Jazz Articles about Soft Machine

Soft Machine: Grides

by John Kelman
August 4, 2006

Given the ongoing release of archival live recordings by Soft Machine, you have to wonder if we'll ever reach a saturation point, especially with the heavy emphasis on the British jazz/rock group's 1969-71 lineup with the recently deceased saxophonist/pianist Elton Dean, keyboardist Mike Ratledge, bassist Hugh Hopper and drummer/vocalist Robert Wyatt. So many recordings are already available from this seminal period. Does Cuneiform's release of Grides really have a purpose?

Absolutely. During this lineup's brief existence, its continuous sets varied ...

Soft Machine: Grides

by Nic Jones
July 21, 2006

Any notion of a golden age should always be treated with the utmost scepticism, but the more time passes, the clearer it becomes that the decade from 1965 to 1975 witnessed perhaps the last great step in the evolution of jazz and its relationship with other musical forms. Jazz-rock fusion was destined to peter out in a slew of bland self-indulgence by the end of the 1970s, but for a few years the form was ripe with potential, and this ...

Soft Machine: Grides

by Clifford Allen
July 10, 2006

Soft Machine Grides Cuneiform 2006

1970 was a banner year for the Soft Machine. Their profile amongst the European avant-garde jazz and psychedelic rock communities was raised by a headline-grabbing gig at the Proms, the British music establishment's annual celebration of, in the main, classical and symphonic composition and performance. The Proms was particularly notable for the fright the Softs' audience caused, and the fact that even Wyatt was not allowed in at first ...

Soft Machine: BBC in Concert 1971 and BBC in Concert 1972

by Andrey Henkin
May 28, 2006

Soft Machine BBC in Concert 1971 Hux 2005 Soft Machine BBC in Concert 1972 Hux 2005 These two archival releases of Soft Machine in varying lineups reveal a seminal band in flux and act as a prism into the development of jazz-influenced rock in the '70s.

After four albums, Soft Machine's lineup ...

Fusion: Floating World Live, One Spirit, and Dancing On The Water

by Mark F. Turner
May 5, 2006

Three recordings which tell us that fusion is alive and well, taking inspiration from the past while also searching for new perspectives. Soft Machine Floating World Live Moonjune Records 2006

Recorded in 1975, Floating World Live is a jazz/rock blast from the past. Britain's popular Soft Machine have been captured on numerous live albums, but the added bonus here is the addition of legendary guitar stylist Allan Holdsworth. The music ridicules ...

Soft Machine: Floating World Live

by John Kelman
March 16, 2006

Fans of Soft Machine, which began with mid-1960s psychedelia but evolved into Britain's most influential jazz/rock group, generally consider the “classic lineup to be keyboardist Mike Ratledge, bassist Hugh Hopper, drummer Robert Wyatt and the recently deceased saxophonist Elton Dean. Many also suggest that ex-Nucleus woodwind multi-instrumentalist/keyboardist Karl Jenkins' recruitment signalled the beginning of the end, as the Softs moved from greater freedom towards riff-heavy fusion. But it's a more complicated story than that. The fact is that many post-Dean ...

Soft Machine: Out-Bloody-Rageous

by Francis Lo Kee
March 5, 2006

Soft Machine: Out-Bloody-Rageous Graham Bennett Hardback; 448 pages ISBN: 0946719845S.A.F. Publishing 2005 First of all, we at AllAboutJazz-New York note the recent passing of Elton Dean (1945-2006) with deep sadness. Mr. Dean was an integral part of the “classic" Soft Machine lineup. Graham Bennett's book proceeds from a passion for Soft Machine's music, though in the preface he admits “... although that doesn't mean, as ...