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Volkor (Lockwood) — Jazz Rock / Debbi
(Musea FGBG 4197.AR, 1981/1996, CD)

Jazz Rock / Debbi Cover art

This Musea CD is a reissue of both Didier and Francis Lockwood’s first releases: Jazz Rock and Debbi. Due to the loss of the master tapes, Musea had to resort to recording the CD directly from vinyl and tidying the sound up to remove the pops and scratches. The result is a crisp clean sound. In addition, due to contractual problems, Musea released this CD under the name Volkor, a track title from Jazz Rock. Falling somewhere between Return to Forever, Zao, and Magma, the music on Volkor is an excellent audio document of the French jazz-rock scene of the late 70s. Listening to this music today, Didier’s electric violin and Francis’ keyboard chops are as fresh as ever. Sustained tempos, rapid rhythms, and frantic solos abound throughout Volkor’s 69 minutes. Volkor is the best reissue of the 1996, and one release not to be missed by aficionados of the genre.

by Henry Schneider, Published 2017-02-02

Volkor is the new legal name of this group, as we know that France's "vice-president" of violin playing, the eminent Didier Lockwood, has gone on to relative commercial success — and we can't let him put his name on his old albums anymore. This CD pairs together two albums, Lockwood's Jazz-Rock and Francis Lockwood's Debbi, both featuring both brothers and both being a pleasant addition to Musea's repertoire (its rare to see jazz-rock like this on the label). Didier's album was recorded soon after the excellent Surya album, and shows the Magma influence dwindling somewhat. A short album, its several tracks run the gamut of jazz influences, and of course Didier's playing is top notch as usual. Debbi, from the early 80s, originally an album by brother Francis Lockwood, is similar yet more sedate and betraying less of a rock influence. There are all kinds of guests on both albums, lots of them you know, and for the fusion fans these are both worth checking out. If you're new to the area, start with Lockwood's Surya album first if you can find it.

by Mike McLatchey, Published 1997-05-01

Filed under: Archives, 1996 releases, 1981 recordings

Related artist(s): Patrick Gauthier, Francis Lockwood / Volkor, Didier Lockwood

 

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