Aynsley Dunbar-Blue Whale (1971)

Considered one of the greatest drummers in history, Aynsley Dunbar has enjoyed a prolific and extensive career, collaborating with countless artists including Jeff Beck, Lou Reed, Whitesnake, Frank Zappa, Eric Burdon, Jefferson Starship, and Journey. His beginnings in the mid-sixties led him to join John Mayall's Heartbreakers, recording albums such as "A Hard Road", "Looking Back", and "So Many Roads". After a brief stint with the Jeff Beck Group, Dunbar formed his first band, The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation, with whom he released four albums between 1968 and 1970. A year later, in an attempt to form a new band, he released "Blue Whale", an ephemeral project featuring his Retaliation bandmate, organist and guitarist Tommy Eyre, as well as other musicians such as guitarists Ivan Zaghi and Roger Sutton, singer Paul Williams, bassist Peter Friedberg, and saxophonists Charles Greetham and Edward Reay-Smith. "Blue Whale" perfectly exemplifies his eclectic past, with nods to the jazz-rock and progressive blues of his previous bands. Jazz-blues is present in the upbeat "Willing to Flight", psychedelic sounds in the progressive "Willie the Pimp", jazz-rock in "It's Your Turn", and avant-garde elements in the experimental blues of "Going Home".