4Fusion Friday: Bruford/Jean Luc Ponty/Soft Machine/Gong (Allan Holdsworth as sideman)
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 11 сен 2024
- Join Pete Pardo, George Lamie, and Eric Porter for a new series running the first Friday of each month, with each episode looking at 4 fusion albums that are related in some way, as well as a look at some new notable releases that you should get on your radar. #fusion #jazzfusion #progfusion #instrumentalmusic
💰Donate via Ko-Fi: ko-fi.com/pete...
👕Order your SoT merch: www.t8cloth.co...
🖥 Visit our website: www.seaoftranq...
![BAK Jay - Find Out (For Your Love) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/10FJO_XBCvY/mqdefault.jpg)
Hey Guys, Steven Kirby here, the other guitarist on David Hines "Nebula". It was pleasure to play on the record: all the players were fantastic and Dave is such a great writer and bass player. And of course it was an honor to be on a record with Allen who is such a giant. Thanks for the shout out. I do have a few recordings as a leader for anyone interested: "North Light" on Challenge Records (and which features saxophonist Chris Potter) and "Illuminations" on WCS which features an amazing vocalist, Aubrey Johnson, who happens to be Lyle Mays' niece. These are both on all streaming platforms....they are essentially jazz records, mostly original music, but there are a few of my tunes on each which are definitely in the fusion zone. Thanks again for shining some light on this music!
Steven, thanks so much for checking out the episode. We all loved your work on the Hines CD, will definitely check out your solo work! Thanks for letting us know!
Eric
Superb show pete
Thanks!
Interesting conversation guys .I tend to agree with Pete. I have heard many albums with Allan as sideman and solo but the playing which has the most impact on me as a listener are when he solos over someone else's music. One Of a Kind is far and away my favourite album featuring him. The fact that the other musicians (especially Dave Stewart) are also brilliant helps and the tunes themselves are just superb.
Thanks David, love Dave Stewart as well
I’m glad you took my advice with subject!
great episode as always. 4FF has been one of my fav shows! Good Job
Love hearing that Nick, thank you!
As usual, excellent show from the guys. Great insights, Chris! Hope to see you join the crew again.
Thanks Jamie! We will have Chris back
Fantastic to see my pal Chris on board. Great guy, monster player and music lover. As dor the albums, I would go: 1. Bruford, 2. Soft Machine, 3. Ponty and 4. Gong.
Luis 👍
Great 4FF episode. Would love to listen to Chris' comments again in a future episode.
And I'm not leaving without doing that Rank 'em as you like 'em exercise:
4. Gazeuse: Just like it was mentioned, that percussion is excellent. I agree with Eric; wish this was more exciting.
3. One of a Kind: 'Hells Bells', 'One of Kind' and 'Five G' are tracks that I will keep constantly playing.
2. Bundles: Impressive performace of Allan in this one. There are some tremendous moments that made me replay the songs to try to assimilate what I just heard.
1. Engimatic Ocean: This album has a very special place in my collection as it's one of the reasons that made me want to explore more the Jazz and Fusion genres. I play the Trans Love Express, Mirage and of course the title track to death and I guarantee that trend will go on.
Thanks Frank 👍 enjoyed reading your ranking s
Thanks for watching, Frank
One of a kind is the last great prog album. From the 70,s and Progs greatest drummer. Dave Stewart is a genius player never given enough Kudos he is due.
Agree, Dave Is fantastic
Check out Soat Night Live. Theirs a 2 hour interview with Dave Stewart.
Another great episode guys. Love this program. Always enjoy the albums you guys discuss. Great job. SOT IS THE BEST CHANNEL ON RUclips
Thanks Samuel!
Thanks for this! Gives me a reason to go back to listen to 3 of my faves - I don't know the Gong album but will track it down - with fresh ears.
Thanks for watching Richard, hope you enjoy Gong
Wow, great topic! All 4 albums are superb . Very close race
1. Bruford - One of a Kind (this is a desert island album for me)
2. Gong - Gazeuse! (aka Expresso)
3. Soft Machine - Bundles
4. Jean Luc Ponty - Enigmatic Ocean
Thanks Craig
Another great episode. Thank you.
Thanks for watching Matthew!
Love Kick the Cat!
I think it was George that introduced me to Kick the Cat. Thanks
Will look forward to this with pleasure!
Thanks very much for pointing out that Dave Stewart makes the Bruford disc so good. After all, Dave was in the best band in the universe-Hatfield And The North. BTW, there’s some live Softs, Bruford and Tony Williams w/Allan on Sugarmegs, and don’t forget the Softs’ “Floating World Live” cd. Great to here you four men talking up Allan!
