Arc Angel (band)

Arc Angel is an AOR rock band that was formed by musicians Jeff Cannata and Michael Soldan.

Arc Angel
OriginNew Haven, Connecticut, United States
GenresRock, Hard rock, AOR
Years active1983
2002
LabelsPortrait/CBS
Associated actsJasper Wrath, Cannata
MembersJeff Cannata
Michael Soldan

History

Jeff Cannata and Michael Soldan had previously been in the popular Connecticut-based band Jasper Wrath. Cannata played drums and Soldan played keyboards; both composed most of the group's songs. After Jasper Wrath's demise in 1976, Cannata and Soldan continued writing songs together. Cannata started working with guitar and keyboards more in order to develop his songwriting abilities. In the early '80s, Cannata and Soldan presented some of their new compositions to the staff at CBS Records. CBS really liked what the duo were doing and they signed them for a record contract. The only problem was that there was no live band to perform the songs. Cannata and Soldan got the idea to record the album with a large group of session musicians, similar to The Alan Parsons Project.[1]

The self-titled debut was released in 1983. Jeff Cannata sang lead vocals and played guitar, bass, and drums, while Michael Soldan played keyboards and sang backing vocals. Included on the roster of session musicians were former Jasper Wrath bandmates James Christian and Jeff Batter, as well as keyboardist Jeff Bova and bassist Hugh McDonald.[2] The album became a huge hit in Europe. A music video for the song "Tragedy" was also filmed and showcased on MTV. The video featured Cannata on lead vocals and guitar, Michael Soldan on keyboards, and local Connecticut band Cryer as the backup band. Cryer consisted of Jay Jesse Johnson on guitar, Steve Shore on bass, and Jeff Zajac on drums.

Unfortunately, the album didn't do so well domestically. Arc Angel was dismissed by U.S. critics as a Boston/Kansas clone. Jeff Cannata abandoned releasing albums under the Arc Angel name and began recording solo albums under the name Cannata for a while, starting with 1988's Images Of Forever. In 2002, Jeff Cannata released the album Tamorok, which was credited as a joint effort between Arc Angel and Cannata and also featured Michael Soldan on keyboards.

Members
  • Jeff Cannata - Guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, and vocals
  • Michael Soldan - Keyboards and vocals
Frequent contributors
  • James Christian - Vocals
  • Jeff Batter - Keyboards and vocals
  • Jay Jesse Johnson - Guitar
  • David Coe - Guitar

Discography
  • Arc Angel - 1983 (CBS)
  • Tamorok - 2002 (Oxford Circus)
  • Harlequins of Light - 2013 (Frontiers Records (Italy))

References
  1. Schörling, Larry, Interview with Jeff Cannata, archived from the original on 2008-10-06, retrieved 2009-05-09
  2. Stone, Doug, Arc Angel Biography
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