Jasper Wrath
Encyclopedia
Jasper Wrath was a progressive rock
band from New Haven, Connecticut
that was active throughout the 1970s
. They were founded by Jeff Cannata
, who would later go on to form the 1980s band Arc Angel
. The band also featured James Christian
, who would later go on to front the notable glam metal band House of Lords
.
in 1969. The original lineup consisted of drummer Jeff Cannata of New Haven power trio band Christopher Hawke, as well as keyboardist Michael Soldan, guitarist Robert Giannotti, and bassist Phil Stone from the Connecticut-based band Buckle. Promoter John DuBuque recalls, "I had booked Christopher Hawke for an outdoor show in Milford
. In true agency form, another group showed up, Jasper Wrath. I believe it was their first gig. Although upset, I knew, once they started playing, I had never heard or seen anything like this before around here." Uninterested in doing cover material, the band wrote a handful of songs in the next six to eight months and sent a few demos to record companies in New York and Los Angeles. Within a couple of weeks, interest from LA based MGM Records
, prompted a call to set up a live showcase with their New York office. Weeks later contracts were negotiated and Jasper Wrath had their first record deal. Recorded in six weeks at Phil Ramone’s
A&R Studio in New York, Wrath was on its way. The self-titled debut
was released in 1971.
Just as a national tour was being scheduled, Giannotti left the band. After months of searching for the right replacement, without any luck, the band temporarily split. Cannata and Soldan, influenced by the British progressive art rock scene at the time decide to move to London, England to explore the musical possibilities there. In time, complications in obtaining British work permits, they take a holiday in Majorca, Spain co-writing some of Jasper Wrath’s most memorable compositions, i.e.: "You", "The Dream", "Somewhere Beyond The Sun", "The City", "Touch The Sky", and "The Ghost of Way". While at a Yes
concert at The Palace Theater in Waterbury
in the early 70’s, Cannata and Soldan approached Rick Wakeman
pre-show backstage and asked about the then, mysterious mellotron
. Wakeman revealed to them, "There are only three in the world. King Crimson
has one, The Moody Blues
and Yes
, and the cost is around $16,000 if you can even get one”. Questioning the legitimacy of that statement, while in London Cannata and Soldan found and purchased the illusive mellotron for a mere 700 Pounds and had it sent back to the States. Now the band had the orchestral sound that they were looking for.
After returning to Connecticut, the band set out to find the right chemistry of players to perform the material live. To augment the sound, Phil Stone learned how to play the flute along with bass. Cannata then recruited James Christian from local band HOOKA as their new frontman on lead vocals and guitar. Scott Zito was added to the band on lead guitar, but left after a couple of years. Jeff Batter, who had been classically trained since the age of four, was later added as the group's second keyboardist. It was during this period in the mid-'70s that Jasper Wrath scored a regional #1 hit with the song "You". The band quickly became one of the most popular live acts in the area.
Unfortunately due to commercial and non-commercial musical differences, the members of Jasper Wrath went their separate ways in 1976. James Christian, Phil Stone, and Jeff Batter went on to form another popular Connecticut band, Eyes
, before Christian went on to front the notable glam metal band House of Lords
. Jeff Cannata and Michael Soldan later formed the band Arc Angel
, before Cannata started a solo career. Scott Zito went on to record albums with artists such as Grace Slick
and Michael Bolton
. He even wrote most of the songs on Grace Slick's 1981 album Welcome to the Wrecking Ball!, which also featured Phil Stone on bass. Dellwood Records released two albums of previously unreleased Jasper Wrath studio material in 1977. Unfortunately, Dellwood released the albums under two fake band names. One was called "Coming Home" and credited to Arden House, while the other was marketed as the debut album of Zoldar & Clark. Neither album received much exposure. In 1996, Jeff Cannata put together and released a two-disc anthology of Jasper Wrath material. The set included material from the original debut LP, the "You/General Gunther" single, material from the fake Arden House and Zoldar & Clark albums, and previously unreleased live material. Jasper Wrath had a one-off reunion performance for the Act One Entertainments 50th Anniversary Concert in New Haven on June 13, 2010. The performance featured original members Jeff Cannata, Robert Gianotti, Michael Soldan, and Jeff Batter, as well two new musicians filling in on guitar and bass. Albeit a short lived career, Jasper Wrath today remains one of the most respected, influential, talked about Connecticut bands of its time.
