Gryphon were a British progressive rock band of the 1970s, notable for their unusual sound and instrumentation. Multi-instrumentalist Richard Harvey and his fellow Royal College of Music graduate Brian Gulland, a woodwind player, began the group as an all-acoustic ensemble that mixed traditional English folk music with medieval and Renaissance influences. Shortly after this, the duo was joined by guitarist Graeme Taylor and Drummer/percussionist Dave Oberlé.

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  • Gryphon were a British progressive rock band of the 1970s, notable for their unusual sound and instrumentation. Multi-instrumentalist Richard Harvey and his fellow Royal College of Music graduate Brian Gulland, a woodwind player, began the group as an all-acoustic ensemble that mixed traditional English folk music with medieval and Renaissance influences. Shortly after this, the duo was joined by guitarist Graeme Taylor and Drummer/percussionist Dave Oberlé. After their self-titled debut, they expanded their sound to include electric guitars and keyboards as well as wind instruments, such as bassoons and krumhorns, not previously used in rock music. Gryphon's music often sounded as much like rural English folk or renaissance chansons as it did rock, at least on their early recordings. After their third album (Red Queen to Gryphon Three) and the subsequent tour as a supporting act for Yes, their instrumentation became more conventional and the use of non-standard instruments was reduced. Fans and critics generally regard Midnight Mushrumps and the all-instrumental Red Queen to Gryphon Three as their finest albums. In 1974, the group's publicist Martin Lewis arranged for the band to be commissioned to write and record the music for a major stage production of Shakespeare's The Tempest at Britain's National Theatre directed by Sir Peter Hall. It opened at the historic Old Vic theatre in April 1974. The music the band wrote and recorded for the stage production inspired the 21-minute fantasia "Midnight Mushrumps" (named after a phrase mentioned in The Tempest) which became the title track of their second album. Following the successful premiere of the play and acclaim for its music, Lewis arranged for Gryphon to give a Sunday evening concert at the Old Vic in July 1974 - the first-ever and to date the only rock concert held at Britain's National Theatre. At the concert the band performed "Midnight Mushrumps". The concert was considered a major breakthrough for progressive rock music. Audio tapes of the fabled concert exist, but none have yet surfaced publicly. The band's sound engineer at the time, Richard Elen, recorded the event on a 4-track machine (2 tracks PA feed, 2 tracks stereo acoustic sound picked up at the balcony) and subsequently mixed it to stereo. He has cassette copies of the master tape (which have some technical issues) but Martin Lewis is believed to have the master itself. It is not known whether the master is of releasable quality. In 1977, Richard Harvey and Jonathan Davie - under the names Rik Mansworth and John Thomas - were members of The Banned, supposedly a punk rock group, who had a hit in the UK pop charts with a version of "Little Girl", originally recorded in the 1960s by The Syndicate of Sound. In September 2007 it was announced on Gryphon's website that, after a silence of 31 years, the band had finally decided to produce a new album. Whether the new Gryphon album will be a modern progressive and commercial sounding offering like their later albums, or a return to the predominantly medieval-based themes of their earlier works, has yet to be announced. Whilst there was no timescale planned, it was envisaged that it would be released in the Summer of 2008 with a one-off London concert date also suggested, although not confirmed. On 15 September 2008, Gryphon announced via their website that the album was still in production "albeit slowly". On Saturday 6th June 2009 Gryphon performed a reuniun concert at The Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. The four original members - Richard Harvey, Brian Gulland, Graeme Taylor and Dave Oberlé - opened the evening with a selection of songs and instrumentals from the first album Gryphon. They were then joined by Jon Davie (the final bass player who appeared on Treason) and a new member, the multi-instrumentalist and film/production music composer Graham Preskett for the rest of the evening.
  • I Gryphon sono un gruppo progressive rock del Regno Unito attivo negli anni settanta, conosciuti per il loro insolito modo di fare musica e per i particolari strumenti utilizzati. Essi fondevano infatti nella loro musica elementi della musica medioevale, del folk fino ad arrivare al rock più moderno.
