Colosseum Ruisrock Festival 1970

Colosseum were a pioneering English progressive jazz-rock band mixing blues, rock and jazz-based improvisation. They were formed in the Spring of 1968 by drummer Jon Hiseman with tenor sax player Dick Heckstall-Smith, who had previously worked together in the New Jazz Orchestra and in The Graham Bond Organisation, where Hiseman had replaced Ginger Baker in 1966. They had met up again early in 1968 when they both played in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Childhood friend Dave Greenslade was quickly recruited on organ, as was bass player Tony Reeves who had also known both Jon and Dave since being teenage musicians in South East London. The line-up was completed, after lengthy auditions, by James Litherland on guitar & vocals. The band recorded four studio albums before breaking up in 1971. The orginal line-up then reunited in 1994 after a 23 year hiatus for a series of concerts. Heckstall-Smith died in 2004 and was replaced by Hiseman's wife, Barbara Thompson and the band has recorded and performed in various incarnations since that time. This release brought to you at mid-price is a radio broadcast of a performance at the Ruisrock Festival in Finland in August 1970. It features a selection of tracks from the first four studio albums.