Jade Warrior (band)
Encyclopedia
Jade Warrior are a British
group
that were formed in 1970, originally evolving out of a band named July
. The founding members were Tony Duhig (guitar
) (born Anthony Christopher Duhig, 18 September 1941, Acton
, west London
; died 11 November 1990, Somerset
, England
), Jon Field (flute
, percussion
, keyboards
) (born John Frederick Field, 5 July 1940, Harrow
, Middlesex
) and Glyn Havard (vocals
, bass
) (born 15 February 1947, Nantyglo
, South Wales
).
, African and Latin American music
), started playing instruments (Jon a set of congas,Tony a guitar which he tuned unconventionally to open
C), bought a four-track tape recorder
each and started experimenting with multi-layered overdubs. According to Field, the process was not unlike "...trying to build a cathedral with the sort of things you'd find in your back yard," but still, as it turned out, formed a blueprint for Jade Warrior's music throughout their career.
In 1965 the two formed a rhythm & blues outfit called Second Thoughts with Patrick Lyons on vocals, which released one four-song EP. Meanwhile, in a parallel line of development, Tom Newman
(later the engineer for Mike Oldfield
's Tubular Bells
), Alan James, Pete Cook and Chris Jackson had formed the Tomcats. In 1965, both bands split up, Lyons joining Alex Spyropoulos in a (then) duo Nirvana
which released five LPs (with Jade Warrior members guesting on 1972's Local Anaesthetic). Reformed with a new line-up - Newman, James, Jackson, Jon Field and Tony Duhig – Tomcats spent 1965-1966 in Spain
where they released four EPs to much local acclaim (later Acme Records released them as a single LP, having included The Second Thoughts' EP). In 1966 Tomcats returned to England, changed their name to July, and released their one only (eponymous) album, a psychedelic
pop-rock collection. (Later it was re-issued as Second of July with some alternate versions and outtakes, and then as Dandelion Seeds with yet different tracklist).
, where (according to AllMusic) he met guitarist and future bandmate bass guitarist and vocalist Glyn Havard. In the words of David Duhig, Tony's brother (and later a band member), "…Tony met Glyn Havard and Allan Price, and they formed a band which nobody really mentions about because they went off to Persia to do some sort of money gig. I suppose the most notable thing about that is that Tony caught some sort of disease he called 'Persian Leg' which plagued him from there on it. That was around the end of '69." On return Tony Duhig successfully auditioned for Unit Four Plus Two which Havard and drummer Allan Price at the time were already members of. Soon the band broke up, but Field, Duhig and Hovard stuck together and soon named themselves Jade Warrior after a certain dance drama Tony had had composed for a London drama school. According to Havard, though, -
Later a Red Hot Records press release stated that, "Jade Warrior was a Japanese term for a samurai warrior who was also a poet and scholar", but Havard expressed doubts as for the literal truth of this interpretation.
(their old band-mate Patrick Lyons, now Patrick Campbell-Lyons, had become a producer and a scout for this label
), according to Havard, 'in a package' with Assagai
, an Afro-rock band, whom they shared the same managament with. This (according to an official biography), "left Jade Warrior contract but, with a record company which had little actual interest in the band and very little willingness to support or promote them." Their debut album
, Jade Warrior
, was released in 1971 and established their trademark sound of soft/loud contrasts, and Field's multi-layered flutes and percussion vying with Duhig's cutting guitar.
This was followed in the same year by Released with appearances from Dave Duhig (solo guitar), Allan Price on drums and guest saxophonist Dave Conners.
Here Jade Warrior sharpened their rock edge ("Three Horned Dragon King", "Minnamato's Dream", the fifteen minute rock jam "Barazinbar"), their quieter side represented by pieces like "Yellow Eyes" and "Bride of Summer". According to critic Peter Thelen, "where the first album featured an array of sonic possibilities, this is an album that highlighted the contrasts within that sound". "If Jade Warrior's second album has any overwhelming flaw, it is that its predecessor traveled so far off the conventional beaten tracks of early-'70s prog that anything less than absolute reinvention could only be regarded as a rerun of past glories", AllMusic argued years later. "…There is little here that Jade Warrior itself did not predict, but the unerring delivery of those predictions is a marvel in itself", critic Dave Thompson concluded.
