The Delta Saxophone Quartet have been around for over 20 years, performing the works of various artists to audiences all over the world. Currently the Ensemble in Residence at Kingston University, the group here tackles and re-works songs from the repertoire of the legendary jazz/rock band Soft Machine. The band features Graeme Blevins (soprano sax, electronics), Peter Whyman (alto sax), Tim Holmes (tenor sax), and Chris Caldwell (baritone & soprano sax, electronics), and the CD has two special guests appearing on one piece each; former Softie Hugh Hopper on bass guitar & loops, and Morgan Fischer on vocals, hurdy gurdy, and electronics.
The British group does a splendid job here taking on these classic pieces as if they were their own, but giving each one a different spin. The highlights are many, such as the savage retelling of the menacing "Facelift", one of Soft Machine's most memorable numbers, here with Hopper in tow, or the bouncy "Mousetrap", which sees all the members weaving their saxes melodically around each other with whimsical abandon. Fans of the Canterbury prog genre will love the quirky "Outrageous Moon", featuring Fischer adding his odd vocal embellishments and hurdy gurdy, and avant-garde lovers will revel in the stabbing fury of "Noisette". However, it's the richly melodic and atmospheric "Floating World" that shows the vast talent of this ensemble, as the four players create all sorts of moods and textures with their instruments, making you forget that this song, and all the rest for that matter, once contained some pretty snazzy organ and drum work some 30+ years ago in their original versions.
dedicated to you...but you weren't listening is charming and classy stuff, and a must hear for Soft Machine and jazz lovers alike.
Track Listing
1. Dedicated 2:46
2. Facelift 8:30
3. Somehow With The Passage Of Time (...Kings And Queens 33 years later) 6:54
4. Mousetrap 4:40
5. Everything Is You 6:49
6. To 2:06
7. Outrageous Moon 5:47
8. Aubade 2:22
9. Noisette 4:38
10. Floating World 5:42
11. You 1:32
12. The Tale Of Taliesin 1:54
13. Dedicated to You 3:22
14. Epilogue 2:58
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