Aera - Humanum Est / Hand Und Fuß 1974-76) (Remastered, 2004) Lossless

Somewhat obscure but with a fairly vaste and varied discography, Aera was formed in the early 70s by saxophonist Klaus Kreuzeder - former Ex Ovo Pro member - and followed the jazz tradition from Bavarian area, in the south of Germany, blending it with progressive rock, just like their regional counterparts Embryo and Missus Beastly. With creativity and a quite similar sound, Aera didn't wait so much to release their first album, 'Humanum Est', released in 1974, with a huge rane of solos and arrangements made by guitarrist Much Groh - former Ihre Kinder member - who led the band until their second album was released - Hand Und Fuß - in 1976, which also featured the addition of violinist Lucky Schmidt, enriching even more their music. These two first albums were remastered and reissued in a single CD by Erlkönig, the same label responsable for the original 70s records. Unfortunatly Aera had little recognizement and constant line-up changes did interfer the band's stability, however their legacy should be appreciated by all jazz-fusion and Canterbury music fans.