Ptarmigan - Ptarmigan (aka Monte Nordstrom & Glen Dias, 1974/2006 Remastered Edition)
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Album: Ptarmigan - Ptarmigan (Remastered Edition)
Released: 1974 (2006)
Genre: Psych-Folk, Progressive Rock
Gnosis Rating: 10.13
Lion Productions - LION 609
PTARMIGAN,GLEN DIAS & MONTE NORDSTROM, LION PRODUCTIONS 2006. Excellent Canadian duo originally released in 1972 and given a high quality reissue by Lion,with full detailed booklet etc, and fully licensed. Ptarmigan were a Vancouver Island duo,with additional band musicians too here, who made gentle acoustic music with lots of West Coast vibe, and eastern modal exploration, a spiritually yearning music. Lots of sea imagery. a real winner! - ProgNews
The Ptarmigan album is an acoustic mellow laid back early seventies hippie folk offering. There are plenty of recorder passages and strummed guitars and the album has a light pastoral feel overall. It includes both of the 45 cuts, which are certainly the most accessible songs on the album. Side two is dominated by two long and largely instrumental tracks... - "Dreams, Fantasies and nightmares from far away lands"
First official release of this cult favorite-an album overflowing with brooding, mystical, Eastern-influenced hippie psychedelia dominated by long and largely instrumental tracks-all based on a complex interplay of recorder, hand drums and acoustic guitar. Ptarmigan recorded the basic tracks for what would eventually become their only album in Vancouver, B.C. during the fall of 1972. It then took the band’s producer and manager, renowned flautist Paul Horn, more than a year to find a label willing to release such unusual music. Finally, in 1974, Columbia Records released Ptarmigan’s album to critical acclaim, and minimal sales. The music of Ptarmigan is deep and authentic, and sounds best when meditating on a landscape, an emotion, or a bottle of wine. Sometimes it is free-flowing and jazz-oriented; at other times it has the mystical feel of a shamanistic ceremony, with its oriental or South American harmonies. But in the end, this album is about the sea-Ptarmigan was, after all, from Vancouver Island, and the musicians were well-versed in the contradictory moods of the surrounding ocean. One of those hidden gems from the 70's that make life better when you discover them all these years later, rated by many as the best "folk/progressive" and/or "folk/psych" album ever made. As one contemporary review said, this is "music from musicians, for musicians, late-at-night, last joint music." Our Lion Productions reissue comes with a 28-page booklet that includes lyrics, liner notes from the band, and a multitude of photos and historical mementos. - Lion
For those not familiar with 70's Canadian prog , most of it comes from Quebec and apart from Toronto (Rush , Saga, FM ) that pretty well sums it up! Really? No! Actually coming from the werstern part of the country are two gems/pearls: Vancouver's The Collectors (two superb psych/prog albums in between Vanilla Fudge and the Moody Blues - I am lobbying for their inclusion in the Archives) and the this album album from Ptarmigan (also from British Columbia) .
This album has got a very undescribable feel of freedom and ethereal beauty all the way through the tracks and no other album comes close to this. Highly original, slightly shamanistic/mystic , very acoustic , hauntingly beautyfull (the perfect album to get in the mood with the partner), this is definitely of of those lost treasure/hidden gem from the 70's that makes life worthy when you discover this some 30 years later. There is also a very indefinite Amerindian feel to this music but not quite the same as you would find in Chilean group Los Jaivas. Loaded with flutes, and long cosmic/mystic chants, this album is to rank with Comus as tops in the Folk-Prog category. - Hugues Chantraine
PTARMIGAN were a Psychedelic Folk Progressive rock band from Vancouver Canada who released a genuine beautiful album in 1974. PTARMIGAN’s debut album resonates with a highly unique charm and character with very few true comparisons. Without a question there is a strong Native North American Indian feeling to this album with flute, hand drums and lots of acoustic guitar. Line up included Monte Nordstrom : vocals, 12 string guitar, Kat Hendrikse : drums, Dave Field : acoustic bass, Richard Mayer : electric bass, Glen Dias : lead vocal, alto, tenor & bass recorder, incidental percussion and Peter Wheeler : hand drums. Overall album is quietly psychedelic with some great songs and a semi-haunting nature to them. Vocals are soft and well done and generally sung in harmony. No rock out here, this is one of those “back to nature” albums and a great one to get lost in. - James Unger
This folk/jazz Westcoast acoustic recording predates New Age and Worldbeat by a decade. Eerie & introspective. Originally on Columbia of Canada.
In 1970, Monte Nordstrom was invited by singer/recorder player, Glen Dias to join the Vancouver Island ensemble, 'Ptarmigan'. The following year, Dias & Nordstrom toured Canada writing & performing new music on the coffeehouse circuit between Victoria's Queequeg, Winnipeg's Ting Tea Room & Ottawa's le Hibou. The highlight of this tour was in Ottawa when the duo spent two weeks opening for the legendary guitarist, Lenny Breau. Performing two shows per night for two weeks & socializing with Lenny was a highly influential experience for Monte.
