TETRAGON — Nature (1971-1995) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tetragon had been a rather short-living band hailing from the north of Germany that released only one single album whose title "Nature" reflected their "green" concerns in some way. The band derived from a previous one called Trikolon formed by schoolfriends Hendrik Schapper (organ,trumpet), Rolf Rettberg (bass) and Ralph Schmieding (drums). They mainly played The Nice cover versions, but at times more in a manner closer to Dutch band Ekseption and as well some blues classics like "Spoonful" or "I'm a Man" in a Cream-like interpretation. These were mixed up with long improvisations and jazz influences of a Miles Davis type Schmieding used to be a huge fan of. They became a quite well-known (in their local area) live band and even made a record with one of their stage performances pressed in 150 copies. In 1971 Schmieding decided to leave the band and concentrate on his daily job thus the remaining two musicians were looking for substitutes. At their school they found the talented guitarist Jürgen Jaehner and the drummer Achim Luhrmann and called their quartet Tetragon logically enough. The band didn't really have a predetermined musical style; they played different styles as they pleased, favouring blues (for its emotional impact), jazz and the classics (adapting a Bach fugue along the way). This record here in review had been originally produced in a quite non-professional manner using a Revox A77 2-track tape recorder and seven microphones placed judiciously to best capture the sound of each instrument. The recording duty took place in an old farm which had been converted into a house by some friends of Luhrmann's parents. Re-recording wasn't possible and any imperfections had to be avoided in the 'live' taping conditions which inspired the band to great heights though. Schapper played organ and clavinet simultaneously, with one hand on each keyboard. Jürgen Jaehner meanwhile would switch to acoustic guitar immediately after an electric guitar solo. The line-up listed here is wrong by the way I just realized, there isn't any saxophone included. The correct one is Hendrik Schaper - Organ,clavinet,Cembalet,piano,vocals; Jürgen Jaehner - Electric and acoustic guitar; Rolf Rettberg - Bass and Joachim Luhrmann - Drums. Most of the tracks are all-instrumental, only the title song has some vocals. It's in fact very well-done early progressive rock rooted in blues with jazzy and classical leanings and there isn't any weak track at all on here. Fortunately Musea has done a CD re-issue of this forgotten gem in 1995 with the great jam-rockin' live bonus track "Doors in Between" added on. progarchives
Tracklist :
1.    Fugue    15:59
2.    Jokus    0:19
3.    Irgendwas    5:58
4.    A Short Story    13:38
5.    Nature    7:41
- BONUS TRACK -
6.    Doors In Between    14:16
Credits :
Bass – Rolf Rettberg
Drums – Joachim Luhrmann
Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Jürgen Jaehner
Organ, Clavinet, Electric Piano [Cembalet], Piano, Vocals – Hendrik Schaper 

TETRAGON — Stretch (1971-2009) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tetragon, successor of Trikolon, were founded in Osnabrück (Lower Saxony) in the spring of 1971. They released their first and only LP, “Nature”, in that very year. It came out as CD on Musea in 1995. At the end of 1971, Tetragon recorded in a Hamburg studio five long tracks in their well-proven style for their second LP, the release of which, however, failed. Fortunately, the master tape has survived until the present day, so that now, 38 years past schedule, the work is released on CD. Three of the five songs have been written by the band itself, one by Eddie Harris (“Listen here”) and one by John McLaughlin (“Dragon song”). The two latter ones had already been worked on by Brian Auger. Especially remarkable are Hendrik Schaper’s exceptional play on keyboards and Jürgen Jaehner’s hot guitar play. The other two, however, are their equals in skill and talent. GOD
Tracklist :
1    Snowstorm 7'50
Written-By – Schaper, Jaehner
2    Listen Here 11'00
Written-By – Eddie Harris
3    The Light 9'10
Written-By – Tetragon
4    Hovering Stones 6'20
Written-By – Schaper
5    Dragon Song 7'50
Written-By – John McLaughlin
Credits :
Bass – Rolf Rettberg
Drums – Joachim Luhrmann
Guitar – Jürgen Jaehner
Keyboards – Hendrik Schaper

TETRAGON — Agape (1973-2012) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tetragon from Osnabrück in Lower Saxony played organ-driven instumental jazz-rock and were thus somewhat reminiscent of Colosseum. Their first LP, "Nature", was released in 1971 and is today scarcely affordable. Their second album, "Stretch", was recorded in the optimally equipped Hamburg Windrose Studios at the end of 1971. At that time, however, its release failed so that a CD edition appeared only in 2009 and an LP in 2011. Some other immaculate and as yet unreleased studio recordings from the end of 1973, originally just intended for broadcasting purposes, have now been released as CD "Agape". Three of the six tracks were written by keyboarder Hendrik Schaper, one by all band members together, one by Eddie Harris, and the last one by Keith Emerson and Lee Jackson from The Nice. A spotless CD, made by undisputable musical talents and drawn from the master tapes. GOD
Tracklist :
1    Stage Fright Train 6'50
Written-By – Tetragon
2    Agape 13'25
Written-By – Hendrik Schaper
3    Hurry On Down 6'46
Written-By – Hendrik Schaper
4    A German Western 10'31
Written-By – Hendrik Schaper
5    Freedom Jazz Dance 9'38
Written-By – Eddie Harris
6    For Example 16'38
Written-By – Keith Emerson, Lee Jackson
Credits :
Bass, Percussion – Norbert Wolf
Drums – Joachim Luhrmann
Guitar, Percussion – Jürgen Jaehner
Keyboards, Percussion – Hendrik Schaper