In 1972 Last Autumn's Dream
followed, both Price and David Duhig taking part in the procedures. The album, taking a step back to revisit “the wall-of-all-colors approach of their debut with a more surefooted and substantive instrumental approach” featured mysterious-sounding, introspective instrumental tunes ("Dark River", "Obedience", "Borne on the Solar Wind") juxtaposed with melodic pieces like "A Winters Tale" and "May Queen" and harsh rockers ("Snake", "The Demon Trucker", "Joanne"). "One might sense in the overview that the band lost their way on the second album, and tried to put themselves back on track with the third", Peter Thelen argued. Nevertheless, as Dave Thompson put it, "For anybody just discovering Jade Warrior, Last Autumn's Dream is certainly the last of its truly essential albums". Taken as a whole, the first three albums saw the band creating and perfecting innovative style which (according to Dave Platt and Charles Wilkinson's biography) "ha its base in rock music… with a Jethro Tull
flavour, and significant admixtures of what we'd probably call 'world music' influence today". The band toured the U.S. at the time (as the opening band for Dave Mason
, Long John Baldry
, and Earth Quake
and has been reportedly captured on film during this period, at the Marquee Club
in London. Material for another two albums, Eclipse and Fifth Element was also recorded during 1973. Vertigo first decided they would rather release it as two separate albums, and even went so far as releasing a couple of the songs from the fourth album on various samplers, then changed their mind again and cancelled their recording contract
altogether. The project was shelved, to be released only in 1998.
(of Traffic
) urged Chris Blackwell
of Island Records
to listen to Jade Warrior. He did so, but would only sign them as an instrumental
duo, which meant there was no place for Havard. Duhig and Field (who also provided flute on Mike Oldfield
's Tubular Bells
) were to create four albums on Island Records, with their sound expanded to include choirs, harp, and a string quartet. Guest musicians on these albums included Steve Winwood (keyboards), Fred Frith
of Henry Cow
(violin
) and Dave Duhig.
First came Floating World
(1974), a complex concept set themed around the Japanese philosophy of Ukiyo
, with the songs revolving around two interrelated and interlaced series of compositions. According to AllMusic, " sheer diversity of sounds and moods, the constant clash or gentle intermingling of Eastern and Western styles, and the set's glittering atmospheres that made Floating World an undeniable masterpiece". The band's foray into what would later be labeled world and ambient music came parallel to that of Brian Eno
, who described Floating World as an "important album".
It was followed by Waves (1975), another concept album dedicated to "...the last whale" and featuring Steve Winwood as a guest on piano and moog. The album consisted of a single composition, divided into two parts (each taking ap an LP side); this, according to AllMusic, proved "a nightmare for radio programmers who might have provided Waves with the airplay it desperately needed to push Jade Warrior beyond cult status". 1976's Kites
recorded with guest musicians, Fred Frith
among them, presented the band at their most musically abstract and progressive, each side being essentially a long concept piece, inspired by Paul Klee
's painting "The Kingdom of the Air" and 9th century China's wandering Zen
master Teh Ch'eng. The last of the four Island albums, Way of the Sun, represented a spacial, cinematic sound journey to Latin America, described by AllMusic as an "incredibly vibrant set that quivers with emotion and life itself".
, meant that the next album to be released was the 1979 compilation
, Reflections, taken from their Vertigo years and containing some (at the time) unreleased tracks. It was not until 1984 that any new material emerged with the release of Horizen on Pulse Records, described as definitely a "Tony Duhig project": he wrote all of the music, while Field performed on only a few of the tracks. In 1989, At Peace was released by Eartsounds label. This album, recorded at Tony Duhig's studio in only four days and performed solely by the duo, has been seen as the least typical of the Jade Warrior albums, close to ambient and even new age music.
