Herbie Hancock-Fat Albert Rotunda (1969)

After his time as a member of Miles Davis's band, keyboardist Herbie Hancock resumed his solo career in the late 1960s, releasing a series of highly regarded jazz albums. In 1969, he recorded his ninth album, "Fat Albert Rotunda", surrounded by a group of top-notch musicians, including guitarists Eric Gale and Billy Butler, drummer Bernard Purdie, and bassist Buster Williams, as well as a large horn section featuring Joe Newman, Garnett Brown, Joe Henderson, and Benny Powell. On this recording, Hancock showcased a sound influenced by the Los Angeles music scene, as well as film and television, all under the influence of jazz, rock, and funk. The album was originally conceived as the soundtrack for Bill Cosby's television show, "Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids". Tracks with a clear R&B accent and jazzy rhythms like "Wiggle Waggle", jazz fusion like "Fat Mama" and "Tell Me A Bedtime Story", funk jazz "Oh! Oh! Here He Comes" and "Fat Albert Rotunda", or cinematic canvases of funk and R&B like "Lil' Brother", complete a superb and captivating album of the best jazz rock of the late sixties.

Yoso-Elements (2010)

In the world of music, alliances have always existed, some strange and others more logical and "conventional". From blues artists with pop singers, to metalheads with progressive rockers, to rock stars with jazz musicians, and so on, an endless array of collaborations and styles. The one we're featuring today is a reunion of members of the AOR group Toto with several former members of the progressive rock band Yes. And what better "way" to start the alliance than by giving this group a name that is, to say the least, absurd: Yoso (clearly they didn't put much thought into choosing it). This project, or supergroup, as we might call it, was composed of Toto's vocalist, Bobby Kimball, and former Yes members Tony Kaye (keyboards) and Billy Sherwood (bass), as well as session guitarist Jimmy Haun, Asia and Yes drummer Jay Schellen, and other percussionists such as Lou Molino, Johnny Bruhns, Scott Connor, and Jody Cortez. Essentially, what we find here is a repertoire of songs of the highest instrumental caliber, focused on melodic rock with progressive elements something that is quite obvious given the background of all its members. Impeccable melodies, exquisite vocal harmonies, and superbly executed music are what we hear in tracks like "Walk Away", "Close The Curtain", "Yoso", "Return To Yesterday", and "Won't End Tonight". Without being pretentious, this is an album that undoubtedly delighted both fans of melodic rock and those of commercial progressive rock.

Roxy Music-Flesh+Blood (1980)

"Flesh+Blood," Roxy Music's seventh album, was one of their biggest commercial successes, but it was also, along with its predecessor "Manifesto" (1979), that generated some controversy among critics of the time and some of their more orthodox fans, as it leaned towards conventional art rock, leaving behind the subversive and defiant style of their earlier work. While the previous album was essentially a Bryan Ferry solo project under the Roxy Music label, "Flesh+Blood" represents the quintessential 80s sound, but executed with mastery and leaning towards the so-called New Romanticism. Here, for the first time, the band dared to include covers of classics such as Wilson Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour" and the Byrds' "Eight Miles High", performed with refinement and respect. On the other hand, in the pop-rock track "Same Old Scene", the melodic "My Only Love", and the new wave "Over You", Bryan Ferry delivers a masterclass thanks to his warm and unmistakable voice. The mid-tempo track "Running Wild" or the latent "No Strange Delight" also argue for themselves why Roxy Music sacrificed sophistication for a more refined, accessible style clearly oriented towards radio formulas.

Kollektiv-Kollektiv (1973)

Kollektiv were another of the countless German krautrock bands. Although their style was oriented towards jazz rock, they also explored other genres such as blues, world music, and psychedelia. Formed in the early 1970s, the band consisted of Jürgen Karpenkiel (bass), Waldo Karpenkiel (drums), Jürgen Havix (guitar), and Klaus Dapper (flute and saxophone). Their debut album, this self-titled release, was launched on the iconic Brain label in 1973. The album features songs with a jazzy undercurrent, such as "Rambo Zambo", and a distinctly psychedelic feel with raga influences, like "Baldrian". It also includes epic tracks such as the suite "Gageg", which, divided into three parts, showcases the group's sonic diversity while maintaining a hypnotic krautrock rhythm throughout. In short, another very interesting album from German krautrock, and a brilliant band that displayed a high level of technical and virtuosic skill, in addition to presenting concise compositions of a high musical level.

Déjà-Vu-Between The Leaves (1976)

Déjà-Vu was a short-lived Norwegian band that only recorded one single, promotional single for radio broadcast in 1976. Formed by several former members of Høst, their music was influenced by hard rock and progressive rock. Languishing for decades until its reissue on CD in the 1990s, this recording is a perfect example of a Scandinavian band that could rival its more famous British and German progressive rock contemporaries of the time. Déjà-Vu consisted of Kai Grønlie (vocals), Svein Rønning (guitars), Harald Otterstad (keyboards), Per Amundsen (bass), and Knut Lie (drums). "Between The Leaves" is an album that perfectly blends soulful vocals with powerful heavy rock guitars and a wide array of keyboards, including the Hammond organ and Moog synthesizers. Standout tracks such as the space hard rock "Burning Bridges", the progressive "Flying" and "Free Man", the pastoral "Visions Of Nirvana" or the dark and heavy "Somebody Cares", attest to the magnitude of this brilliant work that was sadly forgotten at the time by its record label.

Phil Manzanera-Diamond Head (1975)

Phil Manzanera is widely known as one of the greatest guitarists in pop-rock history, as well as a founding member of the legendary bands Roxy Music and Quiet Sun, and a contributor to numerous projects for artists of the caliber of David Gilmour, John Wetton, Godley & Creme, and John Cale. Of Latin descent, his solo debut album, "Diamond Head", was released in the mid-1970s, showcasing an eclectic style ranging from progressive rock to soft rock, incorporating his Latin influences and jazz-rock. For this debut, Manzanera collaborated with a wide array of top-tier musicians, including Ian McDonald (King Crimson), Robert Wyatt (Soft Machine), Brian Eno (Roxy Music), Eddie Jobson (Curved Air), and John Wetton (King Crimson), among others. "Diamond Head" is comprised of a rewarding repertoire featuring the catchy, Latin-influenced "Frontera", the sophisticated title track, the pop-rock "Big Day", the avant-garde "Same Time Next Week", the intoxicating "East of Echo", and the progressive "Alma". Throughout, Manzanera's fluid guitar lines, the exceptional quality of all the compositions, and his creative arrangements stand out, making this an excellent work of great musicality.