Gryphon

Emerging from England in the 1970s, Gryphon distinguished itself among folk-rock ensembles through an unusually wide fusion of styles that extended well beyond that genre. Formed at the Royal College of Music, the musicians first built recognition in folk-rock before their classical schooling and distinctive methods of composition, recording, and performance carried them deep into progressive rock, where they eventually performed before arena-scale crowds.

Richard Harvey, who had performed since the age of four on winds, mandolin, and keyboards, encountered Brian Gulland, whose own contributions centered on winds, bassoon, keyboards, and vocals. Harvey’s growing focus on traditional folk had already led him through the ensemble Musica Reservata, while Gulland had recently explored Renaissance and medieval church music. Together with guitarist Graeme Taylor, a longtime associate of Harvey, they operated initially as a trio that specialized in archaic folk material performed on instruments of pre-20th-century origin or timbre. This configuration evoked a blend of Pentangle and Amazing Blondel, yet the Gryphon members displayed greater technical command than the latter group, whose early participants largely acquired proficiency while performing.

The addition of David Oberle on percussion in 1972 transformed the trio into a quartet. Signed the following year to Transatlantic Records—one of England’s prominent independent labels with a strong folk roster that included Pentangle—the band issued a debut album that earned serious attention and secured engagements at venues such as the Victoria & Albert Museum, where members both lectured and performed outside typical folk settings. Their formal training also enabled acceptance of a commission from Sir Peter Hall for a National Theatre production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, which directly inspired the extended progressive piece “Midnight Mushrumps.” That work supplied the title for their second album, issued in early 1974.

By this point Gryphon had assembled an audience that combined open-minded folk listeners with committed progressive-rock followers, their sets ranging from medieval airs and dances to folk-inflected Beatles material. Studio recordings tended to be more measured, often presenting traditional tunes, jigs, and dances that were lengthened into suites lasting between seven and twenty-five minutes. In 1974 bassist Philip Nestor joined, and Oberle moved from auxiliary percussion to a full drum kit; the change strengthened their sound and broadened their range, although the group remained among the rare rock acts of any era whose arrangements might spotlight a krumhorn or recorder cadenza. Their music could shift within a single bar from fifteenth-century sacred material across four centuries to electric guitar without interruption. Audiences followed readily, and even rock listeners noticed Harvey’s recorder technique, which outpaced the velocity associated with rock’s best-known flutist, Ian Anderson.

Later in 1974 the band delivered what many regard as their defining statement, Red Queen to Gryphon Three. The album represented their decisive entry into progressive rock, omitting vocals for the first time and expanding across four tracks each exceeding ten minutes. Organist Ernest Hart was added, his keyboard facility—comparable in daring to that of Yes’ Tony Kaye, if not Rick Wakeman—enabling the group to match the scale of Genesis, King Crimson, and similar acts. Nestor and Hart appear to have occupied somewhat peripheral roles, as neither received composing or arranging credits on pieces attributed to Harvey, Gulland, Taylor, and Oberle.

Red Queen to Gryphon Three received Gryphon’s initial American release, albeit on the Bell label, which lacked a strong progressive or folk-rock identity. Its impact drew the attention of Yes guitarist Steve Howe, then prominent in the prog-rock field. The band contributed to his solo album Beginnings and, more significantly, opened Yes’ 1975 North American tour, acquiring thousands of new listeners and securing at least one FM-radio broadcast in the United States.

Although the tour appeared poised to elevate their profile, it ultimately became a footnote to the original lineup’s history. Graeme Taylor departed first, succeeded by Bob Foster; Malcolm Bennett briefly replaced Philip Nestor before Jonathan Davie assumed the bass chair; and Alex Baird took over drums. Raindance (1975) reinstated vocals and steered the band toward song-based material, yet it lacked the invention of prior releases and proved to be their final album for two years amid ongoing personnel shifts. By the appearance of Treason (1977) the group had moved from Transatlantic to Harvest Records and had shed most of the folk and antique-instrument elements that had once set them apart.

Gryphon disbanded by the close of the 1970s, yet sufficient interest remained for multiple CD anthologies of their recordings. Harvey subsequently pursued a multifaceted career encompassing film scoring, classical chamber music, and rock collaborations with Kate Bush, Elvis Costello, and others. Gulland recorded with Richard & Linda Thompson and Billy Squier; Graeme Taylor passed through the Albion Band and also worked with Richard & Linda Thompson; and Oberle entered rock journalism. The singular and accomplished character of the four Transatlantic albums has continued to attract fresh listeners through reissues well into the twenty-first century, more than a generation after the band’s dissolution.