This was followed by another long hiatus until Jade Warrior started their next project with new band members; Colin Henson (guitar) and Dave Sturt
(fretless bass). However, they were dealt a blow by the sudden death of Tony Duhig in 1990, before he could contribute to the album. The band decided to continue on with the album, which became the 1992 release Breathing The Storm on the Red Hot Records
(re-released on CD by Voiceprint
in 2001). This trio then released a follow-up album Distant Echoes in 1993 with guest appearances from Theo Travis
of Gong
(saxophone
), David Cross
of King Crimson
(violin) and Tom Newman
. It seemed for a while that Jade Warrior may have disbanded, as their only output was the previously mentioned Eclipse and Fifth Element, but these were then joined by the re-issue of all four Island albums in 2006.
In 2000 Glyn Havard and Allan Price joined David Duhig in a band named Dogstar Poets to release the Off-Planet (2002) In the summer of 2005, Havard officially rejoined Jade Warrior as a fourth member (alongside Field, Sturt and Henson). After about a year, Colin Henson withdrew from Jade Warrior, citing severe creative differences with the other band members.
on the WindWeaver label. It's been described as "a top-flight album boasting cinematic dynamics, thoughtful instrumentation and the strategically astute placement of a roster of guest artists" (Record Collector
), "as challenging as it is atmospheric" (Classic Rock
), "the most mature and most deeply human album Jade Warrior has ever created" (FOJW) and "uber-cool, very well-produced & well-executed album & one that... Tony Duhig would be very proud of" (Amazon
review).
In May 2010 the news came in of Jade Warrior working on the instrumental album Haiku and the as yet untitled 'song album'. According for the April 2011 Official website News entry, Haiku was "inching its way towards a conclusion", albeit slowly. It is expected to be released later in 2011.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
that were formed in 1970, originally evolving out of a band named July
July (band)
-External links:* [ July] at Allmusic* on Facebook...
. The founding members were Tony Duhig (guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) (born Anthony Christopher Duhig, 18 September 1941, Acton
Acton, London
Acton is a district of west London, England, located in the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross.At the time of the 2001 census, Acton, comprising the wards of East Acton, Acton Central, South Acton and Southfield, had a population of 53,689 people...
, west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
; died 11 November 1990, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
), Jon Field (flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
) (born John Frederick Field, 5 July 1940, Harrow
London Borough of Harrow
The London Borough of Harrow is a London borough of north-west London. It borders Hertfordshire to the north and other London boroughs: Hillingdon to the west, Ealing to the south, Brent to the south-east and Barnet to the east.-History:...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
) and Glyn Havard (vocals
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
, bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) (born 15 February 1947, Nantyglo
Nantyglo
Nantyglo is a village in the ancient parish of Aberystruth and county of Monmouth situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Blaina and Brynmawr in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent.- Places of interest in Nantyglo :...
, South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
).
History
Jon Field and Tony Duhig met in the early 1960s when working in a factory (both driving forklifts). Soon they found common musical interests (jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, African and Latin American music
Latin American music
Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...
), started playing instruments (Jon a set of congas,Tony a guitar which he tuned unconventionally to open
Open chord
In music, especially guitar, an open chord is a chord that is not fingered and fretted, the opposite of a barre chord, the strings of which ring, or sound, freely and fully....
C), bought a four-track tape recorder
Tape recorder
An audio tape recorder, tape deck, reel-to-reel tape deck, cassette deck or tape machine is an audio storage device that records and plays back sounds, including articulated voices, usually using magnetic tape, either wound on a reel or in a cassette, for storage...
each and started experimenting with multi-layered overdubs. According to Field, the process was not unlike "...trying to build a cathedral with the sort of things you'd find in your back yard," but still, as it turned out, formed a blueprint for Jade Warrior's music throughout their career.
In 1965 the two formed a rhythm & blues outfit called Second Thoughts with Patrick Lyons on vocals, which released one four-song EP. Meanwhile, in a parallel line of development, Tom Newman
Tom Newman (musician)
Not to be confused with Thomas Newman.Tom Newman is an English record producer and musician...
(later the engineer for Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
's Tubular Bells
Tubular Bells
Tubular Bells is the debut record album of English musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1973. It was the first album released by Virgin Records and an early cornerstone of the company's success...
