Soft Machine
Biography Soft Machine
Soft Machine
One of the greatest UK avant/jazz-rock bands of all time.
Their work, from their earliest performances as a psychedelic band who were contemporaries of, and shared stages with, Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd and the Jimi Hendrix Experience, all the way to being one of Europe's best known 'fusion' groups, has influenced several generations of bands, and continues to be name-checked by today's hip experimentalists.
Whilst the line-up of Soft Machine may have changed many times since the heady days of the late 1960’s, the band’s spirit of musical adventure, and the ease with which it freely avoids being pigeon holed and can move from powerful progressive jazz fusion to atmospheric psychedelia to free improvised jazz-rock to ambient loop music continues to make it both unique and totally contemporary.
John Etheridge
joined Soft Machine in 1975 for the ‘Softs’ album and then ‘Alive and Well’ and has been the main soloist of the band ever since then. Described by Pat Metheny as ‘One of the best guitarists’ he is hugely in demand and has also played with Caravan, Hawkwind, John Williams and Billy Cobham.
John Marshall
is the longest serving member of the band, he joined Soft Machine in 1972, He played on half of Soft Machine 5, and has been central to the band ever since. John was also a member of spin off groups Soft Works, Soft Ware and Soft Machine Legacy and as well as being a member of Soft Machine he has a distinguished career as one of the finest and most respected of contemporary drummers, playing with Jack Bruce, Nucleus, Eberhard Weber and John Surman.
Theo Travis
joined Soft Machine (Legacy) in 2006 taking over from the late Elton Dean. He plays tenor and soprano saxes as well as flutes and the Fender Rhodes electric piano. He has also performed and toured with Gong, Robert Fripp, David Gilmour and David Sylvian.
Fred Thelonious Baker
is one of Britain’s finest bass players. He replaced Roy Babbington in Soft Machine in January 2022 and was in fact chosen by Roy to be his successor. Fred is perhaps best known for playing in Phil Miller's Canterbury scene band ‘In Cahoots’. He has also played with many musicians and groups on the Canterbury scene, including Pip Pyle, Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper. Baker played in The John Etheridge/Ric Sanders Group in the early 1980s. He has also worked with his own group, the Fred Thelonious Baker Group who recorded a self-titled album in 1984.