Finally a show where I own all 4.
Is that good or bad? No room to add anything to the collection!
Playing catch up here. My ranking is as follows:
1. Bruford - One of a Kind
2. Jean-Luc Ponty - Enigmatic Ocean
3. Soft Machine - Bundles
4. Gong - Gazeuse!
My ranking really just comes down to how long I've been listening to them, and the impact personally they had on me.
David Hines - Nebula was surprisingly good, my sentiments on the album line up the panels.
Thanks!
I am a dedicated music listener and I get a pretty good idea if I'll like anything further on after a first listen, but it seems to that i'm not (yet) enough versed in fusion to appreciate this style of music at first glance. However today I could really appreciate The Tony Williams Lifetime and Jean Luc ponty records, probably because i had listened to each after a previous SoT show, and this time they grabbed me.
Glad to hear that Johan, hope you continue to explore this music
The more you listen and expose yourself to a range of fusion artists, the more you will find things you will take to quickly.
I saw Ponty on the Enigmatic Ocean tour; they were fantastic. But...I had expected to see Holdsworth there, and I let that disappointment tarnish the experience. At any rate, my #1 would have to be Bruford's One of a Kind. It just dazzles from start to finish and there's so much Allan on there. BTW, I am a big Dave Stewart fan but I wonder if his occasional choice of keyboard sounds may be one reason he isn't always listed with the top prog keyboardists. To my ears, often just a bit cheesy. A little thin and...well, like a 1980s video game soundtrack. If he'd mostly played Hammond and piano, he be seen as one of the all-time greats. (Note: He did have a nice beefy organ sound early in his career -- the 1969 Arzachel album.)
Tough choices on ranking these, and that Hines CD is great! Nice job again guys, and I like the chill conversation with the guests lately as opposed to the sometimes awkward forced formal interview format.
Thank you Jim, we appreciate the compliment. Glad to hear you enjoyed the episode, the Hines CD is great!
@@ericporter344 Hey Guys, Steven Kirby here, the other guitarist on Dave Hines "Nebula" Thanks for the shout out. I do have a few recordings as a leader for anyone interested: "North Light" on Challenge Records and which features Chris Potter) and "Illuminations" on WCS which features Aubrey Johnson. These are both on all streaming platforms....they are really more jazz records than fusion but there are a few fusion tracks on each.
@@SKBerkleeChannel Steven, thanks so much for watching, and the info on your music. I will definitely check them out, loved your playing on Nebula.
Great to hear from you!
Eric
@@ericporter344 Thanks to all of you for your thoughtful and detailed consideration of some fairly obscure music...much appreciated!
Great Soft Machine concerts from this period :
- Montreux 1974 ( cd /dvd ) with Allan
Holdsworth.
- " British tour 75 " (cd), this one with John Etherige.
I just got the Soft Machine CD/DVD, amazing
I think Allan was at his best during this period.
What a great show idea, thanks to George and Eric. I've learned multiple things from each episode. Love the Bass Extremes release. The connective tissue of Holdsworth is great
Thanks Gary!!
New Releases
Attila Laszlo Fusion Circus - Good Luck
Bass Extremes - S'Low Down
Carlo Cantini Quartet - Heptagon
4Square
Bruford - One of a Kind
Gong - Gazeuse
Jean-Luc Ponty - Enigmatic Ocean
Soft Machine - Bundles
George's Pick
David Hines - Nebula (Sept.)
TRI-Offensive - s/t (Oct.)
Fusion talk at fuzezone.
4 amazing albums indeed. I would go :
1. Bruford
2. Ponty
3. Gong
4. Soft Machine
Believe It would have good on this list! Tony Williams
Definitely!
To Chris , there is a new album mix for the Bruford albums .
As a huge fan of Allan Holdsworth and his solo music, i have always felt that his best playing has been with other musicians and bands as a sideman, he's almost like the ultimate secret weapon who can just walk in very quietly and completely blow you away with his jaw dropping guitar work. If you ever needed someone to lay down a guitar solo on your album, Holdsworth was your guy and he did it so well with some of the biggest and most important figures in all genres of music. It really showed you how versatile of a musician Holdsworth was and for me it's very tough to rank it to 4 albums but that's what makes this so much fun. Here is my ranking:
1. Bruford: Feels Good To Me shows that Holdsworth can be a team player and the combination of him and bassist Jeff Berlin is unbeatable plus you add Bill Bruford & Dave Stewart to the mix, you have a true power quartet. It's also a nice continuation of the jazz fusion / progressive rock style of instrumental music that Holdsworth and Bruford were playing as part of UK with Eddie Jobson and John Wetton.
