Here it is, the last visual recording of the late Elton Dean, pioneering sax & piano legend with Soft Machine and this most recent incarnation of the band, Soft Machine Legacy, which also features Hugh Hopper, John Marshall, and John Etheridge. Recorded at the famous New Morning club in Paris on December 12th, 2005, shortly before Dean's passing, this is a marvelous show featuring four virtuoso musicians grooving to some classic jazz-rock material. While Dean obviously looks frail here, you wouldn't know it by his playing, as his squonking sax (always a Soft Machine trademark) and ethereal electric piano vamps permeate each song in this set. Songs like "Seven For Lee", complete with a blistering guitar solo from Etheridge and plenty of soaring passages from Dean, "Baker's Treat", "Sideburn", the dark and menacing "Has Riff", and the surging "Kings & Queens" just ripple with rock firepower and jazz sophistication in the hands of these masters. The tricky rhythms of Hopper and Marshall elevate the quirky "1212", and the closer "Strange Comforts" is classy jazz at its best.
As good as this performance is, Elton Dean left us just two months later from complications from a long battle with heart and liver disease. Where does this leave Soft Machine Legacy? Time will tell, but we can all savor this document which shows four professionals who could still rip it up even at an advanced age. We miss ya Elton!
Track Listing
1) Ash
2) Seven For Lee
3) 1212
4) Baker's Treat
5) Has Riff
6) Kings & Queens
7) Sideburn
8) Two Down
9) Kite Runner
10) Strange Comforts
Bonus Features-Interview with the band
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