Strummed and intricate guitar comes in at 2 1/2 minutes before the opening ethnic soundscape returns to end it.

"Lastic Plemon" is led by the drums and keys and is quite energetic. Guitar before 3 minutes. "Janellias Abertas" is an intricate and laid back track.

"Plonk Whenever" is uptempo with the bass and drums pounding while the guitar and keys play over top. Great track.

"Definitely Suspicious" is one of my favourites. It has such an uplifting mood to it and the electric piano has a lot to do with that. "Finale" is 15 seconds of mainly intricate guitar to end it.

A solid 4 stars. Very enjoyable and a treat for the ears.

"Liz Pineapple Wonderful" opens with someone speaking in German introducing the band.The music then comes in and it's uptempo with vocals.The violin replaces the vocals after 2 1/2 minutes. Great sound. The guitar leads before 4 1/2 minutes and the drumming is very active. Nice bass too I might add. The vocals are back after 7 1/2 minutes. Big finish after 9 minutes. Sugar Cane then announces the band quickly by their last names then says "out-a-sight". He compliments the audience too.

"Sugar Cane's Got The Blues" opens with violin then piano a minute in and other sparse sounds.Vocals cry out briefly 5 1/2 minutes in. Bass to the fore then the guitar joins in as it builds with drums.Piano joins in after 8 1/2 minutes then goes solo before 10 minutes. Cool section.Violin before 11 minutes and it becomes dissonant late as he cries out one more time. Huge applause after this song and every song.

"Song For My Father" is a Horace Silver cover. This is the song Terje Rypdal plays on.You can hear all the guys playing early on in a fairly laid back manner but that will change. So much going on here. Guitar to the fore 4 1/2 minutes and Terje continues to lead until 7 1/2 minutes when the violin returns. Such an incredible track !

"Where's My Sunshine" is a Bluesy number with vocals. Catchy too. Violin or vocals mainly lead although Kriegel leads on guitar 5 1/2 minutes in then piano. When the song ends Sugar Cane says "I'd like to introduce the fellas". He seemed to be in his glory at this concert and he deserves a lot of praise. Such a talented man.

Without question 4 stars and this is one album I will boast about owning. A pleasure.

"Zoom" opens with percussion as the sitar comes in breifly. Drums, bass and electric piano follow.The guitar starts to solo tastefully over the top. Electric piano replaces the guitar 3 1/2 minutes in then the sitar returns.

"So Long, For Now" is laid back and very jazzy. "More About D" opens with some atmosphere. I like the electric piano. It does pick up before 1 1/2 minutes. Nice. Some craziness follows then the bass, drums and guitar lead.The electric piano is back. It settles before 7 minutes and the bass leads.

"Suspicious Child, Growing Up" is a cool song with intricate guitar, electric piano, bass and drums. I like this laid back tune a lot. "Instant Judgement" has some intensity to it and is more uptempo.The guitar leads early then the electric piano leads 2 minutes in.The guitar returns late to lead.

"Ach Kina" is mellow and slow paced. It does pick up some late. "Strings Revisited" has these intricate sounds that come and go. Electric piano leads 2 1/2 minutes in then it's the guitars' turn after 4 minutes. Drums and percussion take their turn after 6 minutes.

A low 4 stars for this early German Fusion album.

Another founder of this ensemble, bass player Eberhardt Weber, joins Kriegel on Mild Maniac. The other musicians are Rainer Bruninghaus (keys), Joe Nay (drums) and Swiss percussionist Peter Giger. The album consists of 6 instrumental pieces all of which were composed by Kriegel apart from the lengthy closer D-Dodel, which was a group composition. This is a 12-minute experimental piece built around an extended Weber bass solo. Kriegel's clean-toned guitar chats cosily with Bruninghaus's vibrant electric piano for the first few minutes (for me, Bruninghaus really steals the show on this album) before Weber's interruption. Speaking with my symphonic head on, the best way I can describe this is to imagine Moonchild with a lengthy bass improvisation. Not the most accessible of pieces, for sure.

The remainder of the album is more approachable. Mindwill has a nice laidback groove with synthesizer and electric piano weaving their way around Kriegel's electric and acoustic solos. I'm a bit of a jazz novice but I get the impression that the next piece, Prinz Eisenherz, might be the sort of track that is disparagingly called 'elevator music', pleasant though it is with more acoustic guitar and electric piano. The lively Schnellhorspiel moves along at a good pace although I find the temple blocks a little intrusive during Bruninghaus's solo. Still, this is one of the album's highlights. The title track is another one that's easy on the ear, featuring some wonderful rippling acoustic piano. Krieger's guitar is treated with different effects on penultimate track, The Visit, and this is another that bounces along nicely. By all accounts Spectrum is his best album, but this one is certainly good and therefore worthy of 3 stars.

Of course this collection is also notable for Kriegel's highly enjoyable soloing, and for the fact that he surrounded himself with so many excellent players: there's Wolfgang Dauner and John Taylor on pianos (both electric and acoustic), some of the tracks have Eberhard Weber on bass and John Marshall on drums, one of the pieces even features Robert Wyatt (before his accident). Only the final three tracks of the second disc sound like generic fusion to me, not much more exciting than elevator music, but by that time you'll have more than two hours of highly enjoyable jazz-rock behind you!

I recomend this album to all prog fans who like the mix of jazz in the progressive style.