2. Gong: Gazeuse! really shows Holdsworth's more experimental side in his playing with both of the Moerlen brothers with his guitar playing being a bit more on the laidback side compared to his later sideman work, it's a real treat hearing him mixing it up with vibraphones, percussion and marimba but in a more semi acoustic jazz setting while slightly leaning towards avant garde. Such a shame he never stayed to record another full album with Gong as he matches up very well with them.
3. Soft Machine: Bundles to me is historic as you can kind of look at it as the early beginnings of Allan Holdsworth developing the iconic sound that we would all know him for, it's not quite there yet but you know it's him and it's really cool to hear it as a work in progress and listening to him playing with true music royalty in John Marshall, Roy Babbington, Karl Jenkins and Mike Ratledge is a special treat. Even though his stay in Soft Machine was very brief, he made a huge impact with them and he sounds fantastic on electric, acoustic and 12 string guitars.
4. Jean Luc Ponty: Enigmatic Ocean, i've always felt that Holdsworth played well with violin players especially as he played one himself and he sounds absolutely amazing, Ponty's compositions really brought out the best in Holdsworth's guitar playing and it still to this day makes my jaw drop, it's not surprising that Holdsworth went back to make two more with Ponty because together they made a hell of a combination. For me, this felt like a warm up for what Holdsworth did the following year with UK and his guitar playing alongside Daryl Stuermer is an amazing listening experience which still to this day continues to blow my mind.
Great show guys and loved hearing your thoughts on all of these Allan Holdsworth sideman recordings. Looking forward to the next edition of this amazing show.
Loved reading your analysis, thanks for tuning in!!
You're most welcome and keep up the good work
@@WarhawkBeyond2040 Thanks! Really appreciate that
1. Bruford
2. JLP
3. Gong
4. Soft Machine
Great show guys!! Chris should be a regular on the show.
Thanks Mike, Chris was great!!
Man, I love these shows. I guess I have to go get Enigmatic Ocean now.
Yes you do!!
Love JPL, one of my original fusion bands in the mid 70's & always had great bands. Enigmatic Ocean = great record, 6 excellent tracks. Not quite as good as Cosmic Messenger for me (and one of my two all time fave JPL tracks "The Art Of Happiness" - the other is "New Country") but that's also the first JPL album I ever heard so it holds a special place just for that reason alone. JPL albums about equal to Enigmatic Ocean: Fables, The Gift Of Time, Individual Choice...To me some JPL albums that I'd rank higher (besides Cosmic Messenger): Live, Live At Chene Park, Upon The Wings Of Music, Mystical Adventures, Imaginary Voyage, Civilized Evil, The Atacama Experience, No Absolute Time, Storytelling, A Taste For Passion (great album)...Violin Summit, Tchokola, Open Mind, Live At Semper Opera, Life Enigma, the s/t, Astrorama, In Concert & Aurora I'd say are "2nd tier" for me. I'd also say that his '69 King Kong - Jean-Luc Ponty Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa (With George Duke) is for hard core Zappa fans only
@@wolf1977 JPL, Wolf? Someone has dyslexic fingers!
@@georgelamie7001 Yup I was in a huryr earlier...err hurry. Either that or been watching too much NASA tv lately with the upcoming launch tomorrow🤷♂
Yes it's a masterpiece
Four of my favourite albums.
Cameron 👍
This is the episode where the show hits its stride. This is the A team. You could do this with McLaughin, Corea, Stern, Cobham, Lenny White and on and on. Wish it was weekly though.
Thanks Jason!!! Much appreciated
I'd love a Jan Hammer episode (maybe even expand that one beyond just 4 albums - he's played with so many people)
@@wolf1977 we’ve got the next 3 months setup, but definitely working on ideas.
These shows are absolutely tremendous. Chris/ super, super insightful. I apologize with my Kick the cat/ cats in space mix up, was sidetracked talking to my daughter and listening. I’ve learned a ton on Friday FUSION. I look 👀 forward to these. Thanks again. PETE/ GEORGE/ ERIC. 👍💯
Thanks Gary!!!! Homework time
Looking forward to this episode Pete, Eric and George. 4 great artists, hard to rank these imho. I would probably rank them as 1. Gong - Gazeuse!, 2. Soft Machine - Bundles, 3. Jean-Luc Ponty - Enigmatic Ocean and 4. Bruford.
Softs Bundles is a hard to beat stuff. Might be the best fusion ever. And Bruford winking at the Canterbury prog corner with Dave Stewart on keys make it a winner. All of them great albums anyway.
Sal I thought I had the name of that band you gave me but I can't find the name. Would you please give me the name again.
