This week we are showing the concluding episode of Aymeric Leroy’s interview with Fred Baker: the erstwhile bass player with Phil Miller’s band In Cahoots and now the new bass player with Soft Machine. This photo was taken on 5th January this year on the eve of the Soft Machine concert in New Cross Gate, London the next day. Look out for a surprise video of Fred next week giving an update on his work with Phil’s music at Birmingham University’s Royal Conservatoire.
Herm
14.01.22
This week we are featuring Fred Baker again with episode two of his three part interview with Aymeric Leroy. Pictured here is a shot of Fred, well wrapped up against the cold, taken from Phil and Fred’s Russian Duo tour in 1993.
We expect you have all seen the news that Fred is now the new Bass player in Soft Machine, replacing Roy Babbington, whose hand problems have forced him to retire. Fred was Roy’s recommendation for the job and we look forward to seeing him play in this new role. Today we are showing the first episode of Aymeric’s interview with Fred Baker, the longest serving bass player in Phil’s band In Cahoots. Phil and Fred came together in 1998 and played together in both In Cahoots and as a Duo. There will be two further episodes of Fred’s interview, meanwhile here is the first…
Herm
31.12.21
London, Queen Elizabeth Hall – 7 September 1972
Re-assembled from three different sources, but primarily a decent audience recording (except for the beginning and end), this is chronologically the last Matching Mole performance captured for posterity, and it’s also the only one from after the band had recorded Little Red Record…
17.12.21
In this conclusion of his interview Jeff gives us his thoughts on Phil, his own present activities, different approaches to music, playing without a score, his experiences playing with the participants in Ian Cruikshank’s Gypsy Festivals, thoughts on Miles Davis, and updates on Gentle Giant and his brother Gary.
Herm
10.12.21
In this penultimate episode of Aymeric’s interview with the guitarist Jeff Green, we hear how Jeff returned to the acoustic guitar, rediscovered the music of Django Reinhardt while playing with violinist Mike Piggott in the Chris Francis Quartet, played with bassist Jim Richardson’s Be-bop Quartet Pogo, joined the Stephane Grappelli Quartet with Martin Taylor and Alec Dankworth and became part of Nigel Kennedy’s ‘Wasp Factory’.
This week we are showing the second episode of Aymeric’s Jeff Green interview. Jeff gives us his account on his role of acting as a roadie for Soft Machine on their first American tour.
One of the spin-offs from the Phil Miller Tribute Concert that we arranged after Phil died, was Aymeric Leroy’s idea of a series of interviews of the musicians performing at the concert. I bought three Sony Camcorders and we organised an interviewing suite at Colvestone Crescent using Phil’s Edirol recorder and two tripods that I borrowed, with myself operating the hand-held camera for close-ups. Aymeric made many trips from France to do these interviews which we conducted over several days interviewing two or three musicians on each visit. You will have seen the short excerpts that Aymeric made from this series. What we are presenting here are the full-length versions. They can be found under the new MENU heading: NO HOLDS BARRED.
Here is a recording of the dearly departed Miller brothers playing together at St John’s in Harlow over 20 years ago. The photograph is from an earlier period – probably 1966.
Herm
06.11.21
When Pip Pyle left In Cahoots in 2002 to form his own band, Phil’s choice for a replacement was Mark Fletcher, fondly known as Fletch. There was no need to introduce Fletch as he was well known to everybody in the band – you would be hard pressed to find any musician on the scene that he hadn’t played with. In July 2002 Phil called a try out/rehearsal for Fletch before their upcoming performance in Seattle a few weeks later…
Herm