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Soft Machine: The Dutch Lesson

By Mark Sullivan
August 26, 2023
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Soft Machine

band / ensemble / orchestra
b.1966

" data-original-title="" title="">Soft Machine had played in Rotterdam several times before this 1973 show in the small theater De Lantaren. But this version of the band was relatively new. One of the earliest shows by the quartet of electric bassist

Roy Babbington

bass, electric
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Roy Babbington,

Karl Jenkins

keyboards
b.1944

" data-original-title="" title="">Karl Jenkins (on multiple horns and electric piano), keyboardist

Mike Ratledge

keyboards

" data-original-title="" title="">Mike Ratledge and drummer

John Marshall

drums
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">John Marshall was documented on NDR Jazz Workshop—Hamburg, Germany, May 17, 1973 (Cuneiform Records, 2010). By late October the band had become a potent live force. They drew their set list mainly from the album Six (Columbia, 1973), a double LP with one live album and one studio album, and the last with bassist

Hugh Hopper

bass, electric
1945 - 2009

" data-original-title="" title="">Hugh Hopper. But the improvisations and jamming made it clear how comfortable they had become with the material, along with the generally faster tempos, a common occurrence when jazz players have long experience with a tune.

Ratledge's "Stanley Stamp's Gibbon Album" opens the set with minimalist pattern repetition and an odd-meter groove, driven by the composer's unbridled organ solo. Jenkins' "The Soft Weed Factor" is another track from the Six studio album which gets an energetic live performance. The abstract track "Lefty" serves as an introduction to Ratledge's grooving, ostinato-based "Gesolreut," just as it had on the album. Jenkins' "Down The Road" came from the recently released Seven (Columbia, 1973), the first album to include Babbington as a full band member.

"Ealing Comedy" is a fuzz bass feature, with Babbington exploring the full range of his Fender VI six-string bass guitar. "J.S.M." is an unaccompanied drum solo giving Marshall the spotlight. Ratledge's "Chloe and the Pirates" is the last of the Six studio album selections. It is a memorable tune featuring Jenkins on the oboe, a rare instrument in rock and jazz then and now. Jenkins' "Hazard Profile" is a preview of Bundles (Harvest, 1975), the album which first introduced the guitar into the band's sound, as well as an early appearance by the virtuosic

Allan Holdsworth

guitar, electric
1948 - 2017

" data-original-title="" title="">Allan Holdsworth. This lengthy suite leads right into the freest music in the set, "Improvisation" and "Gesolreut Jam." Either the band was out of tunes, or they just felt like cutting loose. Either way, the musicians and the audience both sound as if they were having a blast.

We have Bert Boogaard (a record store owner at the time) who was sitting in the front row with an Uher portable tape machine, to thank for this album. The description may make the album sound like a low-fidelity document suitable only for hardcore fans, but this is actually an exciting performance, recorded as faithfully as any other live recordings from the era.

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Track Listing

Stanley Stamps Gibbon Album; Between; The Soft Weed Factor; Lefty; Gesolreut; EPV; Down the Road; Ealing Comedy; 37 1/2; J.S.M.; Riff II; Chloe and the Pirates; Hazard Profile; Improvisation; Gesolreut Jam.

Personnel

Soft Machine

band / ensemble / orchestra

John Marshall

drums

Mike Ratledge

keyboards

Roy Babbington

bass, electric

Karl Jenkins

keyboards

Additional Instrumentation

Roy Babbington: electric 6-string bass; Karl Jenkins: soprano sax, baritone sax, oboe, electric piano; John Marshall: drums; Mike Ratledge: electric piano, organ.

Album information

Title: The Dutch Lesson | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Cuneiform Records

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