Missionaria Protectiva

        Given his status as the drummer in the band that undisputedly invented heavy metal, it's surprising to reflect on what a nimble player Bill Ward has always been. Schooled on jazz greats such as Joe Morello and Gene Krupa, the Black Sabbath co-founder brought a sense of stylish elasticity to the ominous trudge that defined the band's early work ("Black Sabbath," "Iron Man"). Instead of mimicking guitarist Tony Iommi's iconic riffs, he would dance around them — see the bebop-informed shimmy he busts out midway through "Electric Funeral" or his stuttering tom-tom breaks in "Rat Salad." And when he wanted to be – as on the swaggering verse groove in "Hand of Doom" — Ward was as funky as any R&B drummer. Later Sabbath drummers, such as the more bombastic Vinny Appice and the flashier Cozy Powell, brought an arena-ready professionalism to the gig but could never reproduce Ward's earthy ballet behind the kit, one of...

        Among the most influential, innovative, and revered ensembles of prog rock’s golden era were the original configurations of King Crimson, and Emerson Lake & Palmer – both fronted and anchored by vocalist, bassist, songwriter Gregory Stuart Lake. Prompted to take up the electric bass at the behest of his school buddy Robert Fripp – Lake’s work on Court of the Crimson King (1969) was watershed – his adventurous passages bolstered the ensemble’s frenetic forays into classical and jazz in a rock context.       With ELP, Lake’s bass artistry served as the rhythmic and harmonic bridge between his two virtuoso mates as they broke ground on each ensuing release.  Lake, akin to Sir Paul, Brian Wilson, and Joe Osborn, was a master of upper register countermelodies. His weapons of choice included the Fender Jazz, and later, the Alembic.        Greg’s excellence as a bassist was matched by his excellence as a singer and pop com...

        Tom Petty 's lead guitarist for more than 40 years, Mike Campbell never clutters up a song with notes when two or three bull's-eyes will suffice. "It's a challenge to make your statement in a short amount of time," he has said, "but I prefer that challenge as opposed to just stretching out." Listen to the skeletal hook that holds "Breakdown" together or the laconic, tone-bending solo in "You Got Lucky" to hear Campbell's ingenious use of negative space.  TOM PETTY & The HEARTBREAKERS Hard Promises Backstreet,1981 https://www.sendspace.com/file/7gaqvu

        Jean-Michel Jarre is a French composer, performer, and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient, and new-age genres, and known as an organiser of outdoor spectacles of his music featuring lights, laser displays, and fireworks. Jarre was raised in Lyon by his mother and grandparents, and trained on the piano. From an early age he was introduced to a variety of art forms, including those of street performers, jazz musicians, and the artist Pierre Soulages. He played guitar in a band, but his musical style was perhaps most heavily influenced by Pierre Schaeffer, a pioneer of musique concrète at the Groupe de Recherches Musicales. His first mainstream success was the 1976 album Oxygène. Recorded in a makeshift studio at his home, the album sold an estimated 12 million copies. Oxygène was followed in 1978 by Équinoxe, and in 1979 Jarre performed to a record-breaking audience of more than a million people at the Place de la Concorde, a record he ...