@@melaniethurber5117 the band name is Celeste and the album is Principe di un Giorno - yt @ ruclips.net/video/hpWUDMMQ5_Q/видео.html
@@sdrandazzo thanks Sal I've been looking for the name even on the chat thus 9 show and the fusion show and wasn't able to find it. I had it also written down but couldn't find where I had put it.
@@sdrandazzo I've finished one of her albums on RUclips but I didn't really care for it. But how you going to know unless you try it. Thanks.
Great discussion, guys- speaking my language!
👍 thanks for watching
Four great choices for September!!!!
4. Gong.
3. Bruford.
2. Soft Machine.
1. Jean-Luc Ponty.
Thanks Vincent
Very interesting show! I continue to appreciate Holdsworth more and more. My ranking would be:
1. Enigmatic Ocean
2. One of a Kind
3. Gazeuse!
4. Bundles
I like it! ;)
I'm right there with ya!
“One Of A Kind”, “Enigmatic Oceans” and “Bundles” are 3 of my all time a favorite albums, “Gazeuse!” isn’t my favorite Gong album though, I like the Hillage era Gong much more with “You” being my favorite album and “Cosmic Messenger” ranks along side of “Enigmatic Oceans” for me too.
Thanks for watching, Scott
@@georgelamie7001 you’re welcome!
ssp 👍
Great show.
My ranking :
1- Ponty
2- Soft Machine
3- Gong
4- Bruford
Thanks Arnaud, appreciate you being a loyal fan of the show
@@ericporter344 Yes the show is great.
Keep up the good work!
You fogett about the Tony Williams records. Superb work by Holdsworth.
Unable to listen to live. How I rank the 4:
4. Soft Machine
3. Gong
2. Jean Luc Ponty
1. Bruford
I'm sure you'll catch a replay, Joe!
Thanks Joe
I wish the keyboards were slightly higher in the mix on hazard profile during Allan's mega solo, I think it would elevate the whole piece even higher.
I always preferred Alan's earlier playing because there was more dynamic and tonal variety, due to greater use of the pick. Even a bent note or two made it more interesting and exciting.
Thanks for watching!!
@@ericporter344 No worries mate, I'm sure there are others who prefer his later work. Could you do a show about the two Varney project releases. Cheers Eric.
@@m.b-ee8815 Thanks for the suggestion. We are always thinking of “what next”, so I’ll add this to our ideas list
Very hard to choose. For the Holdsworth "wow" factor I go with "Bundles" but it's my number 4 because the compositions are not as good as the other albums. Soft Machine at that stage came up with sophisticated riffs and soloed on top of them.
I rate "Gazeuse" much more highly but it's tough call whether it's my number 2 or 3. I have no problems with Stephen W Taylor's mix.
Definitely Bruford for the number 1. Dave Stewart is vastly underrated. His harmonic vocabulary surpasses other higher rated players.
Holdsworth's best playing can be found on bootlegs of this era ( Soft Machine specially) or archival releases ( Soft Machine at Radio Bremen, Tempest live at the BBC with second guitarist Olie Halsall, Soft Machine on BBC Radio...).
Compared to his live performances, the playing on the albums is much more restreined.
Same remark for John Etheridge , McLaughlin,Di Meola, De Lucia...
Definitely some great live Holdsworth to be found out there!
Soft Machine, Bundles as just been released as a Deluxe Set, it’s remastered, the second cd is the band live at, Nottingham University. Soft Machine Third, if you don’t like that album, wash your ears out.
Forget to mention saw Soft Machine tour the Bundles album at Reading Festival.
John, got the CD/DVD set, soooo good
I make no apologies, Third just doesn’t work for me, can’t get into it, and I’ve tried 😂
@@ericporter344 Third doesn't do much for me either. For me Land Of Cockayne is better, and especially Floating World Live. I even like the live Soft Machine Legacy albums more (with John Etheridge)
@@wolf1977 👍
Dave Stewart is the most underrated musician since the first bushman picked up two sticks and started hitting them together.
Lol
The new Steven Wilson remaster of Bushman's 'Two Sticks' debut cleans up the original production of that primative percussion sound and listening to the 5.1 mix, you could almost be sat there in the Kalahari with him. Would have loved to hear a Bushman/Holdsworth collaboration.
Believe It would of been a more appropriate album to include rather than Enigmatic Ocean; Holdsworth is on less than half of the tracks on Enigmatic Ocean.
George based it on the 4 most owned records which makes sense. We had to come up with 4 based on the format, stuff has to get left out.