Jeff Cannata
- drums, percussion, guitar, woodwinds, and vocals (1969–1976)
James Christian
- lead vocals and guitar (1973–1976)
Phil Stone - bass, flute, and vocals (1969–1976)
Michael Soldan - keyboards and vocals (1969–1976)
Jeff Batter - keyboards and vocals (1973–1976)
Scott Zito - guitar, keyboards, and vocals (1973–1974)
Robert Gianotti - guitar, flute, and vocals (1969–1971)
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band from New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
that was active throughout the 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
. They were founded by Jeff Cannata
Jeff Cannata (musician)
Jeff Cannata is a Connecticut-based musician, songwriter, and record producer. Cannata was a founding member and driving force behind the New Haven-based progressive rock band Jasper Wrath. He was the drummer for the group, however he also sang, played woodwinds, and wrote a majority of the songs...
, who would later go on to form the 1980s band Arc Angel
Arc Angel (band)
Arc Angel was an AOR rock band that was formed by musicians Jeff Cannata and Michael Soldan.- History :Jeff Cannata and Michael Soldan had previously been in the popular Connecticut-based band Jasper Wrath. Cannata played drums and Soldan played keyboards; both composed most of the group's songs....
. The band also featured James Christian
James Christian
James Christian is a Connecticut-based musician and songwriter who is perhaps best known for being the frontman of the band House of Lords.-Career:...
, who would later go on to front the notable glam metal band House of Lords
House of Lords (band)
House of Lords is a hard rock/AOR band from Los Angeles, California.-History:House of Lords was formed in 1987 by former Angel member and keyboardist Gregg Giuffria from his solo project Giuffria...
.
History
Jasper Wrath formed in New Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
in 1969. The original lineup consisted of drummer Jeff Cannata of New Haven power trio band Christopher Hawke, as well as keyboardist Michael Soldan, guitarist Robert Giannotti, and bassist Phil Stone from the Connecticut-based band Buckle. Promoter John DuBuque recalls, "I had booked Christopher Hawke for an outdoor show in Milford
Milford, Connecticut
Milford is a coastal city in southwestern New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located between Bridgeport and New Haven. The population was 52,759 at the 2010 census...
. In true agency form, another group showed up, Jasper Wrath. I believe it was their first gig. Although upset, I knew, once they started playing, I had never heard or seen anything like this before around here." Uninterested in doing cover material, the band wrote a handful of songs in the next six to eight months and sent a few demos to record companies in New York and Los Angeles. Within a couple of weeks, interest from LA based MGM Records
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...
, prompted a call to set up a live showcase with their New York office. Weeks later contracts were negotiated and Jasper Wrath had their first record deal. Recorded in six weeks at Phil Ramone’s
Phil Ramone
Phil Ramone is a South-African violinist, composer, recording engineer, and record producer.-Biography:As a young child in South Africa, Ramone was a musical prodigy, beginning to play the violin at age three and performing for Queen Elizabeth II at age ten...
A&R Studio in New York, Wrath was on its way. The self-titled debut
Jasper Wrath (album)
Jasper Wrath is the first studio album by Connecticut-based progressive rock band Jasper Wrath.-Track listing:Side 1# "Look To The Sunrise" - 2:55# "Mysteries " - 3:50# "Autumn" - 4:45# "Odyssey" - 7:10Side 2...
was released in 1971.
Just as a national tour was being scheduled, Giannotti left the band. After months of searching for the right replacement, without any luck, the band temporarily split. Cannata and Soldan, influenced by the British progressive art rock scene at the time decide to move to London, England to explore the musical possibilities there. In time, complications in obtaining British work permits, they take a holiday in Majorca, Spain co-writing some of Jasper Wrath’s most memorable compositions, i.e.: "You", "The Dream", "Somewhere Beyond The Sun", "The City", "Touch The Sky", and "The Ghost of Way". While at a Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
concert at The Palace Theater in Waterbury
Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...
in the early 70’s, Cannata and Soldan approached Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...
pre-show backstage and asked about the then, mysterious mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
. Wakeman revealed to them, "There are only three in the world. 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...
has one, The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed....
and Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
, and the cost is around $16,000 if you can even get one”. Questioning the legitimacy of that statement, while in London Cannata and Soldan found and purchased the illusive mellotron for a mere 700 Pounds and had it sent back to the States. Now the band had the orchestral sound that they were looking for.
After returning to Connecticut, the band set out to find the right chemistry of players to perform the material live. To augment the sound, Phil Stone learned how to play the flute along with bass. Cannata then recruited James Christian from local band HOOKA as their new frontman on lead vocals and guitar. Scott Zito was added to the band on lead guitar, but left after a couple of years. Jeff Batter, who had been classically trained since the age of four, was later added as the group's second keyboardist. It was during this period in the mid-'70s that Jasper Wrath scored a regional #1 hit with the song "You". The band quickly became one of the most popular live acts in the area.
