John Etheridge
Encyclopedia
John Michael Glyn Etheridge (born 12 January 1948 in Lambeth
, South
East
London
) is a British
jazz
/fusion
guitarist associated with the Canterbury Scene
.
He began playing at 13, his primary influences then being Hank Marvin
of The Shadows
and Django Reinhardt
. Although his father was a jazz pianist, he was primarily self-taught. By the time he joined his first notable band, Rush Release (including future Gracious! drummer Robert Lipson), his influences were Peter Green
, Jeff Beck
and, later, Jimi Hendrix
. The band played at London's Speakeasy Club ca. 1966, on occasion jamming with such luminaries as Eric Clapton
. Between 1967-70, Etheridge's studies (history of art at Essex University) took him away from the London scene. A crucial discovery for him during this period was John McLaughlin
's debut album Extrapolation.
Back in London, Etheridge briefly joined the Deep Purple
offshoot Warhorse
, followed by a stint with Icarus, shortly after that band had completed its debut album The Marvel World Of Icarus. "Although I was billed on the record, I did not actually play on it. The only thing of note I did with them was a tour of Rumania in 1971, at the height of the Ceaucescu regime. Halfway through the tour, we were expelled form the country as a pernicious influence - I remember that the crowds went absolutely wild when we played which enraged the authorities ! This was my first foreign tour after leaving university".
More significantly, in 1971 he helped form Abednego, which broke up after a year having failed to secure a recording contract, despite an interesting line-up which included ex-Affinity
organist Lynton Naiff, ex-Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
bassist Dennis Cowan, and reedsman John Altman
, later a noted composer of film soundtracks.
Etheridge's fortunes took a turn for the better when, in late 1972, he joined ex-Curved Air
violinist Darryl Way
's band Wolf, which went on to record three albums in the progressive rock canon for the Deram
label, Canis Lupus (1973), Saturation Point (1973) and Night Music (1974). It also provided an outlet for his first compositions, at a rate of one or two on each album.
Wolf's break-up was followed by a brief interim in the Global Village Trucking Company for a UK tour supporting Gong in early 1975, before a recommendation from fellow guitarist Allan Holdsworth
led to him joining Soft Machine
, now in full fusion mode having just released their landmark Bundles album. Etheridge went on to record two albums with the band, Softs
(1976) and Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris
(1978). Perhaps the best document of his work with Soft Machine
, however, is the more recent live CD British Tour 1975, recorded while Mike Ratledge
was still a member of the band (he only guested briefly on Softs).
With Soft Machine
's activities slowing down and ultimately (by 1978) stopping completely, Etheridge developed parallel ventures, including a long-term collaboration with French violin legend Stéphane Grappelli
(numerous world tours from 1976–81), and the band 2nd Vision
with fellow Softs member, violinist Ric Sanders
, which released an excellent self-titled album in 1980, but fell victim to the hostile post-punk environment and broke up in 1981.
The 1980s saw Etheridge remain very active on the live front (including a reunion with Soft Machine
for the band's final series of concerts at Ronnie Scott's club in 1984), but much less so in the studio. "1981 was a sort of watershed year for me... there's sort of before and after 1981. Since then I've mostly played on my own or led bands, playing alongside other people but not in settled formations. That was partly because I liked to do that, and partly because, frankly, I didn't really know what to do with myself at that point. I'd always enjoyed playing sort of jazz-type gigs, so I started doing it... People sometimes ask me why I didn't do (solo albums) before (the 1990s). I don't know, really. Since 1981-82, what I've done is playing. And the thing is, when you make an album nowadays, you do it off your own bat. It all comes from you, you have to make it happen. The labels are not able to put out money, you have to pay for yourself. So there's no good answer, really - I should have been making albums since about 1984...".
In 1982, Etheridge played solo concerts in Australia and duo dates with bassist Brian Torff in the US. In 1984 he toured England with his own trio, and the following year joined forces with ex-Isotope
guitarist Gary Boyle. Between 1989-93, he was a member of ex-Pentangle bassist Danny Thompson
's group Whatever, playing on the album Elemental (1990). Between 1988-94, he did a lot of touring in Germany with ex-Colosseum
saxist Dick Heckstall-Smith
, recording two albums as the Dick Heckstall-Smith / John Etheridge Band, Live in Erlangen and Obsession Fees. Also in 1988 he made a duo record with New York guitarist Vic Juris, Bohemia, and toured with Biréli Lagrène
. Also of note was the (sadly unrecorded) Elton Dean
/John Etheridge Quartet with Fred Baker (bass) and Mark Fletcher (drums). In 1992, he joined violinist Nigel Kennedy
's live band, playing on his albums Kafka (1996) and The Kennedy Experience - The Music Of Jimi Hendrix (1999). In 1994, he released a duo album, Invisible Thread, with ex-Police
guitarist and longtime friend Andy Summers
(interestingly also a former Soft Machine
guitarist, albeit in a much earlier incarnation of the group), and did a world tour with him.
