Vivacitas [live]

Although progressive rock reached its commercial peak in the '70s, it still enjoys an enthusiastic cult following - and not all of its fans are over 40. These days, the prog rock experience ranges from the classic albums of Yes, ELP, Pink Floyd and King Crimson to all the younger prog rock bands that emerged in the '90s and early 2000s. Today's younger prog rock converts seem to welcome new bands as well as concerts by a veteran like keyboardist Keith Emerson, who is reunited with Brian Davison and Lee Jackson on Vivacitas. Emerson, of course, knew Davison and Jackson from the Nice, which was formed in 1967 and broke up in 1970 - and this three-CD set finds the prog rock survivors performing a Nice reunion concert in Glasgow, Scotland in 2002. The first two CDs focus on the concert, while the third disc contains a 2001 interview with British journalist Chris Welch. Emerson, Davison and Jackson sound like they're really enjoying themselves in Glasgow, where they revisit 'Hang on to a Dream,' 'Little Arabella,' 'She Belongs to Me' and other gems the Nice originally recorded in the late '60s. Emerson has long been a major jazz enthusiast, and part of the fun on Vivacitas is hearing the jazz-like quoting that sometimes takes place - this 2002 edition of the Nice quotes everything from Miles Davis' 'So What' and Dizzy Gillespie's 'Manteca' to Johann Sebastian Bach. Although pleasing, Vivacitas falls shorts of essential; those with a more casual interest in the Nice should stick to their old 1967-1970 output. But hardcore fans will enjoy hearing Emerson and his compatriots reunited after all these years.