Unfortunately due to commercial and non-commercial musical differences, the members of Jasper Wrath went their separate ways in 1976. James Christian, Phil Stone, and Jeff Batter went on to form another popular Connecticut band, Eyes
Eyes (band)
Eyes was a rock band from New Haven, Connecticut that was active throughout the 1980s. The band was founded by James Christian, who would later go on to front the notable hard rock band House of Lords.- History :Eyes formed in New Haven, Connecticut in 1977...
, before Christian went on to front the notable glam metal band House of Lords
House of Lords (band)
House of Lords is a hard rock/AOR band from Los Angeles, California.-History:House of Lords was formed in 1987 by former Angel member and keyboardist Gregg Giuffria from his solo project Giuffria...
. Jeff Cannata and Michael Soldan later formed the band Arc Angel
Arc Angel (band)
Arc Angel was an AOR rock band that was formed by musicians Jeff Cannata and Michael Soldan.- History :Jeff Cannata and Michael Soldan had previously been in the popular Connecticut-based band Jasper Wrath. Cannata played drums and Soldan played keyboards; both composed most of the group's songs....
, before Cannata started a solo career. Scott Zito went on to record albums with artists such as Grace Slick
Grace Slick
Grace Slick is an American singer and songwriter, who was one of the lead singers of the rock groups The Great Society, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and Starship, and was a solo artist, for nearly three decades, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s...
and Michael Bolton
Michael Bolton
Michael Bolton is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton originally performed in the hard rock and heavy metal genres from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, both on his early solo albums and those recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack...
. He even wrote most of the songs on Grace Slick's 1981 album Welcome to the Wrecking Ball!, which also featured Phil Stone on bass. Dellwood Records released two albums of previously unreleased Jasper Wrath studio material in 1977. Unfortunately, Dellwood released the albums under two fake band names. One was called "Coming Home" and credited to Arden House, while the other was marketed as the debut album of Zoldar & Clark. Neither album received much exposure. In 1996, Jeff Cannata put together and released a two-disc anthology of Jasper Wrath material. The set included material from the original debut LP, the "You/General Gunther" single, material from the fake Arden House and Zoldar & Clark albums, and previously unreleased live material. Jasper Wrath had a one-off reunion performance for the Act One Entertainments 50th Anniversary Concert in New Haven on June 13, 2010. The performance featured original members Jeff Cannata, Robert Gianotti, Michael Soldan, and Jeff Batter, as well two new musicians filling in on guitar and bass. Albeit a short lived career, Jasper Wrath today remains one of the most respected, influential, talked about Connecticut bands of its time.
Band members
Former MembersJeff Cannata
Jeff Cannata (musician)
Jeff Cannata is a Connecticut-based musician, songwriter, and record producer. Cannata was a founding member and driving force behind the New Haven-based progressive rock band Jasper Wrath. He was the drummer for the group, however he also sang, played woodwinds, and wrote a majority of the songs...
- drums, percussion, guitar, woodwinds, and vocals (1969–1976)
James Christian
James Christian
James Christian is a Connecticut-based musician and songwriter who is perhaps best known for being the frontman of the band House of Lords.-Career:...
- lead vocals and guitar (1973–1976)
Phil Stone - bass, flute, and vocals (1969–1976)
Michael Soldan - keyboards and vocals (1969–1976)
Jeff Batter - keyboards and vocals (1973–1976)
Scott Zito - guitar, keyboards, and vocals (1973–1974)
Robert Gianotti - guitar, flute, and vocals (1969–1971)
Discography
- Jasper WrathJasper Wrath (album)Jasper Wrath is the first studio album by Connecticut-based progressive rock band Jasper Wrath.-Track listing:Side 1# "Look To The Sunrise" - 2:55# "Mysteries " - 3:50# "Autumn" - 4:45# "Odyssey" - 7:10Side 2...
- 1971 (MGMMGM RecordsMGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...
) - You / General Gunther (single) - 1975 (Future Music)
- Coming Home - 1977 (Dellwood Records) [credited as Arden House]
- Zoldar & Clark - 1977 (Dellwood Records) [credited as Zoldar & Clark]
- Anthology: 1969-1976Anthology (Jasper Wrath album)Anthology: 1969-1976 is a compilation album by Connecticut-based progressive rock band Jasper Wrath. It features material from their 1971 self-titled debut album, the 1975 "You/General Gunther" single, two 1977 albums which were released using fake band names, and previously unreleased live...
- 1996 (Oxford Circus)