Soft Machine - The Dew At Dawn / (Slightly) Slightly All The Time

This is the second 7" in My Only Desire Records' Brit Jazz 45s series, which sees some

of their favourite contemporary jazz acts each making brand new studio recordings

of two classic compositions from the golden era of '60s and '70s British jazz. 

Now led by guitar master John Etheridge, an original Soft Machine member since the

mid-'70s and Canterbury scene veteran saxophonist Theo Travis, the band has undergone

some recent lineup changes with bassist Fred Thelonious Baker (a former Harry Beckett

bandmate) joining for 2023's 'Other Doors' album. This is also the first recording with

drummer Asaf Sirkis, who has replaced the late British jazz legend John Marshall.

Etheridge and Travis' unique arrangement has upped the tempo of the "The Dew at

Dawn" (originally released on Ogun Records in 1975) pushing the Caribbean-infused

groove to the fore. Beckett's joyful theme - first played on Etheridge's guitar and then

picked up by Travis' mesmeric soprano saxophone - evokes the sun rising over the

misty Hackney marshes and the hope of a better future. The track is underpinned by

Baker's nimble bass guitar and Sirkis' scattering drums, with Etheridge's superb soloing

honed over a stellar five-decade career.

"Slightly All the Time" from Soft Machine's seminal 1970 opus 'Third', gets a clever reworking

for this 7", with the sprawling epic-ness of Mike Ratledge's original composition, trimmed

down to its essential parts, and Travis' outrageously good flute playing ramping up the

'70s Brit jazz vibes.

* Limited one-off pressing of 600 copies worldwide.

* 7" vinyl housed in a reverse-board picture sleeve.

* Mastered by and lacquer cut by Caspar Sutton-Jones @ Gearbox Records.

Theo Travis: soprano saxophone, flute

John Etheridge: guitar

Fred Thelonious Baker: bass guitar

Asaf Sirkis: drums

Tracks:

1. The Dew at Dawn
2. (Slightly) Slightly All the Time

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