Julian Jay Savarin

Another unsung hero of the long lost british prog history, Julian Jay Savarin is a keyboard player and composer, poet and science fiction author, hence the association with the most epic and romantic tendencies of the genre. He was born in Dominica (an island between Martinique and Guadeloupe in the Caribbean) and moved to the UK in 1962. He debuted in 1970 with Julian's Treatment, a short-lived progressive rock band which his sole album – A Time Before This – soon became a sought after collector's item. Julian went solo in 1973, before leaving the musical scene all of a sudden. Waiters On The Dance was definitely his own creation, a narrative masterwork with sumptuous arrangements. Produced by Miki Dallon (founder of independent label Young Blood) and brought to life with members of Julian's Treatment and singer Lady JoMeek, the album is a mysterious and transcendental opera. Waiters on the Dance sounds like a science fiction concept album of sort. Some of the songs rely on long form suite (the two-part "Child of the Night" and "Dance of the Golden Flamingoes" both lasting nearly nine minutes), suggesting an ideal trance state. Relying on heavy Hammond organ and hard-blues reminiscence, the album stands on his own offering occasional parallelism with Brian Auger & The Trinity and the more eclectic folk-revival. A true rare gem.