  • Gryphon - brytyjska progresywna grupa rockowa aktywna w latach 1973 - 1977. Muzyka grana przez grupę była ściśle oparta na muzyce dawnej, w szczególności angielskiej muzyce dworskiej. Grupa wypracowała unikalne brzmienie oparte na grze nietypowych dla instrumetarium rockowego instrumentów dętych takich jak fagot, obój czy klarnet. Początkowo w muzyce grupy nieobecne były instrumenty klawiszowe. Dopiero przy nagrywaniu drugiej płyty zaczęto ich używać, głównie dźwięków organów.
  • Gryphon foi uma banda britânica de rock progressivo nos anos 1970, notável por seu som e instrumentação incomuns. O multi-intrumentista Richard Harvey e Brian Gulland, seu colega de graduação na Royal Academy of Music e músico de intrumentos de sopro de madeira, fundaram o grupo como um conjunto acústico, que misturava o folclore inglês tradicional com música medieval de influências renascentistas e árcades. Logo depois juntaram-se à dupla o guitarrista Graeme Taylor e o baterista e percurssionista David Oberlé. Após sua primeira aparição em público, expandiram seu som para ao incluir guitarras elétricas e teclados junto com os instrumentos de sopro, como o fagote e o crumhorn, nunca usados antes no rock. A música do Gryphon às vezes soa bastante parecida com a canção de folclore rural inglesa ou canções renascentistas, mas também como rock, ao menos em suas primeiras gravações. Após seu terceiro álbum (Red Queen to Gryphon Three) e a turnê superior como banda de apoio ao Yes, sua instrumentação ficou mais convencional e o uso de instrumentos incomuns foi reduzido. Fãs e críticos geralmente consideram o álbum Midnight Mushrumps e o álbum instrumental Red Queen to Gryphon Three como os melhores da banda.
  • Gryphon — Английская группа прогрессивного рока 1970х годов, известная своим необычным звучанием и используемыми музыкальными инструментами.
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  • Gryphon were a British progressive rock band of the 1970s, notable for their unusual sound and instrumentation. Multi-instrumentalist Richard Harvey and his fellow Royal College of Music graduate Brian Gulland, a woodwind player, began the group as an all-acoustic ensemble that mixed traditional English folk music with medieval and Renaissance influences. Shortly after this, the duo was joined by guitarist Graeme Taylor and Drummer/percussionist Dave Oberlé.
  • I Gryphon sono un gruppo progressive rock del Regno Unito attivo negli anni settanta, conosciuti per il loro insolito modo di fare musica e per i particolari strumenti utilizzati. Essi fondevano infatti nella loro musica elementi della musica medioevale, del folk fino ad arrivare al rock più moderno.
  • Gryphon - brytyjska progresywna grupa rockowa aktywna w latach 1973 - 1977. Muzyka grana przez grupę była ściśle oparta na muzyce dawnej, w szczególności angielskiej muzyce dworskiej. Grupa wypracowała unikalne brzmienie oparte na grze nietypowych dla instrumetarium rockowego instrumentów dętych takich jak fagot, obój czy klarnet. Początkowo w muzyce grupy nieobecne były instrumenty klawiszowe.
  • Gryphon foi uma banda britânica de rock progressivo nos anos 1970, notável por seu som e instrumentação incomuns. O multi-intrumentista Richard Harvey e Brian Gulland, seu colega de graduação na Royal Academy of Music e músico de intrumentos de sopro de madeira, fundaram o grupo como um conjunto acústico, que misturava o folclore inglês tradicional com música medieval de influências renascentistas e árcades.
  • Gryphon — Английская группа прогрессивного рока 1970х годов, известная своим необычным звучанием и используемыми музыкальными инструментами.
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  • Gryphon (band)
  • Gryphon
  • Gryphon
  • Gryphon
  • Gryphon
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