), Alan James, Pete Cook and Chris Jackson had formed the Tomcats. In 1965, both bands split up, Lyons joining Alex Spyropoulos in a (then) duo Nirvana
Nirvana (UK band)
Nirvana were a United Kingdom-based progressive rock band active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Though the band only achieved limited commercial success, they were acclaimed both by music industry professionals and critics...
which released five LPs (with Jade Warrior members guesting on 1972's Local Anaesthetic). Reformed with a new line-up - Newman, James, Jackson, Jon Field and Tony Duhig – Tomcats spent 1965-1966 in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
where they released four EPs to much local acclaim (later Acme Records released them as a single LP, having included The Second Thoughts' EP). In 1966 Tomcats returned to England, changed their name to July, and released their one only (eponymous) album, a psychedelic
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
pop-rock collection. (Later it was re-issued as Second of July with some alternate versions and outtakes, and then as Dandelion Seeds with yet different tracklist).
Jade Warrior
In 1968 July disbanded. Tony Duhig traveled to IranIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, where (according to AllMusic) he met guitarist and future bandmate bass guitarist and vocalist Glyn Havard. In the words of David Duhig, Tony's brother (and later a band member), "…Tony met Glyn Havard and Allan Price, and they formed a band which nobody really mentions about because they went off to Persia to do some sort of money gig. I suppose the most notable thing about that is that Tony caught some sort of disease he called 'Persian Leg' which plagued him from there on it. That was around the end of '69." On return Tony Duhig successfully auditioned for Unit Four Plus Two which Havard and drummer Allan Price at the time were already members of. Soon the band broke up, but Field, Duhig and Hovard stuck together and soon named themselves Jade Warrior after a certain dance drama Tony had had composed for a London drama school. According to Havard, though, -
Later a Red Hot Records press release stated that, "Jade Warrior was a Japanese term for a samurai warrior who was also a poet and scholar", but Havard expressed doubts as for the literal truth of this interpretation.
Vertigo years. 1970-1973
In 1970 Jade Warrior signed a deal with VertigoVertigo Records
Vertigo Records today is a UK-based record label operated by Universal Music UK.-History:Vertigo Records was the name Philips Records chose in the late 1960s for its record sub-label to counter the progressive labels of its rivals EMI with Harvest Records and Decca Records with Deram...
(their old band-mate Patrick Lyons, now Patrick Campbell-Lyons, had become a producer and a scout for this label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
), according to Havard, 'in a package' with Assagai
Assagai
Assagai was an Afro-rock band from South Africa, active in the early 1970s in London. It consisted of five members: drummer Louis Moholo, trumpeter/flautist Mongezi Feza, tenor saxophonist Bizo Muggikana, guitarist Fred Cocker, and alto saxophonist Dudu Pukwana....
, an Afro-rock band, whom they shared the same managament with. This (according to an official biography), "left Jade Warrior contract but, with a record company which had little actual interest in the band and very little willingness to support or promote them." Their debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Jade Warrior
Jade Warrior (album)
Jade Warrior - the debut self titled and self-produced album by Jade Warrior, released in 1971 as one of the earlier albums of the psychedelic progressive rock movement...
, was released in 1971 and established their trademark sound of soft/loud contrasts, and Field's multi-layered flutes and percussion vying with Duhig's cutting guitar.
This was followed in the same year by Released with appearances from Dave Duhig (solo guitar), Allan Price on drums and guest saxophonist Dave Conners.
Here Jade Warrior sharpened their rock edge ("Three Horned Dragon King", "Minnamato's Dream", the fifteen minute rock jam "Barazinbar"), their quieter side represented by pieces like "Yellow Eyes" and "Bride of Summer". According to critic Peter Thelen, "where the first album featured an array of sonic possibilities, this is an album that highlighted the contrasts within that sound". "If Jade Warrior's second album has any overwhelming flaw, it is that its predecessor traveled so far off the conventional beaten tracks of early-'70s prog that anything less than absolute reinvention could only be regarded as a rerun of past glories", AllMusic argued years later. "…There is little here that Jade Warrior itself did not predict, but the unerring delivery of those predictions is a marvel in itself", critic Dave Thompson concluded.
