Featuring
members of Soft Machine, Gilgamesh, and National Health, Soft Heap was
invariably an adventurous band that had girded themselves for live work,
with this eponymous set their sole studio release. Recorded in late
1978, the set reflected the prominence of Elton Dean's saxophone, its
position immediately setting the group apart from their Canterbury scene
colleagues. On "Circle Line," Dean's horn is melancholy, on "Petit 3's"
it's luminescent, on "Terra Nova" it's playful, while on "Short Hand"
it's nothing short of dizzying. But Soft Heap was not a one-man band,
with keyboardist Alan Gowen particularly illuminating on the
improvisational "A.W.O.L." while giving "Fara" its lovely, pensive
quality. As the quieter keyboardist and more flamboyant saxophonist vie
and intertwine, the rhythm team of Hugh Hopper and Pip Pyle center the
pieces, with the former also providing a tugging, underlying melodic
counterpoint. Together the quartet created jazz at its most intriguing
and inspiring. SOFT HEAP only released one studio album in the late
Seventies. The best way to describe it is to make references to the mid
period SOFTS releases, namely the avant jazz albums ("Fourth" and
"Fifth" respectively). Another album of live material was released in
the mid-Nineties, which also featured the likes of John Greaves and Mark
Hewins. Both albums are of high interest for Canterbury afficiandos. Line-up / Musicians Hugh Hopper/bass Elton Dean/saxophone Alan Gowen/keyboards Pip Pyle/drums Mark Hewins/guitar Discography Soft Heap 1978
1.Circle Line 2.A.W.O.L. 3.Petit 3's 4.Terra Nova 5.Fara 6.Short Hand