In 1994, Etheridge at last released his first album as a leader, Ash, mostly featuring his regular band at the time - Steve Franklin on keyboards, Henry Thomas on bass and Mark Fletcher on drums - as well as duets with bassist Dudley Phillips. This was followed in the 2000s by Chasing Shadows (2000), I Didn't Know, Stitched Up (2006, with his Trio North), In House - Live In London (2007, with Arild Andersen and John Marshall), Alone - Live ! (2008) and Break Even (2008, with Liane Carroll).
In addition to countless one-off line-ups assembled for jazz gigs, Etheridge is involved in several long-term projects : a guitar duo with Australian-born guitar legend John Williams
, which released Live In Dublin - Places Between; the Grappelli tribute Sweet Chorus, which released Sweet Chorus - Tribute to Grappelli in 1998; the Frank Zappa
tribute band Zappatistas (formed 1999), who released a live CD, The Music Of Frank Zappa - Absolutely Live (2001) and have since toured widely, appearing at the German progressive rock/jazz festival Zappanale in 2006; and Soft Machine Legacy, alongside fellow ex-Soft Machine
members Hugh Hopper
, John Marshall
and Elton Dean
(the latter replaced by Theo Travis
after he died in early 2006). They have so far released two studio albums (both including Etheridge compositions), Soft Machine Legacy (2005) and Steam (2007), and two live releases, Live in Zandaam (2005) and Live At The New Morming (2006), the latter also a DVD, filmed just weeks prior to Dean's passing.
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
, South
South
South is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.South is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to east and west.By convention, the bottom side of a map is south....
East
East
East is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.East is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of west and is perpendicular to north and south.By convention, the right side of a map is east....
London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
/fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
guitarist associated with the Canterbury Scene
Canterbury Scene
The Canterbury scene is a term used to loosely describe the group of progressive rock, avant-garde and jazz musicians, many of whom were based around the city of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
.
He began playing at 13, his primary influences then being Hank Marvin
Hank Marvin
Hank Brian Marvin is an English guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows. The group, which primarily performed instrumentals, was formed as a backing band for vocalist Cliff Richard...
of The Shadows
The Shadows
The Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...
and Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...
. Although his father was a jazz pianist, he was primarily self-taught. By the time he joined his first notable band, Rush Release (including future Gracious! drummer Robert Lipson), his influences were Peter Green
Peter Green (musician)
Peter Green is a British blues-rock guitarist and the founder of the band Fleetwood Mac...
, Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
and, later, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
. The band played at London's Speakeasy Club ca. 1966, on occasion jamming with such luminaries as Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
. Between 1967-70, Etheridge's studies (history of art at Essex University) took him away from the London scene. A crucial discovery for him during this period was John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin (musician)
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
's debut album Extrapolation.
Back in London, Etheridge briefly joined the Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
offshoot Warhorse
Warhorse (70s band)
Warhorse were a British band formed by the former Deep Purple bassist, Nick Simper.-Career:Simper left Deep Purple in 1969, and joined Marsha Hunt's backing band. Not long after, Simper replaced her backing band with Ged Peck on guitar and Mac Poole on drums. When Hunt became pregnant, the band...
, followed by a stint with Icarus, shortly after that band had completed its debut album The Marvel World Of Icarus. "Although I was billed on the record, I did not actually play on it. The only thing of note I did with them was a tour of Rumania in 1971, at the height of the Ceaucescu regime. Halfway through the tour, we were expelled form the country as a pernicious influence - I remember that the crowds went absolutely wild when we played which enraged the authorities ! This was my first foreign tour after leaving university".
More significantly, in 1971 he helped form Abednego, which broke up after a year having failed to secure a recording contract, despite an interesting line-up which included ex-Affinity
Affinity (band)
Affinity were an English jazz-rock fusion band, active from mid 1968 to January 1971.-Origins:The origin of Affinity was, circa 1965 in the science department of the University of Sussex in Brighton, England...
organist Lynton Naiff, ex-Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band are a band created by a group of British art-school denizens of the 1960s...
bassist Dennis Cowan, and reedsman John Altman
John Altman (composer)
John Altman is a British film composer, music arranger, orchestrator and conductor.-Biography:Altman was introduced to the music of the 1930s and 1940s at an early age by an uncle who arranged and composed music for big bands and conducted for Judy Garland, the Marx Brothers, and Laurel and Hardy,...
