Flight-Flight (1975)

Another interesting American progressive jazz-rock band was Flight, who released three acclaimed albums in the mid-1970s within the more avant-garde genre of jazz. Led by trumpeter and vocalist Pat Vidas, their origins date back to the early 1970s in Florida, where they were based. Besides Vidas, the band consisted of bassist John Ray, guitarist Ted Karczewski, drummer Russell Dawber, and keyboardist Jim Michael Yaeger. In 1975, they secured funding from Capitol Records for their first full-length album, which showcased everything from jazz-rock-oriented efforts with complex and fast-paced compositions to extensive instrumental interplay among all its members, with a strong emphasis on the Mellotron and synthesizers, rock guitars, and jazz improvisations. The exhilarating jazz-rock track "In Flight", the exotic "Latin Dippy Doo", the catchy and melodic "Falling In Love", the captivating "Ease Of Confusion", and the progressive "Rhapsody To You" and "Theme to The Stratosphere" constitute an excellent work of progressive jazz at its finest. A year later, they returned with "Incredible Journey", in which they continued their exquisite musical approach, delivering an even more diverse and dynamic work of energetic, avant-garde jazz-rock.