SOFT MACHINE
VENUE RONNIE SCOTT’S JAZZ CLUB, LONDON DATE 10/04/2024
In an onstage announcement, Soft Machine guitarist John Etheridge dedicates tonight’s concert to drummer John Marshall, who first played in the Softs in 1972 and died in 2023, proclaiming him as one of the best drummers of the second half of the 20th century. No pressure, then, for his replacement, Israeli composer and percussionist Asaf Sirkis, whom Etheridge wryly informs us was chosen because he “told the best jokes”. But on a more serious matter, Sirkis has played with guitarists as widely spaced on the musical spectrum as John Abercrombie and Wilko Johnson, and his style encompasses formidable jazz chops and rock propulsion. He’s partnered in the rhythm section by relative newcomer and In Cahoots alumnus Fred Baker’s supple, sonorous bass.