Soft Machine, The

CD + DVD

4 1/2 STARS DOWN BEAT MAGAZINE (April 2011)

NDR Jazz Workshop is a treat because not only do we get to hear Soft Machine live but there’s a DVD of the show from a May 1973 television broadcast. This is the first time the program has been released since it originally aired on German television. A treasure trove for Soft Machine fans, NDR Jazz Workshop stands in somewhat marked contrast to Soft Machine Legacy’s Live Adventures, recorded in 2009 and featuring two former members of the famed 1970s British rock-jazz assemblage.

PERSONNEL:

ROY BABBINGTON, bass
KARL JENKINS, oboe, soprano & tenor saxophone,  piano;
JOHN MARSHALL, drums
MIKE RATLEDGE, electric piano, organ
GARY BOYLE, guitar (CD 7-16, DVD 1-16 & 18);
ART THEMEN, soprano and tenor saxophones (CD 7-16, DVD 1-16 & 18)
HUGH HOPPER, bass and tapeloops (DVD 17).

Recorded at Congresszentrum, Hamburg, Germany May 17, 1973

Tracks:

CD:
01. Fanfare
02. All White
03. Link1/Link2
04. 37 ½
05. Link 3
06. Riff;
07. Down the Road
08. Link 3a
09. Stanley Stamp's Gibbon Album
10. Chloe and the Pirates
11. Gesolreut
12. E.P.V.
13. Link 4
14. Stumble
15. One Across
16.Riff II.

DVD: (DVD / NTSC - all region)
01. Fanfare
02. All White
03. Link1/Link2
04. 37 ½
05. Link 3
06. Riff;
07. Down the Road
08. Link 3a
09. Stanley Stamp's Gibbon Album
10. Chloe and the Pirates
11. Gesolreut
12. E.P.V.
13. Link 4
14. Stumble
15. One Across
16.Riff II.
17. 1983 (bonus material)
18. Encore Improvisation / Stumblem Reprise (bonus material)