Jarka
Ortodoxia (+7")
BETTER PRICE. At the dawn of the seventies Barcelona's underground scene veered towards a jazz oriented fusion sound with echoes of Gary Burton, Miles Davis and John McLaughlin. Two bands were at the forefront of this movement: Om and Jarka. The later being the brainchild of Jordi Sabatés, one of the most talented pianists/keyboardists in the Catalan scene. A generation younger than the great late Tete Montoliu, with whom he also recorded, he found fame on the teenage pop charts of the late sixties with the outfit Pic-Nic, where he joined forces with Toti Soler and Doro Montaberry. After the split of Pic-Nic, he collaborated Hammond organ in Om, when the band was acting as a backing group on the recordings of the top Catalan artists, most notably Pau Riba whom they backed in his masterpiece debut LP Dioptria. In 1971, Sabatés started his own band, together with bassist Alfonso de Lucas and drummer Pedro Van Eeckout (ex Pan Y Regaliz). This was the line-up that went to record their debut LP, Ortodòxia, on the famed Estudis Gema in March 1971. Housed in a wonderful black & white sleeve courtesy of Guillem Paris (leading force behind Pan Y Regaliz), the record was a solid slice of psychedelic jazz-rock and featured contributions from some of the best musicians from the Barcelona scene: Toti Soler, J. Albert Amargos, Doro Montaberry and Ricard Sabatés. Hardly known outside Spain, this is classic album that ranks amongst the best from the European underground of early 1970s. Jordi Sabatés has been one of the most prolific artists from Catalunya and his solo career after Jarka has gained him a wide reputation amongst collectors, mainly thanks to his 1975 LP Ocells del més enllà, but also to his other great albums of the era. The sound roots of what he became later are clearly heard in Jarka. Strictly limited to 500 copies. High quality gatefold sleeves reproducing the original artwork from 1971's first press on Edigsa. Includes insert with extra liner notes by Wah Wah's Marc Argenter helped by Fermi Puig. Bonus 7" single by Jordi Sabatés & Om reproducing with the songs 'Another Me, Another You' y 'Retorn a...' in its colour picture sleeve. A legend amongst Spanish collectors, this single was originally withdrawn at the time and only the sleeves made it to the production process (so no records were ever pressed...Until now!).