There are many advantages to being a presenter on Progzilla Radio, and one of them is the partnership with Prog Magazine in which the station promotes artists which are featured as “Limelight”, acts readers might not have come across and are deserving of attention. Having looked at past acts placed in this; I can say that the magazine has been remarkably prescient in many instances.

The latest issue features a group of artists I had not come across, but I was very pleased to play a track from their latest EP, Atomic, on my September radio show. Emily Francis Trio are an exciting combo I would readily describe as jazz, but the tradition of jazz fused with rock means there is a long and proud tradition of such music being beloved by progheads and those who appreciate that the spectrum of intelligent music rises above pointless genre specifications.

The musicianship on this work is simply stunning from a keyboardist (and leader) at the very top of her game, Emily Francis, Trevor Bozall an exciting and adventurous bassist, with a classic jazz drummer who surely must be intimate with Bill Bruford, Jamie Murray.

Francis, incidentally, plays keys for Mr & Mrs Toyah, and those two do not employ slouches.

There are some strong commercial sensibilities on this work which takes as its cue vintage TV themes and cinematic scores.

So, five pieces to discuss, after which I think it would be wholly appropriate for you to take yourselves over to https://emilyfrancistrio.bandcamp.com/album/atomic to take a closer look and part with some pennies.

We start off with After the Rain, a keyboard-soaked opening, bright, underlaid by some wonderfully complex rhythm section work, the drums racing along, the bass guitar throbbing, both leading the charge towards the sunny uplands, exemplified by some keys which talk to me of shaking off the kind of soaking we get here in West Wales, so dramatic, but intrinsically looking forward, not back. A very strong start to proceedings.

Lydian Child follows, Lydia being a classical region in modern Turkey, powerful until being subsumed as all else by the Roman Empire. I have embedded this wonderful pastoral track below. The bass melody is sumptuous, and the keyboards portray an outward looking mentality, full of hope for what is to come. Murray pulls off that trick throughout this work of the drummer dominating without having to bash the skins, rather showing a delicacy in the finest tradition.

This delight is followed by the title track. I interpret this as having within it the mortal fear many of us have felt for all the modern era, the inherent risk of self-destruction wrought by some maniac (Putin, Xi, Trump?) taking it all a step too far. It is an extremely pensive piece of music, but as it builds, I get the feeling that the protagonists think that it will end up okay, the constant crises we are fed in modern media blowing over, looking forward again, this portrayed by classic symphonic keys bursting out of your speaker, a good example of why this came to the notice of Prog in the first place.

Don’t Forget To Feed the Orchid is a strong contender for my “title of the year” award in December, and is the piece I played on my last radio show - you can listen to as a podcast on Progzilla Radio at https://progzilla.com/lazland-on-progzilla-radio-episode-2/ It is also embedded here, precisely five minutes of hypnotic jazz rock, a track which cries to me of a love of life, a joie de vivre, sound which fills the senses in the subtlest manner possible. The bass licks are divine, and the drums complexity as we move into the final passage are worthy of the likes of Peart, it is that good. Essential jazz rock.

We close with an acoustic version of Lydian Child, beautifully delicate, visions of a smoke-filled jazz club in Soho filling this rural man’s head. A track to play with your loved one at the end of a hard day, life affirming drinkie in hand, lying together on the sofa, blessing whichever spirit you believe in that you are alive.

I think Atomic is an excellent work, and I cannot wait for more from this very talented trio. It comes very highly recommended to you.