In 1972 Last Autumn's Dream
Last Autumn's Dream (album)
Last Autumn's Dream is the third studio album by British band Jade Warrior. The album was well received, and yielded two singles, in A Winter's Tale and The Demon Trucker....
followed, both Price and David Duhig taking part in the procedures. The album, taking a step back to revisit “the wall-of-all-colors approach of their debut with a more surefooted and substantive instrumental approach” featured mysterious-sounding, introspective instrumental tunes ("Dark River", "Obedience", "Borne on the Solar Wind") juxtaposed with melodic pieces like "A Winters Tale" and "May Queen" and harsh rockers ("Snake", "The Demon Trucker", "Joanne"). "One might sense in the overview that the band lost their way on the second album, and tried to put themselves back on track with the third", Peter Thelen argued. Nevertheless, as Dave Thompson put it, "For anybody just discovering Jade Warrior, Last Autumn's Dream is certainly the last of its truly essential albums". Taken as a whole, the first three albums saw the band creating and perfecting innovative style which (according to Dave Platt and Charles Wilkinson's biography) "ha
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
flavour, and significant admixtures of what we'd probably call 'world music' influence today". The band toured the U.S. at the time (as the opening band for Dave Mason
Dave Mason
David Thomas "Dave" Mason is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic...
, Long John Baldry
Long John Baldry
John William "Long John" Baldry was an English and Canadian blues singer and a voice actor. He sang with many British musicians, with Rod Stewart and Elton John appearing in bands led by Baldry in the 1960s. He enjoyed pop success in the UK where Let the Heartaches Begin reached No...
, and Earth Quake
Earth Quake (band)
Earth Quake was an American rock and power pop band, formed in the San Francisco area in 1966, who released several albums in the 1970s, mostly on Beserkley Records, a company which they were involved in setting up.-Band members:*John Doukas...
and has been reportedly captured on film during this period, at the Marquee Club
Marquee Club
The Marquee was a music club first located at 165 Oxford Street, London, England when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts.It was also the location of the first ever live performance by The Rolling Stones on 12 July 1962....
in London. Material for another two albums, Eclipse and Fifth Element was also recorded during 1973. Vertigo first decided they would rather release it as two separate albums, and even went so far as releasing a couple of the songs from the fourth album on various samplers, then changed their mind again and cancelled their recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
altogether. The project was shelved, to be released only in 1998.
Island years. 1974-1978
In 1974, Steve WinwoodSteve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
(of Traffic
Traffic (band)
Traffic were an English rock band whose members came from the West Midlands. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason...
) urged Chris Blackwell
Chris Blackwell
Christopher Percy Gordon "Chris" Blackwell is a British record producer and businessman, who was the founder of Island Records, acknowledged as the most successful and groundbreaking independent record company in history. Blackwell has been a music industry mogul for over fifty years...
of Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
to listen to Jade Warrior. He did so, but would only sign them as an instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
duo, which meant there was no place for Havard. Duhig and Field (who also provided flute on Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
's Tubular Bells
Tubular Bells
Tubular Bells is the debut record album of English musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1973. It was the first album released by Virgin Records and an early cornerstone of the company's success...
) were to create four albums on Island Records, with their sound expanded to include choirs, harp, and a string quartet. Guest musicians on these albums included Steve Winwood (keyboards), Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
of Henry Cow
Henry Cow
Henry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
(violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
) and Dave Duhig.
First came Floating World
Floating World (Jade Warrior album)
Floating World is the fourth studio album by the British experimental rock band Jade Warrior released in 1974 by Island Records. The band's experiments with the sounds which would later be labeled a world and ambient music came parallel to that of Brian Eno, who described Floating World as an...
(1974), a complex concept set themed around the Japanese philosophy of Ukiyo
Ukiyo
Ukiyo described the urban lifestyle, especially the pleasure-seeking aspects, of Edo-period Japan . The "Floating World" culture developed in Yoshiwara, the licensed red-light district of Edo , which was the site of many brothels, chashitsu tea houses, and kabuki theaters frequented by Japan's...