In 1972-73, international jazz master, Paul Horn produced the music of Ptarmigan at Mushroom Studio in Vancouver. Columbia Records released the Ptarmigan LP in early 1974. The launch of the Ptarmigan release was at The Egress nightclub in Vancouver, where Nordstrom & Dias spent a week opening for the Paul Horn Quintet. The duo last performed together in 1978 at the Midsummer Affair festival.
Ptarmigan was a very unusual & noncommercial music that was ahead of its time. The ethereal ambience of Nordstrom & Dias' compositions continue to impress a wide spectrum of people. A bootleg European release on vinyl in the 80s created a cult following in the Progressive rock genre. - Monte Nordstrom Homepage
Ptarmigan formed in 1970, when Michael Bieling introduced guitarist James Lithgow to vocalist/recorder player Glen Dias. The trio began writing songs, with Bieling accompanying the two instrumentalists on congas. They soon added Dennis Lelonde on alto sax, piano & vocals, Monte Nordstrom on 12-string guitar and vocals, and a second percussionist, Shawn Mullins. The sextet version of Ptarmigan performed on Vancouver Island, and eventually came to the attention of the renowned flautist Paul Horn, who had moved to Victoria, BC to escape the rigors of life in Los Angeles. He was impressed with the group's unorthodox style and encouraged the band to stay in touch.
When the group fragmented in late 1971 (Lithgow & Bieling departed), Peter Wheeler, an American percussionist, joined the band. Eventually, Lelonde dropped out of the line-up. By the time Ptarmigan made plans to travel across Canada, the ensemble was reduced to the duo of Glen Dias and Monte Nordstrom. The intrepid pair purchased train tickets to Toronto, and set out on the road.
The first stop was Winnipeg, and their first dates at a place called the Ting Tea Room. After two months on the Winnipeg scene, Dias and Nordstrom continued by train for what turned into an extended stay in Toronto, where they auditioned at Grumble's, and The Riverboat-albeit unsuccessfully! They performed at The Fiddler s Green, appearing with Leon Redbone & the Downchild Blues Band. A visit to Hamilton, Ontario turned into several weeks of gigs, followed by a return trip to Winnipeg and the Ting Tea Room, where Dias and Nordstrom performed during the Christmas and New Year's holidays, two memorable (if strange) occasions. A late night jam with members of Lighthouse occurred during this time. Throughout their wanderings, Dias and Nordstrom had been writing new material, developing harmony structures which would be the basis of their eerie west coast acid folk sound.
A van trip in January 1972 across Northern Ontario was next, accompanied by Gary McKeehan, independent CBC actor/producer and also manager for another legendary Canadian band, the Perth County Conspiracy (Does Not Exist). They all eventually ended up at McKeehan's rural home near Stratford, where they visited at the Black Swan. A trip to Chicago sounded like a good idea, but the two young men (Dias and Nordstrom) were turned back at the border outside of Detroit due to their long hair, odd luggage and low supply of funds. They returned to McKeehan's, and made plans to go to Ottawa from there, following up on an invitation made by Rob Putt, an audio technician they had met in Winnipeg.
Dias and Nordstrom continued on to Toronto by bus, by now without sufficient funds to carry on any further than they had come. After a night at the YMCA, they scraped together enough money for one bus ticket for Ottawa. The two musicians flipped a coin to determine who would take the instruments on the bus, and who would hitchhike the 500 miles through the sub-zero blizzard. Glen lost the toss and watched as Monte rode out on the Greyhound to Ottawa, ten hours away. Monte was Gary McKeehan, Old Schoolhouse, Perth County, Ontario 1972 (photo by Glen Dias) Nordstrom in front of the Ting Tea Room, 595 Broadway, Winnipeg. Spring 1972 (photo by Glen Dias) met in Ottawa by Rob Putt, who had already secured a gig at a hippie cafeteria called The Kitchen Cinq; Glen arrived some five hours later in his battered fur coat, looking like the abominable snowman!
Ottawa turned out to be an excellent environment for Ptarmigan. After a stay with Putt's family, the duo moved into The Pestalozzi, which can best be described as a twenty tar genius, Lenny Breau. Ptarmigan opened two shows a night for the week- they celebrated Monte's eighteenth birthday in the club, with a cake from the staff and a carton of cigarettes from Lenny. That weekend, the club owner, John Russo, took Dias and Nordstrom aside to tell them that his next act, Doug Kershaw was a no-show and that Lenny was held over, but that he could not afford to keep Ptarmigan on. Lenny turned to them and said in his quiet way, "That's O.K. boys, I'll pay you." And so a second week followed after all. Even so, the pay for the week was $80.00 divided two ways. Not exactly the big-time money of today. Socializing with Lenny for two weeks was an incredible experience, and was a profound influence on Monte Nordstrom.
Ptarmigan stayed on in Ottawa, hanging around at Le Hibou, meeting Bruce Cockburn (who had just released his second album, "High Winds, White Skies"), and spending an evening with Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee. They also guested with John Mills-CockelTs avant-garde ensemble Syrinx.
