Renaissance is a band that played a kind of baroque prog rock that leaned toward grand mellow pop. It had English folk revival roots with branches of jazz fusion and classical pop grafted onto that stock. The core members of the original group had ties to the Yardbirds, but Renaissance veered more in the direction of Fairport Convention, Pentangle and Yes.
Eventually the band could sound a little like ABBA, minus all of the vocal harmonies. Singer Annie Haslam has a distinctive voice with a clear and steady tone. The band’s arrangements are generally elaborate, with multiple sections, parts for strings, puffing brass and often virtuosic bass playing. Songs about light, nature and the cosmos round out this band’s catalog. For fans of a maximalist pop with a fondness for symphonic touches, gentle Broadway flourishes, and a mystic hippie tinge, Renaissance represents the realization of ambitious, lush, classical-leaning soft rock.
Renaissance plays Infinity Hall, 2 Front St., Hartford, Thursday, Nov. 3, at 8 p.m. $49 to $74. 866-666-6306 and infinityhall.com.
