Jade Warrior
Waves

THE REVIEW

Thanks to a fortunate partnership between John Duhig and Jon Field, at the dawn of the seventies, the lineup of the Jade Warrior took shape in the Albion lands. A guitar and a flute were soon joined by a pleasant rhythm section and some notable guests.

There was an initial period under the Vertigo label which gave rise to a couple of gems with "Last Autumn's Dream" standing out; but "Waves" is the second of four chapters for the "Island" label for which Field & Duhig recorded. The trait-d'union is figuratively represented by the very light watercolors from the graphic group Eckford & Simpson and the distinctive and unforgettable imprint of their covers.
There is a primordial desire to start blending styles at the base of the group's project. What Oregon was doing in the USA was taking shape in England under the delicate impressionistic pages of visions from these two semi-unknown guys. Steve Winwood, once aware of the potential "World music" value, as we would call it today, spontaneously contributed with some piano passages.

It is a sort of naturalistic concept, complete with animal and "vegetable" sounds with transitions to enchanting climates and scenarios on a beautiful, essentially acoustic and soothing background. The first side of the original LP is personally considered one of the most beautiful pages of the European "spring" of the mid-70s. Such contamination, at the time, was entirely original.
A "B" class group, unknown to most, later presented "Kites" and in 1978 the final "Way Of The Sun", infused, like the previous ones, with meditative spirituality and harmonic and ethnic explorations.

Recently, after the premature passing of John Duhig, Jon Field has repeatedly attempted to reassemble the lineup, sporadically publishing new things. Unfortunately, the magic of this album and those years has been lost.