Progressive Rock Music on Acoustic Instruments

In recent months I've found that my interests and preferences have been gravitating more and more to the quality of musicianship in the music I listen to: I like knowing that these artists are musicians who can play/perform the complicated musics that they compose (and present on albums). Thus, I've been finding myself a bit trepidatious and soured on modern 21st Century music due to the prevalence of computer assistance and, more recently, the use of Artificial Intelligence, to generate music. So, who better to boast the finest, purest musicianship than musicians who play their music on acoustic instruments.

     While there are numerous instances of individual songs performed by bands/artists on all-acoustic instruments, there are not as many bands whose entire opus operandi has been to make music entirely through the playing of acoustic instruments. The purpose of this post is to illuminate some of those artists and the exemplary albums they may have produced. Many of these artists come from either the Jazz-Rock Fusion, Prog Folk, or Indo-Prog/Raga Rock scenes.

"Classic Era" Acoustic-Oriented Artists:

- MILES DAVIS (before he asked his bass player, Ron Carter, to play electric bass, and his keyboard player, Herbie Hancock, to play electric piano on "Stuff" for the album Miles in the Sky): E.S.P., Miles Smiles, Sorcerer, Nefertiti

- HERBIE HANCOCK (though not really prog or Jazz-Rock Fusion until 1969's Fat Albert Rotunda, before he became enamored of the electric piano and other electronic instruments and effects, Herbie created five very high-quality modern Jazz albums): Takin' Off,  My Point of View, Empyrean Isles, Maiden Voyage, Speak Like a Child

- THE PAUL WINTER CONSORT (John Beal and Glen Moore used Fender electric bass from the beginning of their respective associations with Paul Winter)

- THE PENTANGLE (first four albums): The Pentangle, Sweet Child, Basket of Light, Cruel Sister

- THE AMAZING BLONDEL (the band's earliest albums): The Amazing Blondel and a Few Faces, Evensong, Fantasia Lindum

- OREGON (bassist Glen Moore uses some electric bass on virtually every album from their very beginnings)

- GRYPHON Gryphon (The albums thereafter incorporated Philip Nestor's electric bass as well as some electric guitars from Graeme Taylor.)

- CLANNAD (the Donegal band's first three albums relied almost exclusively on traditional Irish instruments): Clannad, Clannad 2, Dúlamán

- SHAKTI (the band's 1970s albums only): Shakti with John McLaughlin, Handful of Beauty, Natural Elements

- UNIVERS ZERO (their first self-titled [or 1313 by some] album used bass and guitar while their successive albums gradually added more electronic instruments--including Mellotron, electric piano, and synthesizers.)

- FLAIRCK (Variaties Op Een Dame, with their second album, Gevecht Met De Engel, the band starts using some electric bass) 

- CoDoNa (all three of the albums that Collin Walcott, Don Cherry, and Nana Vasconcelos collaborated on should be included): CODONA, CODONA 2, CODONA 3.

If electric bass, electric piano, and even Mellotron and a little electric guitar are acceptable--going for a "gentle," near-acoustic sound--bands like ALAIN STIVELL, MALICORNE, HARMONIUM, OUGENWEIDE, ITOIZ, HöLDERLEIN, CELESTE, and MAXOPHONE should also be mentioned.

Modern Acoustic-Oriented Artists:

- FARMERS MARKET

- RATIONAL DIET

- ARANIS

- HUMBLE GRUMBLE

- (some) CORDE OBLIQUE

- FIVE-STOREY ENSEMBLE

- CICADA

If electric bass, electric piano, and even Mellotron and a little electric guitar are acceptable--going for a "gentle," near-acoustic sound--bands like FAUN, MEDIÆVAL BÆBES, FACTOR BURZACO, IVAR BJØRNSON & EINAR SELVIG's Hugsja as well as ULVER's Kveldssanger, and MOTIS' L'homme-loup should also be mentioned.