, with the songs revolving around two interrelated and interlaced series of compositions. According to AllMusic, "
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, who described Floating World as an "important album".
It was followed by Waves (1975), another concept album dedicated to "...the last whale" and featuring Steve Winwood as a guest on piano and moog. The album consisted of a single composition, divided into two parts (each taking ap an LP side); this, according to AllMusic, proved "a nightmare for radio programmers who might have provided Waves with the airplay it desperately needed to push Jade Warrior beyond cult status". 1976's Kites
Kites (album)
- Personnel :* Tom Newman - audio engineer, engineer* David Platt - liner notes* Mark Powell - reissue producer* Paschal Byrne - digital remastering, remastering* George Chkiantz - audio engineer, engineer* Hugh Gilmour - package design- Tracklist :...
recorded with guest musicians, Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
among them, presented the band at their most musically abstract and progressive, each side being essentially a long concept piece, inspired by Paul Klee
Paul Klee
Paul Klee was born in Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland, and is considered both a German and a Swiss painter. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. He was, as well, a student of orientalism...
's painting "The Kingdom of the Air" and 9th century China's wandering Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
master Teh Ch'eng. The last of the four Island albums, Way of the Sun, represented a spacial, cinematic sound journey to Latin America, described by AllMusic as an "incredibly vibrant set that quivers with emotion and life itself".
1980-2007
Personal issues, illness, and Duhig moving house to set up a recording studioRecording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
, meant that the next album to be released was the 1979 compilation
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, Reflections, taken from their Vertigo years and containing some (at the time) unreleased tracks. It was not until 1984 that any new material emerged with the release of Horizen on Pulse Records, described as definitely a "Tony Duhig project": he wrote all of the music, while Field performed on only a few of the tracks. In 1989, At Peace was released by Eartsounds label. This album, recorded at Tony Duhig's studio in only four days and performed solely by the duo, has been seen as the least typical of the Jade Warrior albums, close to ambient and even new age music.
This was followed by another long hiatus until Jade Warrior started their next project with new band members; Colin Henson (guitar) and Dave Sturt
Dave Sturt
Dave Sturt is an English bassist and record producer.-Musical career:Sturt began playing bass guitar and recording at the age of 17...
(fretless bass). However, they were dealt a blow by the sudden death of Tony Duhig in 1990, before he could contribute to the album. The band decided to continue on with the album, which became the 1992 release Breathing The Storm on the Red Hot Records
Red Hot Records
RED HOT RECORDS is an independent publishing company and record label based in Phoenix, Arizona. The company was founded in June 2008 by Steve Crabtree of the band ....
(re-released on CD by Voiceprint
Voiceprint Records
Voiceprint Records is a company and record label based in England, founded in 1990 by Rob Ayling. They specialise in re-releasing old material, especially progressive rock, but also have new releases, all under the Voiceprint and other imprints....
in 2001). This trio then released a follow-up album Distant Echoes in 1993 with guest appearances from Theo Travis
Theo Travis
Theo Travis is a British saxophonist and flautist.Travis received his degree in flute and saxophone from the University of Manchester and has worked among others with Robert Fripp, Gong, Porcupine Tree, The Tangent, Bill Nelson, Bass Communion, No-Man, Steven Wilson, David Sylvian, Harold Budd,...
of Gong
Gong (band)
Gong is a Franco-British progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. Their music has also been described as space rock. Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Francis Moze, Mike Howlett...
(saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
), David Cross
David Cross (musician)
David Cross is an electric violinist born in Turnchapel near Plymouth, England, best known for playing with progressive rock band King Crimson during the 1970s...
of King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
(violin) and Tom Newman
Tom Newman (musician)
Not to be confused with Thomas Newman.Tom Newman is an English record producer and musician...
. It seemed for a while that Jade Warrior may have disbanded, as their only output was the previously mentioned Eclipse and Fifth Element, but these were then joined by the re-issue of all four Island albums in 2006.
