Although Soft Machine was one of the most consciously avant-garde groups to emerge from ‘60s British psychedelia, even those loose confines proved restrictive. Soft Machine ventured toward the nascent realm of fusion, but in decidedly more experimental ways than the faux-funky show-boaters that came to define the genre. Personnel changed from album to album yet somehow, continuity was more or less maintained into the ‘80s.
In 2015 Soft Machine Legacy (formed in '04 with several key members from the ‘70s) dropped the Legacy and reassumed their original name. Their second release, recorded live in a Los Angeles club, is sonically crisp and suggests the magical moments of the group’s earlier days. A prog influence tethers their jazz flights to rock; guitarist John Etheridge plays with dynamism that suggests rock’s early encounters with jazz at the end of the ‘60s. The rhythm section is solid yet supple and flutist-saxophonist-pianist Theo Travis weaves beautiful adornments around the melodies.
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