, later a noted composer of film soundtracks.
Etheridge's fortunes took a turn for the better when, in late 1972, he joined ex-Curved Air
Curved Air
Curved Air are a pioneering British progressive rock group formed in 1970 by musicians from mixed artistic backgrounds, including classic, folk, and electronic sound. The resulting sound of the band was a mixture of progressive rock, folk rock, and fusion with classical elements...
violinist Darryl Way
Darryl Way
Darryl Way is a British rock and classical musician who was a founding member of Curved Air and co-writer of their only hit single, "Back Street Luv". He is best known as a violinist although he also played keyboards.He began his musical training at Dartington College of Arts, and later studied at...
's band Wolf, which went on to record three albums in the progressive rock canon for the Deram
Deram Records
Deram Records was a subsidiary record label established in 1966 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom. At this time U.K. Decca was a completely different company than the Decca label in the United States, which was then owned by MCA Inc. Deram recordings were also distributed in the U.S. through...
label, Canis Lupus (1973), Saturation Point (1973) and Night Music (1974). It also provided an outlet for his first compositions, at a rate of one or two on each album.
Wolf's break-up was followed by a brief interim in the Global Village Trucking Company for a UK tour supporting Gong in early 1975, before a recommendation from fellow guitarist Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth is an English guitarist and composer. He has released twelve studio albums as a solo artist and played many different styles of music over a period of four decades, but first drew attention for his work in jazz fusion...
led to him joining Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
, now in full fusion mode having just released their landmark Bundles album. Etheridge went on to record two albums with the band, Softs
Softs
For softs as commodities, see Commodities.Softs is a 1976 album by the British psychedelic, progressive rock and jazz/fusion band Soft Machine who were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene....
(1976) and Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris
Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris
Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris is a 1978 release by the band Soft Machine. Mostly recorded live, during at 4-night residency at Paris' Théâtre Le Palace in July 1977, much of the album was later modified in the studio, with the track "Soft Space" being a completely studio recorded track released...
(1978). Perhaps the best document of his work with Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
, however, is the more recent live CD British Tour 1975, recorded while Mike Ratledge
Mike Ratledge
Michael Roland "Mike" Ratledge is a British musician. Ratledge was part of the Canterbury scene and a long-time member of Soft Machine.-Biography and career:...
was still a member of the band (he only guested briefly on Softs).
With Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
's activities slowing down and ultimately (by 1978) stopping completely, Etheridge developed parallel ventures, including a long-term collaboration with French violin legend Stéphane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli was a French jazz violinist who founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands....
(numerous world tours from 1976–81), and the band 2nd Vision
2nd Vision
2nd Vision was a British jazz-rock band notable for including guitarist John Etheridge and violinist Ric Sanders, both former members of Soft Machine...
with fellow Softs member, violinist Ric Sanders
Ric Sanders
Richard 'Ric' Sanders is a British violinist who has played in jazz-rock, folk rock, electric folk and folk groups, including Soft Machine and Fairport Convention.-Biography:...
, which released an excellent self-titled album in 1980, but fell victim to the hostile post-punk environment and broke up in 1981.
The 1980s saw Etheridge remain very active on the live front (including a reunion with Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
for the band's final series of concerts at Ronnie Scott's club in 1984), but much less so in the studio. "1981 was a sort of watershed year for me... there's sort of before and after 1981. Since then I've mostly played on my own or led bands, playing alongside other people but not in settled formations. That was partly because I liked to do that, and partly because, frankly, I didn't really know what to do with myself at that point. I'd always enjoyed playing sort of jazz-type gigs, so I started doing it... People sometimes ask me why I didn't do (solo albums) before (the 1990s). I don't know, really. Since 1981-82, what I've done is playing. And the thing is, when you make an album nowadays, you do it off your own bat. It all comes from you, you have to make it happen. The labels are not able to put out money, you have to pay for yourself. So there's no good answer, really - I should have been making albums since about 1984...".
In 1982, Etheridge played solo concerts in Australia and duo dates with bassist Brian Torff in the US. In 1984 he toured England with his own trio, and the following year joined forces with ex-Isotope
Isotope (band)
Isotope was a British jazz-rock band based around guitarist Gary Boyle.Boyle founded the band in June 1972 and a first album, Isotope, was largely composed by keyboardist Brian Miller. Jeff Clyne was on bass and Nigel Morris was on drums. However, Clyne and Miller left in 1974 to be replaced by...
guitarist Gary Boyle. Between 1989-93, he was a member of ex-Pentangle bassist Danny Thompson
Danny Thompson
Daniel Henry Edward 'Danny' Thompson is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist and businessman...