In 2000 Glyn Havard and Allan Price joined David Duhig in a band named Dogstar Poets to release the Off-Planet (2002) In the summer of 2005, Havard officially rejoined Jade Warrior as a fourth member (alongside Field, Sturt and Henson). After about a year, Colin Henson withdrew from Jade Warrior, citing severe creative differences with the other band members.
2008 - present
On June 30, 2008, Jade Warrior as a trio released their fourteenth studio album NOWNOW (Jade Warrior album)
NOW is the fourteenth studio album by British band Jade Warrior. Released on 30 June 2008 on the WindWeaver label, it comes after a 15 year gap since their last album Distant Echoes.-Musicians:* Jon Field - Flutes, Percussion, Keyboards...
on the WindWeaver label. It's been described as "a top-flight album boasting cinematic dynamics, thoughtful instrumentation and the strategically astute placement of a roster of guest artists" (Record Collector
Record Collector
Record Collector is the United Kingdom's longest-running monthly music magazine. It distributes both within the UK and worldwide. It started in 1979.-The early years:...
), "as challenging as it is atmospheric" (Classic Rock
Classic Rock (magazine)
Classic Rock is a British magazine dedicated to the radio format of classic rock, published by Future Publishing, who are also responsible for its "sister" publication Metal Hammer. Although firmly focusing on key bands from the 1960s through early 1990s, it also includes articles and reviews of...
), "the most mature and most deeply human album Jade Warrior has ever created" (FOJW) and "uber-cool, very well-produced & well-executed album & one that... Tony Duhig would be very proud of" (Amazon
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
review).
In May 2010 the news came in of Jade Warrior working on the instrumental album Haiku and the as yet untitled 'song album'. According for the April 2011 Official website News entry, Haiku was "inching its way towards a conclusion", albeit slowly. It is expected to be released later in 2011.
Albums
- Jade WarriorJade Warrior (album)Jade Warrior - the debut self titled and self-produced album by Jade Warrior, released in 1971 as one of the earlier albums of the psychedelic progressive rock movement...
(Vertigo, 1971) - Released (Vertigo, 1971)
- Last Autumn's DreamLast Autumn's Dream (album)Last Autumn's Dream is the third studio album by British band Jade Warrior. The album was well received, and yielded two singles, in A Winter's Tale and The Demon Trucker....
(Vertigo, 1972) - Floating WorldFloating World (Jade Warrior album)Floating World is the fourth studio album by the British experimental rock band Jade Warrior released in 1974 by Island Records. The band's experiments with the sounds which would later be labeled a world and ambient music came parallel to that of Brian Eno, who described Floating World as an...
(Island Records, 1974) - Waves (Island Records, 1975)
- KitesKites (album)- Personnel :* Tom Newman - audio engineer, engineer* David Platt - liner notes* Mark Powell - reissue producer* Paschal Byrne - digital remastering, remastering* George Chkiantz - audio engineer, engineer* Hugh Gilmour - package design- Tracklist :...
(Island Records, 1976) - Way Of The Sun (Island Records, 1978)
- Reflections (Vinyard Productions, 1979)
- Horizen (Pulse Records, 1984)
- At Peace (Earthsounds, 1989)
- Breathing The Storm (Red Hot Records, 1992)
- Distant Echoes (Red Hot Records, 1993) also on Voiceprint © 2000, released 2001
- Elements: An Island Anthology (Island Records, 1995)
- Eclipse (Acme Records, 1998)
- Fifth Element (Hi-Note Music, 1998)
- Floating World, Waves, Kites, Way Of The Sun (Eclectic, 2006) also on Esoteric Records as separate CD albums in 2010.
- NOWNOW (Jade Warrior album)NOW is the fourteenth studio album by British band Jade Warrior. Released on 30 June 2008 on the WindWeaver label, it comes after a 15 year gap since their last album Distant Echoes.-Musicians:* Jon Field - Flutes, Percussion, Keyboards...
(WindWeaver Music, 2008)
Singles
- "We Have Reason To Believe" (Vertigo, 1971)
- "A Winter's Tale" (Vertigo, 1972)
- "The Demon Trucker" (Vertigo, 1972)