Winter was winding down. Bob Hahn of Astra Records had contacted Ptarmigan prior to their journey about a possible deal. And so, Nordstrom and Dias traveled to Montreal to meet with him, but the meeting proved unfruitful. Fellow travelers Dias and Nordstrom returned once again to Ottawa, where they reconnected with Perth County Conspiracy, who happened to be playing there in the capital city. After the show, Dias and Nordstrom caught a ride on Perth County Conspiracy's communal bus back to Toronto for a concert at the University of Toronto.
It was there that Dias and Nordstrom started to think that it was time to use the return portion of their train tickets, so back they went to Winnipeg, and the Ting Tea Room. "We later learned that Peter Wheeler hitchhiked from the coast to Winnipeg, trying to catch up with us," Nordstrom recalled, "but he missed us by a few days, and hitched back to the Island before winter set in."
Back in Winnipeg, Ptarmigan recorded a demo of their now seasoned material, with the intention of giving the tape to Paul Horn when they reached Vancouver Island. Dias and Nordstrom continued by rail to Edmonton, then by bus back to the Island, and home.
Another chapter in their lives was about to unfold. Paul Horn liked what he heard on the demo tapes, and he signed Ptarmigan to a publishing agreement with his company "Samadhi Music", as well as to a producer and management deal. The recording sessions for what was to be the lone Ptarmigan LP were done at Canbase (Mushroom) Studio in Vancouver, during the fall and winter of 1972. Dias and Nordstrom laid down the basic tracks on the first session; on the next date, they brought Richard Mayer in to play electric bass, and Peter Wheeler to play hand percussion. Paul Horn brought in Kat Hendrikse on drums. On the third session, Paul's acoustic bassist Dave Field came in to lay down the rest of the bass tracks, while Glen did some vocal, recorder & percussion over-dubs. The album was mixed in January 1973, but then sat on the shelf for over a year. It took that amount of time to find a label willing to release such unusual music. Paul Horn finally managed to lease the recording to Columbia Records in Canada, who manufactured and released the LP (as well as a single of' Go Dancing' b/w'Vancouver') in early 1974.
Between the time of the recording and the release of the Ptarmigan LP, Dias and Nordstrom had not been very active musically. Their partnership had already effectively ended by then, due to conflicts of personality. Waiting a year for the release of their album certainly did not ease their tensions. However, faced with promoting the final released project, they put their differences aside. The duo performed for a week, opening for the Paul Horn Quintet at the Egress in Vancouver; they also did a series of small shows on Vancouver Island. Nordstrom asked a talented friend, David Aston to join the group on bass guitar, and together they rehearsed the album arrangements. Nordstrom grew enthusiastic about a reborn Ptarmigan, thanks to the new energy Aston brought to the music, and together, they started to create new material.
Horn arranged a premiere concert for Ptarmigan. He even added a classical percussionist to the line-up for the occasion. The show went without a hitch, but the drummer was not suitable for the band and it was agreed that a replacement should be found. More rehearsals took place with Aston and Nordstrom. Things were shaping up for Ptarmigan, with press coverage building up to the release of their album by Columbia. But a few weeks later, David Aston was tragically killed in a car accident, and a devastated Monte Nordstrom walked away from the Ptarmigan project. Without touring or label support, the LP made little impact upon its release. It remained a curious artifact of the times, a quiet underground gem, until recent years, when it was discovered by record collectors across the globe. It has now become a cult collector's item.
Monte Nordstrom continued throughout the years to perform and record his solo material with a wide variety of musicians, including former Ptarmigan band-mates Dennis Lelonde, Michael Bieling and James Lithgow. In 1978, the Ptarmigan duo of Dias and Nordstrom reunited for a final performance at "The Midsummer Affair" in the Cowichan Valley. Glen Dias also performed as a guest percussionist with the Monte Nordstrom Band on this occasion, which was recorded.
After Ptarmigan folded, Glen Dias traveled around the USA, going to San Francisco, Tucson and New Orleans, making club appearances and performing as a busker. Relocating to Toronto, he pursued a career in musical theatre, and landed roles in various productions including Jesus Christ Superstar, Les Mis?rables & Napoleon. Dias appeared as a studio musician on recordings by Kathy Stack, Roger Lee, Ray Montford, Angels For Tea, Geoff Bennett, Zombo Zombo, Mardi Jayde and Ani Coutino, among others.
In 1999, Dias released his first solo CD entitled "Tip of the Iceberg," recorded with his band The Polarity Bears (including a new version of'Go Dancing)...
Monte Nordstrom has recorded an ongoing series of eclectic albums: "Silhouette of Our Insanity", 1978; "Voodoo Rage", 1980-83; "Nothing More Better", 1989-92, "Monte Nordstrom", 1994; "Sunday Healing Service", 1994; "Northstream", 1996; "Live at JBI", 1998; and "After All..." 2004. Monte continues to live on Vancouver Island and performs on a regular basis. His ongoing musical travels have taken him to Kitakyushu, London, Hollywood, Austin, New Orleans, Memphis, Nashville, and in Canada from Whitehorse to Winnipeg. Monte has written about his experiences for Cosmic Debris Musicians Magazine... - CD Notes
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