's group Whatever, playing on the album Elemental (1990). Between 1988-94, he did a lot of touring in Germany with ex-Colosseum
Colosseum (band)
Colosseum is a pioneering British progressive jazz-rock band, mixing progressive rock and jazz-based improvisation.-History 1968 - 1971:The band was formed in September 1968 by drummer Jon Hiseman, tenor sax player Dick Heckstall-Smith and bass player Tony Reeves, who had previously worked together...
saxist Dick Heckstall-Smith
Dick Heckstall-Smith
Dick Heckstall-Smith was an English jazz and blues saxophonist. He played with some of the most important English blues-rock and jazz fusion bands of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:...
, recording two albums as the Dick Heckstall-Smith / John Etheridge Band, Live in Erlangen and Obsession Fees. Also in 1988 he made a duo record with New York guitarist Vic Juris, Bohemia, and toured with Biréli Lagrène
Biréli Lagrène
Biréli Lagrène is a French guitarist and bassist. He came to prominence in the 1980s for his Django Reinhardt-influenced style on the classical guitar, as well as for being a jazz fusion virtuoso on the electric guitar...
. Also of note was the (sadly unrecorded) Elton Dean
Elton Dean
Elton Dean was an English jazz musician who performed on alto saxophone, saxello and occasionally keyboard....
/John Etheridge Quartet with Fred Baker (bass) and Mark Fletcher (drums). In 1992, he joined violinist Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy is a British born violinist and violist. He made his early career in the classical field, and he has performed and recorded most of the major violin concerti...
's live band, playing on his albums Kafka (1996) and The Kennedy Experience - The Music Of Jimi Hendrix (1999). In 1994, he released a duo album, Invisible Thread, with ex-Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
guitarist and longtime friend Andy Summers
Andy Summers
Andy Summers is an English guitarist born in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England. Best known as the guitarist for rock band The Police, he has also recorded twelve solo albums, collaborated with many other artists, toured extensively under his own name, published several books, and composed...
(interestingly also a former Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
guitarist, albeit in a much earlier incarnation of the group), and did a world tour with him.
In 1994, Etheridge at last released his first album as a leader, Ash, mostly featuring his regular band at the time - Steve Franklin on keyboards, Henry Thomas on bass and Mark Fletcher on drums - as well as duets with bassist Dudley Phillips. This was followed in the 2000s by Chasing Shadows (2000), I Didn't Know, Stitched Up (2006, with his Trio North), In House - Live In London (2007, with Arild Andersen and John Marshall), Alone - Live ! (2008) and Break Even (2008, with Liane Carroll).
In addition to countless one-off line-ups assembled for jazz gigs, Etheridge is involved in several long-term projects : a guitar duo with Australian-born guitar legend John Williams
John Williams (guitarist)
John Christopher Williams is an Australian classical guitarist, and a long-term resident of the United Kingdom. In 1973, he shared a Grammy Award win in the 'Best Chamber Music Performance' category with Julian Bream for Julian and John .-Biography:John Williams was born on 24 April 1941 in...
, which released Live In Dublin - Places Between; the Grappelli tribute Sweet Chorus, which released Sweet Chorus - Tribute to Grappelli in 1998; the Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
tribute band Zappatistas (formed 1999), who released a live CD, The Music Of Frank Zappa - Absolutely Live (2001) and have since toured widely, appearing at the German progressive rock/jazz festival Zappanale in 2006; and Soft Machine Legacy, alongside fellow ex-Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
members Hugh Hopper
Hugh Hopper
Hugh Colin Hopper was a progressive rock and jazz fusion bass guitarist. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and various other related bands.-Early career:...
, John Marshall
John Stanley Marshall
John Stanley Marshall, better known as John Marshall, born 28 August 1941 in Isleworth, Middlesex, is an English drummer. He was a founding member of the jazz rock band Nucleus and has worked with various other jazz and rock bands and musicians, among them J.J...
and Elton Dean
Elton Dean
Elton Dean was an English jazz musician who performed on alto saxophone, saxello and occasionally keyboard....
(the latter replaced by Theo Travis
Theo Travis
Theo Travis is a British saxophonist and flautist.Travis received his degree in flute and saxophone from the University of Manchester and has worked among others with Robert Fripp, Gong, Porcupine Tree, The Tangent, Bill Nelson, Bass Communion, No-Man, Steven Wilson, David Sylvian, Harold Budd,...
after he died in early 2006). They have so far released two studio albums (both including Etheridge compositions), Soft Machine Legacy (2005) and Steam (2007), and two live releases, Live in Zandaam (2005) and Live At The New Morming (2006), the latter also a DVD, filmed just weeks prior to Dean's passing.