Coventry Jazz Festival (Cathedral Ruins Marquee)
in Coventry, UK on May 29, 2006
Soft Machine was possibly the most important band to emerge from the "Canterbury Scene" in the late 1960s. Over the course of the next decade or so the band evolved from art-rock to full-on jazz fusion, with many fine players passing through the ranks. Hugh Hopper (1968-73) and John Marshall (1971-79) were perhaps the classic rhythm section, while John Etheridge (1975-78) joined the band to replace Allan Holdsworth. Elton Dean was perhaps the saxophonist most closely associated with Soft Machine, and he was the original horn player in the Legacy. Sadly he died in February, and Theo Travis took his place. For this gig a lot of the old Softs' tunes were given an airing, plus others by members of the band, and as a tribute Elton Dean's "Seven for Lee". The only thing lacking (for me, at least) was a keyboard to give that definitive Soft Machine sound.
JazzReview.com
