When DEEP PURPLE disbanded in 1976, Jon Lord and Ian Paice decided to start a new band, not trying to recreate what they already had with DEEP PURPLE but to explore new musical directions.

As frontman they recruited singer and keyboard player Tony Ashton. Jon Lord had already collaborated with Tony Ashton composing the soundtrack for “The Last Rebel” (published 1971 as “Musical score composed by Tony Ashon & Jon Lord, performed by Ashton, Gardner & Dyke”) and on “First Of The Big Bands” (published 1974 as “Tony Ashton & Jon Lord”), an album which could be seen as some sort of blueprint for “Malice in Wonderland”.

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Three weeks after the new DEEP PURPLE album „inFinite“ hit the stores, Edel will continue the series of Jon Lord re-releases with „Windows“, an album featuring a cooperation between Jon Lord and conductor and composer Eberhard Schoener. Schoener, who was also involved in progressive rock masterpieces like „The Turn of a Friendly Card“ by The Alan Parsons Project may be best known for being the creator of the main theme for the TV series „Derrick„.

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Back in 1969, the lineup of DEEP PURPLE had seen a drastic change: Jon Lord, Ritchie Blackmore and Ian Paice split up with singer Rod Evans and bass player Nick Simper and hired the former EPISODE SIX musicians Ian Gillan and Roger Glover to complete the lineup.

One of the first shows to feature the new lineup was the live performance of Jon Lord’s „Concerto For Group and Orchestra“, an ambitious work to unite the different worlds of a rock band and a full orchestra which lay the foundation for Jon Lords career as composer / writer and solo artist.

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Meine Album-Highlights des Jahres 2012 in alphabetischer Reihenfolge:

Anderson / Wakeman: The Living Tree in Concert – Part One

Rick Wakeman und Jon Anderson auf gemeinsamer Konzertreise mit einer grandiosen Mischung aus Yes-Klassikern und Tracks des „The Living Tree“-Albums.

Rosanne Cash: 10 Song Demo

Ein Neuanfang in vielerlei Beziehung und anders als der Album-Titel suggeriert mit 11 Songs in spärlicher Instrumentierung.

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On October 1st, 2012 „The Highway Star“ had the opportunity to do an interview with Paul Mann. Being the conductor of the 1999 „Concerto For Group And Orchestra“ performance and the subsequent DEEP PURPLE world tour, Paul became a close friend to Jon Lord. Being also heavily involved in the making of the brand new studio recording, he shares some insight on various topics.

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