The band Jade Warrior was formed in 1970 by Tony Duhig (g) and Jon Field (perc, fl), former members of the legendary British psychedelic rock band July. Singer and bassist Glyn Havard completed the trio. Jade Warrior was the Japanese term for a samurai who was not only a deadly fighter but also an artist and poet. This term was chosen to describe the contrasting and seemingly contradictory musical styles they wanted to combine. Later that same year, they signed a record deal with Philips' Vertigo label. Their self-titled debut album, with its Asian-inspired cover design, was released in May 1971 and presented a unique combination of hard progressive rock with musical ideas from around the world. There was no drummer; all rhythms were created by other percussion instruments such as Far Eastern, African and Asian hand drums, cymbals and gongs.

With their soundscapes, the trio created a completely new kind of prog rock based on Anglo-Saxon psychedelic rock music, expanded to include sounds from the Far East, India, Muslim folklore and North Africa. At the time, there was no other band playing this kind of rock music with New Age, jazz and a variety of world music influences. Jade Warrior was an exceptionally impressive debut album with imaginative music that was quite unusual and innovative at the time, and which has lost none of its charm over the years. Today, this album on the cult label Vertigo is considered a timeless prog classic and is on the wish lists of record collectors worldwide.