Release :
Artist : Delta Saxophone Quartet
Album : Dedicated To You... But You Weren't Listening
Genre : Jazz
Source : CDDA
Label : Moonjune Records
URL :
Date : 10-00-2007
Encoder : LAME 3.97 / -V2 --vbr-new
Quality : 190kbps 44100 kHz Joint Stereo
Tracks : 14
Time : 60:01 min
Size : 82.78 MB
1 Dedicated 2:46
2 Facelift 8:30
3 Somehow With The Passage Of Time 6:55
4 Mousetrap 4:42
5 Everything Is You 6:50
6 To 2:03
7 Outrageous Moon 5:47
8 Aubade 2:22
9 Noisette 4:39
10 Floating World 5:43
11 You 1:30
12 The Tale Of Taliesin 1:54
13 Dedicated To You 3:24
14 Epilogue 2:56
The legacy of Soft Machine continues to be felt to this day through
alumni-related projects including Soft Bounds, Soft Mountain and Soft Machine
Legacy. But it’s the Delta Saxophone Quartet’s Dedicated to You…But You
WerenΓÇÖt ListeningùThe Music of Soft Machine that may be the most
revelational…and revolutionary look at a legendary British group that ran the
gamut from post-Dadaist psychedelia to free jazz and fusion between 1966 and
1981.
Those familiar with Soft Machine can draw a tenuous thread through its
fifteen-year run. DSQ brings that lineùregardless of period, context or
composerùinto sharp focus, with arrangements of material as early as the title
track, from Volume Two (Probe, 1969), and as late as ΓÇ£AubadeΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£The
Tale of Taliesin,ΓÇ¥ from Softs (Harvest, 1976).
That the two Karl Jenkins tracks from Softs have a pastoral British feel is no
surprise, given his post-Softs Ademus projects. But itΓÇÖs the beauty DSQ find
in bassist Hugh HopperΓÇÖs materialùlong considered more idiosyncratic and
obliqueùthat proves the most unexpected. ΓÇ£Facelift,ΓÇ¥ with a guest appearance
by the bassist, remains a quirky, episodic piece, also featuring tenor
saxophonist Tim Holmes and soprano saxophonist Graeme Blevins.
“Somehow with the Passage of Time…Kings and Queens 33 Years Later,” on the
other hand, refashions this equally abstruse tune from 4 (CBS, 1971) into rich
contemporary classicismùat least until its midpoint, when HopperΓÇÖs signature
figure drives altoist Pete WhymanΓÇÖs visceral solo. ΓÇ£Everything is YouΓÇ¥ is
dramatic yet beautiful, while ΓÇ£Noisette,ΓÇ¥ pushed forward by propulsive
baritone saxophonist Chris Caldwell, would work equally well with a small
chamber orchestra.
That half the material chosen is HopperΓÇÖsùwith three by Jenkins and only one
track referencing keyboardist Mike Ratledge and drummer/vocalist Robert
Wyattùmight seem surprising to Soft Machine fans. But DSQΓÇÖs combination of
innovative commissioned arrangements and greater spontaneity suggest that
HopperΓÇÖs compositional contributions to Soft Machine may have been unfairly
overshadowed. Even the three freely improvised tracksùΓÇ£Dedicated,ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£ToΓÇ¥
and ΓÇ£You,ΓÇ¥ find Hopper as their base inspiration.
ΓÇ£Outrageous MoonΓÇ¥ combines RatledgeΓÇÖs ΓÇ£Out-Bloody-RageousΓÇ¥ and
WyattΓÇÖs ΓÇ£The Moon in June,ΓÇ¥ both from Soft MachineΓÇÖs seminal Third (CBS,
1970); a clever melding of two seemingly disparate pieces. Guest Morgan
Fisher’s outré vocals, rather than dominating, become an integrated part of
the minimalist-informed first section, while his electronics texturally open up
the second half. The near-ambient nature of JenkinsΓÇÖ ΓÇ£Floating WorldΓÇ¥ also
references Soft Machine's sometimes pervasive interest in Terry Riley-inflected
minimalism.
While much of Dedicated is acoustic, processing figures strongly on the three
improvised tracks, linking DSQ with its plugged-in inspiration. All four
saxophonists mesh seamlessly as an ensemble while, at the same time,
demonstrating plenty of individuality. Perhaps it doesnΓÇÖt seem so strange,
after all, to hear the music of Soft Machine reworked for a largely classical
repertory saxophone quartet. ItΓÇÖs just one more example of how stylistic
boundaries are being dissolved, and proof that the best material can be
re-imagined into any context.