Colosseum

Drummer/leader Jon Hiseman and saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith were in the Brit blues combos of Cyril Davies and John Mayall, and circa late ’68, they formed a group to weave together strands of the forward-looking music of that era--progressive rock and jazz--without totally abandoning the blues. With the input of keyboardist Dave Greenslade, Colosseum recorded five albums beloved by prog-rock devotees. However, the band dissolved circa ’71, reforming as Colosseum II in 1975, albeit with much more of a jazz fusion direction.