Pavlov´s Dog-Pampered Menial (1975)

Considered a cult band, Pavlov's Dog was founded in the early 1970s in St. Louis, USA, and played a pure progressive rock that combined elements of folk and hard rock. Their debut was the impressive "Pampered Menial" in 1975, which is also undoubtedly their best work, showcasing the talent of the band led by guitarist Steve Scorfina. Along with singer David Surkamp, ​​drummer Mike Safron, bassist Rick Stockton, keyboardists David Hamilton and Doug Rayburn, and violinist Siegfried Carver, the band comprised the lineup. On this first album, the band perfectly combined beautiful compositions with the immense talent of all its members. With a powerful start to the track "Julia", where acoustic and symphonic elements blend sublimely, the band showcases its diverse sounds, such as "Late November", where they display a heavier edge with great guitar riffs, or the apotheotic and rhythmic "Song Dance", which leads us to "Fast Gun", "Natchez Trace", and "Theme from Subway Sue", where we can appreciate the group's eclectic sound. The album concludes with the instrumental "Preludin" and the progressive "Of Once and Future Kings", which becomes the grand finale of one of the great progressive albums of the 70s, as worthy and magnificent as the masterpieces of the genre from that era.

Horizont-Summer In Town (1986)

The mere fact that Western influences were the seed from which a Soviet band called Horizont could create a musical tapestry like the one they did is not only admirable but also unbelievable. Let's remember that before the fall of the Berlin Wall, present-day Russia was the Soviet Union, a country of rigid, practically hermetic communism that rejected almost anything coming from outside its borders. Beyond these political and chronological considerations, the first work of this band, founded in the mid-seventies, is one of the most fascinating albums ever produced by a group behind the Iron Curtain. Founded in the ancient city of Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod), the band consisted of five classically trained musicians, a fact that undoubtedly contributes to the evident classical influences in the compositions included on their first album, released in 1986. They were Andrey Krivilev (vocals and keyboards), Vladimir Lutoshkin (guitars and flute), Sergei Kornilov (keyboards), Alexey Eremenko (bass), and Valentin Sinitsyn (drums). A prime example of this is the grandiose "Snowballs", nearly ten minutes of majestic organ, piano, and string synthesizer sounds, underpinned by a coherent and solid rhythm section. Echoes of British symphonic rock groups like Genesis and ELP are present, making it an excellent composition that, while not entirely original, showcases the band's virtuosity and ingenuity. On the other hand, there is the hypnotic "Chacone" which, enveloped in an aura of melancholy and darkness, emanates great melodic bursts, while the final suite, composed of the epic that gives the album its title, is a much more eclectic cut, where symphonic sections, jazz, and atmospheric passages very close to space rock are given space.

Darryl Way´s Wolf-Night Music (1974)

After Curved Air disbanded, one of its leaders, violinist Darryl Way, formed a new band called Darryl Way's Wolf, which followed the same musical style as its predecessor. For its creation, Way recruited drummer Ian Mosley, singer Colin Hodkinson, guitarist John Etheridge, and bassist Dek Messecar. With this lineup, they released three albums focused on progressive rock with strong classical and jazz influences. "Night Music", released in 1974, was the band's third and final album, in which they achieved a balanced instrumental sound, as demonstrated in the frenetic "The Envoy", the more subdued "Black September", the hard rock track "Flat 2-55", and the progressive jazz number "We're Watching You". In this recording all the musicians showcase their instrumental excellence, but it is nevertheless Etheridge's fiery guitars, Mosley's powerful drumming and Way's immeasurable talent on the violin that stand out in this excellent British progressive jazz rock album.

Chuck Mangione-Feels So Good (1977)

It took Chuck Mangione 17 years to finally achieve major success and international recognition, thanks to his 1977 album "Feels So Good". Mangione had begun his artistic career in 1960, releasing album after album a total of eight all of which, despite their undeniable quality, seemed stuck at the bottom of the charts with little commercial impact. His career up to that point had been quite prolific, with various collaborations such as the Jazz Brothers, alongside his brother Gaspare, in different jazz orchestras like Art Blakey's Jazz Messenger, and he even recorded an ambitious project with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, where he wanted to express his ideas of fusing jazz and rock. This project included the track "The Hill Where The Lord Hides", which would capture the attention of jazz-rock fans. When "Feels So Good" was released, it sparked a collective frenzy for Mangione's music, even topping the pop and R&B charts a rare feat for a jazz album. But what was most unusual was that it won Grammy Awards in three different categories: pop, jazz, and rhythm and blues. Following "Feels So Good", Mangione released other highly successful albums such as "Fun and Games" and the soundtrack for "The Children of Sanchez", both in the late seventies.

Brian Auger´s Oblivion Express-Closer To It! (1973)

If with the album "Second Wind" Brian Auger and his band As Oblivion Express veered towards a more jazz-oriented sound, on the following album, "Closer to It!", that direction was even more pronounced, fully embracing jazz-rock with Latin influences. For this recording, vocalist Alex Ligertwood, guitarist Jim Mullen, and drummer Robbie McIntosh were replaced by Jack Mills (guitar) and Godfrey MacLean (drums), while Lennox Laington (congas), Barry Dean (bass), and of course Brian Auger himself (organ and keyboards) returned. The sounds of Latin jazz fusion are present in the opening track, "Whenever You're Ready", which sets the musical tone for the rest of the album. Along a similar path run the irresistible "Happiness is Just Around the Bend" and "Light on the Path", while the more sophisticated and progressive "Compared to What", the more predictable "Voices of Other Times" and the anthological version of Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues", make up one of Brain Auger's greatest and best contributions to progressive jazz rock.