Believe It is fantastic, we can all agree on that
@@ericporter344 Based on what statistics? And if you're having to leave out an important album like Believe It, then one can't help but question the criteria.
@@MrThinkingahead we only do 4 albums, that’s the show format since day 1. Something has to be left out. George stated at the beginning of the show that he used rate your music site for the stats.
@@ericporter344 If an album has to be left out, then it would make sense to leave out the album that only has the featured artist on less than half the album.
@@MrThinkingahead Did you actually watch? The Williams was ranked by all of the panelists.
Switch out Jean Luc Ponty`s LP With The New Tony Williams Lifetime`s Debut and you got it !
My rankings:
1. JLP/Enigmatic Ocean - not even one of his best (there are at least 7-8 albums I like more) but still really good. That's how good JLP's discog is. 6 good tracks here, Daryl Stuermer also plays on this & Allan Zavod on keys, plus the great Ralphe Armstrong & Steve Smith on skins. Wonderful band as usual
2. Bruford/One Of A Kind - really good album, I like it almost as much as JLP's. "Hell's Bells", "Joe Frazier", "Five G", "The Sahara Of Snow", "One Of A Kind" - good stuff. Also Jeff Berlin's one of my all time fave bass players so there's that too (you even get an appearance from Eddie Jobson)
3/4. Soft Machine/Bundles - actually a tie with Gong's, not bad but not great. I greatly prefer their Floating World Live with Holdsworth. Fave tracks are "Hazard Profile Pt 3" & "Hazard Profile Pt 5"
3/4. Gong/Gazeuse - tied with Soft Machine. Not majorly into Gong, depends on the period & lineup (I like Rejoice! I'm Dead!, Expresso II, Shapeshifter - The Arista Years collection is good too). "Expresso" & "Esnuria" are good tracks
Other great Holdsworth projects to get (besides his solo stuff & the above): MVP/Truth In Shredding (with Frank Gambale), Mark Varney Project/Centrifugal Funk, Level 42/Guaranteed (brief appearance), JLP's Individual Choice & Atacama Experience, 3 Chad Wackerman solo albums, Andrea Marcelli's Stories, Anderss Johansson, Jens Johansson & Allan Holdsworth/Heavy Machinery (really cooks), Derek Sherinian's Mythology, Gary Husband/Dirty & Beautiful Vol. 2, Planet X/Quantum, Soft Machine/Floating World Live (great album) & Land Of Cockayne, Soft Works/Abracadabra, Tempest, Tony Williams Lifetime/several albums, with Stanley Clarke on his "Stories to Tell", plus the U.K. debut album. A weird early track (from '69): Allan Holdsworth & Igginbottom/"The Castle"
Thanks Wolf
You kind of do need Believe It to be in here imo
What website did yall use to determine which albums had the highest sales?
rate your music. It wasn't sales per se, but ownership numbers. Also, I eliminated UK, as that's not fusion
THIRD ! 🤣
Some good "new" fusion for me:
Project Z/Self-Titled - from 2001, the great Jimmy Herring with Jeff Sipe. Some Allman Bros vibes too, I like this one a lot
Bobby Sparks/Schizophrenia: The Yang Project - Mark Lettieri on one track, very funky
Cameron Graves/Live From The Seven Spheres - I think this was discussed on an early 4FusionFri show, excellent. About as good as his prior album Seven
Crosswind/Self-Titled - good 70's fusion, I think Crosswind II is a bit better
Koichi Yabori/Bloomfield - from 2010, this guy usually sounds like Metheny (ish) but lets it fly here
First Light/Self-Titled - 1978 debut, Aussie prog/fusion outfit with ties to Aleph. Good album (sax/flute/keys)
Kebnekajse/Elefanten - their only real fusion album from 1977, pretty good
Robert Baglione/Positive Charge - also came up on another fusion episode, jazzy, Victor Wooten is on this. Baglione can play
Mysteries Of The Revolution/Longing For The Dawn - new one by them, this is about as good as their prior s/t
Legends/Live At Montreux 1997 - with Eric Clapton, David Sanborn & Marcus Miller, it's a Steve Gadd project. Might seem like a weird pairing on paper but it works. However not much fusion here, "Sankes" is the closest they get. Still, a good album
Alan Hewitt/Evolution (With One Nation) - Hewitt's other stuff (that I've heard) is really laid back jazz, this one's fusion. He now plays keys for the Moody Blues. One Nation has another albums called 2021 that I need to get
Mike Miller/Trust - new one from him, I also have World Goes Round & the excellent Save The Moon. This one's kinda between those two. Lotsa guests here: Chad Wackerman, Jimmy Haslip, Gary Novak, Jimmy Johnson etc