Hermetic Science was founded in January 1996 as rock’s first vibes/marimba power trio. In the band’s early days, California’s North Coast supported four live music scenes: jazz, country, punk rock, and (in southern Humboldt County) reggae.
Of the four, jazz had the closest congruence with the prog rock/jazz-rock fusion/worldbeat synthesis of the band’s original music, so they built up a significant jazz repertoire (favoring 50s Cool and 60s Bossa Nova), secured live gigs at local and regional jazz clubs and festivals, and presented sets that alternated “real” jazz with their original music.
During their first recording sessions in March 1996 for their debut album, Ed Macan’s Hermetic Science (released November 1997), they recorded four jazz standards that were part of their live setlist, with the goal of using the recordings to secure future gigs. However, as the band continued work on the album between spring 1996 and summer 1997, these one-take, unedited jazz recordings were forgotten.
In the early stages of remixing and remastering Ed Macan’s Hermetic Science from the original ADATs for its 30th anniversary release on May 4, 2026, Ed Macan, the band’s leader and principal composer, rediscovered the four forgotten March 1996 jazz recordings, and decided to release them as The Lost Jazz Tapes EP. While Out There: Live 1996-2006 (2019) includes a few of the band’s early jazz performances, these recordings are of a significantly higher sonic standard than those, and include two tracks that, to Macan’s knowledge, were never recorded live at all. So, put on the album, sit back, and let Hermetic Science’s Lost Jazz Tapes EP take you back in time to the smoky North Coast jazz clubs of the mid-1990s!
TRACKLIST1. Theme from Black Orpheus (4:37) (Luiz Bonfá)*
2. Blue Rondo á la Turk (6:25) (Dave Brubeck)*
3. Linus and Lucy (3:55) (Vince Guaraldi)*
4. I Showed Them (7:55) (Cal Tjader)*
*Previously unreleased in any format
LINEUPEd Macan: marimba (tracks 1-3), vibes (track 4)
Donald “Donnie Joe” Sweeney: bass guitar
Michael Morris: drums and percussion
Stream I
CDs I
Bandcamp I
Website THE HERMETIC SCIENCE 30th ANNIVERSARY PROJECTThe 30th Anniversary Project is dedicated to the re-release of Hermetic Science’s first three albums, Ed Macan’s Hermetic Science (1997), Prophesies (1999), and En Route (2001), all originally released on the long-defunct Magnetic Oblivion label and out of print for decades, on the Hermeticum Records label. It also includes The Lost Jazz Tapes EP, previously unreleased jazz recordings made during the sessions for their first album. All of these releases are being remixed and remastered from the original ADATs whenever possible.
The 30th Anniversary edition of Ed Macan’s Hermetic Science was released May 4, 2026. 30th Anniversary editions of Hermetic Science’s second and third albums, Prophesies (1999) and En Route (2001), are set to be re-released in summer/fall 2026. More news to follow!!!
