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THIRD EYE - Various Artists   CAT. NO: CS-04
Rare Jazz/Fusion Gems From Czechoslovakian Vaults vol. 1
 FORMAT: LP / CD
 
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THIRD EYE is unusually long track for compilations but so good that I couldn't resist. It is taken from their self-titled LP. Selection of finest Czechoslovakian musicians giving us real cosmic trip. Just open your third eye and float through the sound. Nice modal fusion with hypnotic main theme. Anaconda continues in a similar style. Up beat fusion with occasional funky impacts. SHQ will be represented on next volume with their 60' stuff. Here I chose Stenopes and The Lost Sheep  from their 70's Fusion period which goes nicely with the rest of the record. Svoboda is still one of the leading figures on a Czech scene. Back in 70's and 80's he made few records with a selection of eminent Jazz musicians grouped under the name Prague Big Band. Proklamation is a typycal Jazz Dance track with a lot of changes from powerfull Big Band sound to small band funky beats with a flute and percussion's solos. Stivin is mostly known for his experimental and free Jazz style. On LP Zodiak he had more melodic and spiritual approach.  Real cosmic sounds. The Earth is starting with pastoral singing that changes into wild funky rhythm with African percussions and with Stivin on flute. On The Alchemist's Trip Stivin plays sax and has interesting rhythm section.  Mahagon was originally Rock band that experimented with other styles as well. They had Zdena Adamova on vocals who had enormous potential. There is a strong West Coast influence in here included track More Klidu. Great composer and pianist Ruzicka  has been a big name on Czechoslovakian Jazz Scene since 60's. He worked with almost every name in Czechoslovakian Jazz scene and was a member of SHQ. Another meber of SHQ on this LP is drummer Josef  Vejvoda. Zivohratky is nice up tempo Jazz Dance track. It is a bit short so I play it again and again. Finaly I did a 6 minute remix for my home use. I might even release it in a future. Singer Koubkova's LP would be difficult to clasify. Influences are coming from Blues, Rock, Jazz and Brazilian Samba. Track Nijana is a simple in it's construction but very hypnotic with repetativ funky riff.  Zeljko Kerleta (February 2000)
01 KLAVESOVA KONKLAVA - Third Eye
 11'29
02 JAZZ FRAGMENT PRAHA - Anaconda   4'52
03 MILAN SVOBODA - Proklamation  7'26
04 SHQ - Stenopes  2'03
05
 JIRI STIVIN - The Earth  4'47
06
 JIRI STIVIN - The Alchemist's Trip  4'34
07
 MAHAGON - More Klidu  2'30
08
 		SHQ - The Lost Sheep  3'44
09
 KAREL RUZICKA - Zivohkratki
2'54
10
 JANA KOUBKOVA - Nijana  6'13
REVIEWS: PLACE YOUR OWN REVIEW
Dusty Groove America  / Mailorder Internet Shop, Chicago
Spacey, funky, and wonderful! During the 60s and 70s, the Iron Curtain prevented most of us from hearing some of the fantastic sounds that were cooking in Eastern Europe -- where obscure jazz funk combos were grooving away in styles that were very different than those heard in the US and Western Europe. There's no easy way to describe the music, because it was so varied and inventive  but this excellent set of 10 rare Czechoslovakian tracks should go a long way to filling in some of the gaps in this lost history! Many of the tracks on the set have a fantastically baroque sound -- sort of a mix of MPS crossover styles, and David Axelrod-type "big picture" production ventures -- and they begin with wild washes of sound that soon settle into a harder funky groove. Keyboards collide with voices mix with guitars punctuated by drums sealed with basslines -- and the whole thing's chopped apart by some funky frenetic sax work. That's only part of the picture, though -- and although we can't come up with the words to describe the set adequately, it's one of the freshest compilations we've heard in years, filled with excellent grooves to take our listening to a whole new level! Titles include "The Lost Sheep" by SHQ, "Proklamation" by Milan Svoboda, "The Third Eye" by The Keyboard Conclave, "The Earth" by Jiri Stivin, "Nijana" by Jana Koubkova, and "Life's Little Games" by Karel Ruzicka. 
THE VIBESNET / Italian site
If you speak Italian have a look at:    CD of the week on "THE VIBES"- Italy
Mark Turner / "Jazzadelica" with Rocky Rococo, 10pm-2am KFJC 89.7 FM, Los Altos Hills, CA, 
Webcasting 24-7 at http://www.kfjc.org
THIRD EYE is my favorite Cosmic Sounds release so far! ALBUM OF THE WEEK, an awesome collection of Czechoslovakian jazz fusion obscurities from the 70's.  Thanks to Zeljko Kerleta for unearthing the likes of Jiri Stivin, SHQ, Mahagon, and others we'd never have heard before THIRD EYE came along.  May his Cosmic Sounds label live long and prosper.
Sampsa P Vilhunen / Left Side Ensemble of Helsinki
'VE LISTENED IT TROUGH ABOUT 6 TIMES  NOW, AND IT KEEPS GETTIN' BETTER EVERY TIME
Duncan Hornby, Wareham, England
I'm just your average Jazz Funk record collector, nobody special.  In the great vastness of the internet I stumbled on to this web site (via www.dustygrooves.com), started to drool with excitement and purchased a load of records, "Third Eye" being one of them.  Unlike your usual compilation album, there are no duds or mediocre tracks...they are all stand out tracks, every single one of them!  I think is was worth paying £9.99 for just the one track called "The Alchemists Trip"! If you like funky jazz music then do yourself a favour and get this album! My only complaint is that more care should have been taken in compiling the track listing on the record sleeve as side one is out of order...not much of a complaint hey?
ECHOES magazine (April 2001, page 39) Elia Rulli
Volume one boasts a diverse collection of styles, all with their own charme, but you won't be able to pass Stiven's The Earth without a rewind. Subtle but heartfelt percussion combined with some beautiful flute work to make a tune for those who like it out there but down low. Jana Koubkova's Nijana takes you to another dimension with abstract vocals and Afr-Cuban styled percussion to spin our head.

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