Third Ear Band
Encyclopedia
Third Ear Band evolved within the London
alternative and free-music scene of the mid 1960s.
raga
forms, European folk
, experimental
and medieval influences. They recorded their first session in 1968 for Ron Geesin
which was released under the pseudonym of The National-Balkan Ensemble on one side of a Standard Music Library disc. Their first actual album
, Alchemy, was released on the EMI
Harvest
label
in 1969, (featuring John Peel
playing jaw harp on one track), followed by Air, Earth, Fire, Water (aka Elements) in 1970. They recorded two soundtrack
s, the first in 1970 for an animated film
by Fuchs
of Abelard and Heloise (which first saw release as part of Luca Ferrari
's Necromancers of the Drifting West Sonic Book in 1997) and then in 1971 for Roman Polanski
's film of Macbeth
. After various later incarnations and albums they finally disbanded in 1993 owing to leader and percussionist Glen Sweeney's ongoing health problems.
They also opened The Rolling Stones
Free Concert at Hyde Park
on 5 July 1969.
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...
alternative and free-music scene of the mid 1960s.
History
Members came from The Giant Sun Trolley and The People Band to create an improvised music drawing on EasternEastern world
__FORCETOC__The term Eastern world refers very broadly to the various cultures or social structures and philosophical systems of Eastern Asia or geographically the Eastern Culture...
raga
Raga
A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...
forms, European folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
and medieval influences. They recorded their first session in 1968 for Ron Geesin
Ron Geesin
Ronald 'Ron' Geesin is a British musician and composer, noted for his quirky creations and novel applications of sound. He is probably best known as the orchestrator and organizer of Pink Floyd's "Atom Heart Mother" in 1970, after the band found themselves hopelessly deadlocked over how to...
which was released under the pseudonym of The National-Balkan Ensemble on one side of a Standard Music Library disc. Their first actual 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...
, Alchemy, was released on the EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
Harvest
Harvest Records
-References:* Harvest Records collectors guide ISBN 978-5-9622-0021-7...
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,...
in 1969, (featuring John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
playing jaw harp on one track), followed by Air, Earth, Fire, Water (aka Elements) in 1970. They recorded two soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
s, the first in 1970 for an animated film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
by Fuchs
Fuchs
- Industry :* Fuchs Petrolub, the world's largest independent manufacturer of lubricants, and related speciality products.* Fuchs Group, spice company based in Germany* Fuchs Systems Inc., a German manufacturer of equipment for making steel- People :...
of Abelard and Heloise (which first saw release as part of Luca Ferrari
Luca Ferrari (writer)
Luca Ferrari is an Italian underground writer.He wrote many books about folk and rock musicians as Third Ear Band, Pink Floyd, Robyn Hitchcock, Captain Beefheart, Tim Buckley, Syd Barrett for the main Italian home publishing. He met Syd Barrett in 1986 and did contribute to the reunion of the...
's Necromancers of the Drifting West Sonic Book in 1997) and then in 1971 for Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
's film of Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
. After various later incarnations and albums they finally disbanded in 1993 owing to leader and percussionist Glen Sweeney's ongoing health problems.
They also opened The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
Free Concert at Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
on 5 July 1969.
Collective band members
- Glen 'Zen' Sweeney: hand drumHand drumA hand drum is any type of drum that is typically played with the bare hand rather than a stick, mallet, hammer, or other type of beater. The simplest type of hand drum is the frame drum, which consists of a shallow, cylindrical shell with a drumhead attached to one of the open ends.-Types:The...
s, wind chimesWind Chimes"Wind Chimes" is a song composed by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks for the American rock band The Beach Boys. The original version of the song was written and recorded for the aborted 1966 album Smile. The band completely re-recorded the song for inclusion on their next album, Smiley Smile...
, drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Paul Minns: oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
, recorderRecorderThe recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple... - Brian Meredith: celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, electrically-modified cello - Clive Kingsley: electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- Richard Coff: violinViolinThe 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....
, violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average... - Benjamin Cartland: violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
- Mel Davis: celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, slide pipes - Ursula Smith: celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, violinViolinThe 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.... - Paul BuckmasterPaul BuckmasterPaul John Buckmaster is a Grammy Award-winning English artist, arranger and composer.He began learning the cello at the age of 4 and graduated from the Royal College of Music at age 16....
: celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Simon HouseSimon HouseSimon House is a composer and classically trained violinist and keyboard player, perhaps best known for his work with space rock band Hawkwind. His arrival in 1974 introduced a new element to the band's style...
: violinViolinThe 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....
, VCS3 - Denim Bridges: guitarGuitarThe 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...
s - Dave Tomlin: bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, violinViolinThe 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....
on "Alchemy" - Mike Marchant: guitarGuitarThe 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...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Allan Samuel: violinViolinThe 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....
- Neil BlackNeil BlackNeil Black OBE is an internationally known oboist and a professor at London's Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Starting on the oboe at age 11, Black did not initially consider music as a career. He attended Oxford University and earned a degree in History. Three years after finishing at Oxford,...
: violinViolinThe 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....
, midi violin - Mick Carter: electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- Lyn DobsonLyn DobsonLyn Dobson is a British musician, noted as a jazz-rock flautist and saxophonist. He appeared with Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames and Manfred Mann in the mid 1960s and then with Soft Machine and Keef Hartley as well as playing on albums by Nick Drake and John Martyn.After the 1970s he worked in...
: soprano saxophoneSoprano saxophoneThe soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
, fluteFluteThe 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...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - John PeelJohn PeelJohn Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
: jaws harp on "Alchemy" - Keith ChegwinKeith ChegwinKeith Chegwin is an English television presenter, former child actor and singer.-Early career:Chegwin's early roles were in works of the Children's Film Foundation, appearing as Egghead Wentworth in The Troublesome Double Egghead's Robot . He also appeared as a stowaway in Doomwatch episode...
: vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
on "Music from MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
" - Morgan FisherMorgan FisherMorgan Fisher is an English keyboard player / composer, and is most known for being a member of Mott the Hoople in the early 1970s. However, his career has covered a wide range of musical activities, and he is still highly active in the music industry...
: keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA 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...
, VCS3 for a short time 72/73
Discography
- The National-Balkan Ensemble (1968)
- AlchemyAlchemy (Third Ear Band album)-Track listing:All compositions by Coff, Minns, Smith, and Sweeney, except "Lark Rise" # Mosaic – 6:31# Ghetto Raga – 10:32# Druid One – 3:49# Stone Circle – 3:28# Egyptian Book of the Dead – 8:55# Area Three – 8:33...
(1969) - Third Ear BandThird Ear Band (album)Third Ear Band was the second album by the Third Ear Band, released in 1970. It consists of four improvised pieces, "Air", "Earth", "Fire", and "Water", and is therefore sometimes known as "Elements".-Track listing:...
(1970) - Abelard and HeloiseAbelard and Heloise (album)Abelard and Heloise is a soundtrack album released in 1970 by the Third Ear Band. It was re-released on CD in 1999 by Blueprint.-Track listing:All tracks were released without titles.# Untitled – 13:42# Untitled – 4:39...
(1970) - Music from MacbethMusic from MacbethMusic from Macbeth is a 1972 album by progressive-rock band Third Ear Band. It consists of the soundtrack from Roman Polanski's 1971 film The Tragedy of Macbeth, an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth.-Track listing:#"Overture" – 4:20...
(Soundtrack to The Tragedy of MacbethMacbeth (1971 film)Macbeth is a 1971 British-American drama film directed by Roman Polanski, based on William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth, about the Highland lord who becomes King of Scotland through treachery and murder. It features Jon Finch as Macbeth and Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth...
, Roman PolanskiRoman PolanskiRoman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
's film adaptation of Shakespeare's MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
) (1972) - Prophecies (1972 (or more likely 1978) - released in 1991)
- Experiences (compilationCompilation albumA 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...
1976) - Live Ghosts (1988)
- Radio Sessions (1988)
- New Forecasts from the Third Ear Almanach (1989)
- Magic Music (1990)
- Brain Waves (1993)
- Live (1996)
- Magic Music (1997)
- The Magus (1972 - released in 2005)
External links
- Third Ear Band — from the Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock
- Third Ear Band: Alchemy & Improv — by Chris Blackford
- Third Ear Band— page with audio link & vintage images
- GHETTO RAGA — The Third Ear Band's Official Archive by Luca Ferrari