(Translated from
my old Italian page by Paul O'Brien)
Embryo, formed
by ex-Amon Duul II member Christian Burchard, consisted of
Edgar Hofmann (sax,
violin), Ralph Fisher (bass, organ), John Kelly (guitar).
Their first album,
Opal (Ohr, 1970), showed Embryo to be influenced by
the mystical free-jazz
of John Coltrane and by the Canterbury sound
(People From Out the Space).
The group's characteristic jazz-rock took
shape in Embryo's Rache (UA, 1971), followed by Father Son and Holy
Ghosts (UA, 1972).
From the same period came Steig Aus (Brain,
1972), which contained
the epic Radio Marrakesch/Orient Express, with Mal Wa
ldron on piano and
another erstwhile Amon Duul member Jimmy Jackson on mellot
ron, and
Rocksession (Brain, 1973), which contained four even
more experimental
jams from the same sessions – for example Entranc
es, Warm Canto
and Dirge – recordings which came to be consi
dered by the band as too
experimental and thus too far from the Embryo ethic.
With the addition of jazz saxophonist Charlie Maria
no, the band (which at
this point consisted of Burchard, Roman Bunka on guitar
and sax, and Dieter
Miekautsch on piano) recorded We Keep On (BASF, 197
3), with further
standout epics in No Place To Go (at 12 minutes)
and Ticket to
India (15 minutes).
The following two albums Surfin! (Buk, 1975)
and Bad Heads and
Bad Cats (April, 1976), had lost much of the early
creative spirit, despite
Dance of Some Broken Glasses (on the first) and <
I>Human Contact (on
the second). The leader abandoned Mariano to his fate, spent
a time in India, and
returned refreshed and with a new style first presented
in Apo-calypso
(April, 1977).
Continuing their journey to Asia, the group put
together a series of world music albums, of which Embryo's Reise (1979)
is probably the best
(Cello Cello).
Others included
Life (1980)
and another double album,
La Blama
Sparozzi (1982).
When they at last came home, Embryo recorded their
first studio album in seven years, Zack Gluck (1984), but then set
off again for more travel, this time to Africa, an experience which provided
the material for Yoruba Dun Dun Orchestra
(1985)
and Africa (1985).
Far from abandoning the music scene, Burchard continued
to record
albums of jazz-influenced and ethnic music:
Turn Peace (1989),
Ibn Battuta (1994),
Ni Hau (1996),
Istanbul-Casablanca (1999).
Anthology 1970-1979 (Schneeball, 1980) and the live double album
Invisible Documents (Disconforme, 1998) summarize their story.
Message From Era Ora (Sound Of Cobra, 2013) contains
live recordings of 1976.
Aalst 2010 documents two live jams.
Christian Burchard died in 2018.