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
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