OFF: Progressive really progressive?

[Guido Vacano]

Chris Warburton says--

> OK guys, you got me going again - it's impossible to detach KC from the whole
> progressive thing,

Yes, the albums up to Larks' Tongues would qualify, IMHO, as prog rock.

> but they definitely transcended it, and their whole
> development from 'Larks Tongues' to the end of that era is a lot more in line
> with "free-jazz" developments, although the terms "jazz" & "free-jazz" are even
> more contentious than "progressive".

"Free-rock" maybe? What makes KC's music so interesting, I think, is the tension
between the structure of composition, and the freedom of improvisation. They knew
how to blend the two perfectly. ThrakAttak is a good example of "free-rock".

> The big difference between KC and most of
> the other bands of the period is that the improvisation is "collective", rather
> than it being a supreme instrumentalist strutting his or her stuff over the
> changes.

I heartily agree.

> (BTW who is Kerry Livgren?).

He is (or was) a member of Kansas. I don't remember what he plays.

> Observation: Anyone who really likes the
> unleashed King Crimson (another title Mr. Fripp?) should check out Shannon
> Jackson (with or without the Decoding Society) & Ornette Coleman's Prime Time
> (or Song X with Pat Metheny - even PM rocks on this one)  even though it means
> going to the "jazz" section of the record-store. SJs 'Red Warrior' is a
> plank-spankers delight!

I'll keep those in mind. In turn, I highly recommend John Zorn's Masada series.

What's a plank-spanker? :-)

Guido

--
If nothing is done, then all will be well.  -- Lao Tse