FEATURED CD: Jordi Sabatés - Ocells del Mes Enlla

[Poisoned Youth]

Today's feature is the 1975 release from Jordi Sabatés titled "Ocells del Mes Enlla", which features one of the tastiest (nearly) side long tracks from the 70s. This should be right up your alley if you're fans of Finch, Focus, Pekka, Camel, etc. and where those intersect with jazz and jazz-fusion from the 70s like RTF, Weather Report, and some of the CTI work.




Review from RYM:

Born in 1948 in Barcelona, keyboardist Jordi Sabates begun his career with the Pop group Pic-Nic, where he first met Toti Soler, before performing a Jazz-Rock style both with Jarka and Om in early-70's.From mid-70's he released several albums under his name, the first one ''El Senyor dels Anells'' (1974) being in a jazzier style, while in his second one ''Ocells del Més Enllà'' (1975) he adds a more progressive feeling to his sound.The album was released in 1975, originally on the Catalan Zeleste label.

A great group of musicians support Sabates' inventive moog synth and electric piano lines, such as his alter ego guitarist Toti Soler, Om's bassist Manolo Elias, Jarka's guitarist Ricky Sabates, Orquestra Mirasol's Chilean percussionist Gustavo "Krupa" Quinteros, drummer Iván Bargas and female Brazilian singer Erica Norimar.The opening side is dedicated to the 15-min. three part eponymous epic, which sounds like a cross between Flamenco, light Progressive Rock and Latin-Fusion with strong RETURN TO FOREVER hints.It is filled with Sabates' performance on ethereal electric piano and intense moog synths, dramatic electric guitars, Flamenco-styled themes and Norimar's wordless vocal lines, reminiscent of Flora Purim's work with RETURN TO FOREVER.The second side consists of shorter tracks in the same style with ''Tryada'' being the highlight.Quasi-improvised intense Latin-spiced Jazz/Fusion with beautiful Flamenco guitars and careful electric piano passages but also some great electric sounds.The rest of the tracks are also quite nice with both atmospheric and more virtuosic passages, light interplays and a fair amount of instrumental solos.

Balanced Jazz-Rock/Fusion with a touch of Progressive Rock.Anyone deep into the style of RETURN TO FOREVER or WEATHER REPORT should be a proud owner of this album, which has seen also some CD reissues.Warmly recommended. - apps79

[battema]

Fun one! I need to break this out again...

[Trane]

Whooooleyyyy shit!!

this is heavyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!

This one has escaped my radar... I'll be checking out tonight to see if Asbjornssen mentions it in his Scented Garden From The Minds book.

And I'm going to have to suggest this to ProgArchives too, cos they don't know it either.

[Trane]

I just found this in a more or less similar flamenco-light JR/F, dating from 70, but would've been recorded in 66 (which would be really amazing, given the recording quality).

With Joe Beck and some kind of Tony Levin (the same that we know?)

[TCC]

Excellent Album!.
An underrated and essential one of that period IMO!.

Some call Jordi Sabatès the "spanish Chick Corea"! ... go figure!.

I just found this in a more or less similar flamenco-light JR/F, dating from 70, but would've been recorded in 66 (which would be really amazing, given the recording quality).

With Joe Beck and some kind of Tony Levin (the same that we know?)

A very young Tony Levin ... yes!!.

[Baribrotzer]

Some call Jordi Sabatès the "spanish Chick Corea"! ... go figure!

Chick Corea is not Spanish - he's an Italian-American guy from Boston.

[TCC]

Chick Corea is not Spanish - he's an Italian-American guy from Boston.

Maybe here my translation was bad, sorry: I´m not saying that Corea is spanish ... back in those days, some referred to Jordi as a "spanish" Corea, does it make sense to you now?.

Anyway, don´t like this comparisons BTW!.

[Trane]

Thanks to this thread, I re-spun this, excellent disc, like a stew of Flora Purim era Return to Forever doing Soft Machine songs with an occasional organ solo from Manfred Mann.

Liked that description too.

Chick Corea is not Spanish - he's an Italian-American guy from Boston.

