Biography
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Born
12 January 1948 (age 76)
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Born In
Lambeth, London, England, United Kingdom
John Etheridge (born John Michael Glyn Etheridge in London on 12 January 1948) is an English jazz fusion guitarist, composer, bandleader and educator known for his eclecticism and broad range of associations in jazz, classical, and contemporary music. He is best known for his work with Soft Machine from 1975 to 1978, 1984 and 2004 to present.
Primarily self-taught, Etheridge formed his first notable band, Rush Release, with Robert Lipson (the future drummer of Gracious!) in the mid 1960s. In 1967, Etheridge left London to study History of Art at Essex University. Upon returning to the London scene in the early 1970s, Etheridge briefly worked with the Deep Purple offshoot Warhorse, followed by a stint with Icarus during the final stages of recording their album The Marvel World of Icarus.
In late 1972, Etheridge joined Curved Air violinist Darryl Way's band Wolf, which went on to record three albums. Following Wolf's break-up, Etheridge briefly played 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 Bundles. Etheridge went on to record two albums with the band, Softs (1976) and Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris (1978).
The late 1970s saw Etheridge form the band 2nd Vision, with fellow Soft Machine member, violinist Ric Sanders.
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.
In 1982, Etheridge played solo concerts in Australia and duo dates with bassist Brian Torff in the US. In 1983, he toured England with his own trio, and the following year joined forces with ex-Isotope guitarist Gary Boyle. Between 1989 and 1993, he was a member of Danny Thompson's group Whatever, playing on the album Elemental (1990). Between 1988-94, he did a lot of touring in Germany with 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, toured with Biréli Lagrène, and played in the 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 (1998).
In 1994, he released a duo album, Invisible Threads, with longtime friend Andy Summers (a former Soft Machine guitarist, albeit in a much earlier incarnation of the group), and did a world tour with him. The duo recorded the album using only acoustic guitars and acoustic bass. The same year, Etheridge released his first solo album, 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. Subsequent solo albums included Chasing Shadows (2001), I Didn't Know (2004), 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).
Etheridge has been nominated for 'Musician of the Year' at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards three times (in 2005, 2006, and 2011).
In addition to countless one-off line-ups assembled for jazz gigs, Etheridge is involved in several long-term projects, including: a guitar duo with John Williams, which released Places Between - Live in Dublin; 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 Zappanalein 2006; and Soft Machine Legacy, alongside fellow ex-Soft Machine members Hugh Hopper, John Marshall and Elton Dean (the latter rep laced by Theo Travis after Dean died in early 2006). They have released three studio albums, all of which include Etheridge compositions: Soft Machine Legacy (2005), Steam (2007), and Burden of Proof (2013). The band have also produced a number of live releases, including Live in Zaandam (2005) and Live At The New Morning (2006), which includes a DVD filmed just a few weeks prior to Dean's passing. Etheridge toured and recorded with the band Hawkwind in 2014. In 2016, Etheridge and jazz singer Vimala Rowe release the collaborative album Out of the Sky, which explores a range of jazz, flamenco, Indian classical, traditional African, and blues influences.
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