A glockenspiel is a melodic percussion instrument with metal bars. Similar instruments that use the same playing technique with hammers or sticks are the xylophone, marimba, and vibraphone. These are instruments that are also occasionally used by acts from the progressive rock scene. Some good examples are Kerry Minnear with Gentle Giant, Steve Walsh with Kansas, and Dave Lawson with Greenslade. Ruth Underwood also gained fame through this with Frank Zappa. But if there is one act that truly stands out for its playing of these instruments, it is Ed Macan of Hermetic Science. Here, these instruments really take centre stage. You could already hear this on their debut, Ed Macan's Hermetic Science, which recently received a re-release (2026, see review). During the recording of this album, four jazz-like pieces were also recorded for the album—songs that were already being played on stage. But strangely enough, they were simply forgotten to be included on the album. Macan rediscovered the recordings by chance and decided to release them thirty years later after all. He named the album The Lost Jazz Tapes. Let's summarize once again what it's all about: You could say that the The Lost Jazz Tapes EP is an archival release by the American progressive rock band Hermetic Science to celebrate their 30th anniversary. It consists of four previously unreleased jazz standard recordings captured in 1996. The recordings were originally taped in 1996 by the band's foundational trio lineup consisting of the earlier mentioned Ed Macan on Mallet percussion (vibraphone and marimba), Don Sweeney on bass and Michael Morris drums. The songs were performed in a single take without edits. They were originally intended as a demo tape to book performances at jazz clubs in Northern California. However, as the band pivoted to tracking original material for their 1997 self-titled debut album, these live-in-the-studio tapes were entirely forgotten. Keyboardist and bandleader Ed Macan rediscovered the tapes between October 2025 and April 2026 while archiving, remixing, and mastering the 30th Anniversary edition of the debut album. Recognizing their superior audio quality compared to other surviving bootlegs, he prepared them for a distinct release. The EP officially debuted on July 8, 2026, through Hermeticum Records. The four track instrumental EP starts with Theme From Black Orpheus and was written by Luiz Bonfá. It's kind of happy jazz tune. No more no less. Here Macon played on the marimba and is assisted by the earlier mentioned rhythm section. Follow up Blue Rondo á La Turk is the famous composition written by Dave Brubeck. This is a truly entertaining piece of music because you already know how it sounds. Again Macon on the marimba. Next up is Linus And Lucy written by Vince Guaraldi and here is again a rather happy sounding tune. Final track with Macon playing on the marimba. The EP ends with I Showed Them written by Cal Tjader. Here you can here Macon playing on the vibes. This rather mellow tune is for me the musical highlight on this too short EP and reminded me of the earlier mentioned Greenslade. The bass and rhythm section is strong on each piece of music but the bass solo here is really outstanding. All in all a fine new release by Hermetic Science. Most of all if you like jazzy kind of instrumental music performed on the marimba and vibes. With only 22 minutes of music it is of course way too short. All you can do is play it over and over again to enjoy it even longer. Hopefully you can do this too because it is also worth listening for lovers of progressive rock. With these anniversary editions of Hermic Science, we can already tick off two editions and are awaiting the release of the last two editions. Namely the 30th Anniversary editions of Hermetic Science's second and third albums, Prophesies (1999) and En Route (2001), to be re-released in summer/fall 2026. ***+ Henri Strik (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