I had to check it out , but you're right, he's from Massachusetts, though I don't find "Corea" a typically Italian name (like NY Al DiMeola) .... For some reasons, I thought je was Puerto Rican, and this was reinforced by his many Spanish/Latino American musical tendencies ... especially his Spanish Heart album from 76...

Oddly enough, ADM (who is purely Italian descent) also had an obsession with Spanish music as evidenced in his first two solo album.

[Progbear]

Chick Corea is not Spanish - he's an Italian-American guy from Boston.

According to that user-contributed online encyclopedia thingy, he’s of Spanish and Southern Italian descent. So you’re both, sort of, right.

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

According to that user-contributed online encyclopedia thingy, he’s of Spanish and Southern Italian descent. So you’re both, sort of, right.

trust wiki... it's always right

[TCC]

I just found this in a more or less similar flamenco-light JR/F, dating from 70, but would've been recorded in 66 (which would be really amazing, given the recording quality).

With Joe Beck and some kind of Tony Levin (the same that we know?)

This is one of the first "experiments" between Flamenco and rock/blues: definitely, years later, it became one of the first steps of the Rock Andaluz.
"Rock Encounter" was ahead of his time and I consider it as a precursor (pillar) as "La Leyenda del Tiempo" (1979) by Camarón de la Isla or "El Patio" (1975) by Triana as many other great efforts of that period of time (1966-1979).

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

I just found this in a more or less similar flamenco-light JR/F, dating from 70, but would've been recorded in 66

where did you get that from?

that one aint from 66... but it's still amazingly progressive even in 1970

[Trane]

where did you get that from?

that one aint from 66... but it's still amazingly progressive even in 1970

Yeah, I know it sounds too good for being from 66.

I just discovered it while listening to more of the Sabates album on YT

[yoyiceu]

I just found this in a more or less similar flamenco-light JR/F, dating from 70, but would've been recorded in 66 (which would be really amazing, given the recording quality).

With Joe Beck and some kind of Tony Levin (the same that we know?)

A later rock-flamenco album by Sabicas, from 1971, with studio player Mike Deasy...

[zravkapt]

Great album. AFAIK the only 'prog' one though.

[aplodon]

Feels like ages since I played this. Time to pick it down from the shelf. Remember it as pretty good.

Sent from my phone

[spacefreak]

It's an excellent album and one of my faves from the spanish progressive scene.

[100423]

I've not heard this, but I like the description so I'll definitely check it out.

[Pr33t]

Absolutely love this one, and it ranks up there with the best from Spain. It also gives you a taste of the regional differences in Spain - the Catalan bands tended to gravitate towards Jazz-Rock, often with mediterranean Folk or Latin elements (with the notable exceptions of Fusioon and Atila).

[Zeuhlmate]

Recorded in 1966 !
Great find !

[ashratom]

My own notes that I penned from a fresh listen last year: "Ocells Del Més Enllà is a Flamenco fusion style of progressive rock, with namesake Jordi Sabates on keyboards (Rhodes, Moog, organ, and piano) and Toti Soler on acoustic guitar (often playing in the traditional Flamenco way). The 7 piece band is fleshed out with electric guitar, bass, vocals, hand percussion, and drums. Some of the music reminds me of the slower/mellower tracks from the early Mahavishnu Orchestra albums but with a distinctive Spanish flavor (including the familiar hand claps). Wonderful female wordless voices augment this fine recording. Highly recommended."

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

a solid album
not spectacular, but solid enough to listen to every once and a while and enjoy

[Zeuhlmate]

Sabicas with Joe Beck: It says that it was recorded in 66, but released in 70.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabicas#Discography

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

Sabicas with Joe Beck: It says that it was recorded in 66, but released in 70.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabicas#Discography

that would be before any other Rock album mixed with Classical or Jazz
before Space Rock
before Jazz Rock
before Symph Rock

difficult to believe

[Zeuhlmate]

Perhaps the websites are just quoting each other, but its recorded at Mira Sound Recording Studios New York, and Sabicas apparently returned to Spain in 1967.

http://thelakeband.blogspot.dk/2014/...encounter.html
http://60-70rock.blogspot.dk/2015/08...encounter.html

Would like to see a photo of the original LP cover