Hugh Hopper & Richard Sinclair – Somewhere In France (1996, CD, England)

Tracklist:
1. Long Lingers Autumn Time (5:00)
2. Potted History (3:02)
3. Keep On Caring (6:03)
4. Cruising The Eastern Sky (4:25)
5. Oldest Story Ever Told (2:19)
6. Video Shows (5:19)
7. Solidarity (4:55)
- Only The Brave (3:44):
8. Only The Brave
9. Colin-a-dell

Musicians:
Hugh Hopper / bass, fuzz bass (1), keyboards (1,2,7), gong (8)
Richard Sinclair / vocals, guitar, fretless bass (1,3), bongos (2)
With:
Serge Bringolf / drums (3,4), percussion (6)
Helene / girlie voice (4), vocals (7)
Pascale / girlie voice (4), vocals (7)
Jacky Barbier / vocals (7)

Recorded at Bresse-sur-Grosne, France, November 1983

Hopper/Dean/Tippett/Gallivan ‎– Cruel But Fair (1977, LP, England)

Tracklist:

A1 Seven Drones - 8:30

A2 Jannakota - 4:36

A3 Echoes - 8:43

B1 Square Enough Fire - 9:23

B2 Rocky Recluse - 2:24

B3 Bjorn Free - 2:18

B4 Soul Fate - 5:38

Musicians:
Alto Saxophone, Saxello – Elton Dean
Bass – Hugh Hopper
Drums, Percussion, Synthesizer – Joe Gallivan
Piano – Keith Tippett

Alto saxophonist Elton Dean and bassist Hugh Hopper established their reputations with the groundbreaking jazz-rock band Soft Machine in the '70s and have continued to be strong forces in the British free-jazz scene. On this excel1ent 1995 release, they team up with pianist Keith Tippett and drummer Joe Gallivan to create a wide-ranging program of bristling, exploratory jazz and innovative electronic music. Gallivan plays synthesizer in addition to his propulsive, pulse-oriented drums, and on several cuts ("Jannakota" and "Rocky Recluse") the music drifts into beguiling electronic soundscapes. These serve as interludes for the more energetic and fiery pieces featuring Dean's singular sax and Tippett's dense, multilayered piano. Dean's distinctive alto and the seldom-played saxello both project a plaintive, vocalized sound, equally adaptable to the frenzy of "Seven Drones" or the calm of "Echoes." This ability to shift emotional gears, shared by the group as a whole, results in a collective music that is both spontaneous and cohesive.

Alan Gowen & Hugh Hopper With Nigel Morris ‎– Bracknell - Bresse Improvisations (1996, CD, England)

Musicians
Bass, Tape Loops – Hugh Hopper
Keyboards – Alan Gowen
Percussion – Nigel Morris

Note
Tracks 1-3 recorded live 21 Sept 1980 at South Hill, Bracknell, U.K.
Tracks 4-8 recorded May 1978 at Bresse-sur-Grosne, France.


This CD consists of unplanned, unrehearsed improvisations (one 14 minutes long, another 18 minutes, plus several shorter) between bassist Hugh Hopper (Soft Machine), keyboardist Alan Gowen (Gilgamesh) and drummer Nigel Morris (Isotope). As one would expect in this circumstance, the results are pretty loose and formless but fascinating nonetheless to see how these three masters of their instruments play off each other. Each brings a long history and identifiable style, which comes out in their unguarded ad libbing. The shorter titles are excerpted from much longer jams, faded in for the good bits and then out again when they've run their inevitable course.

This style of freeform collaboration (circa 1978-1981) was to become a much bigger part of Hopper's life a few years later, as he began trading tapes with a number of musicians and sitting in with existing ensembles. Sadly, Gowen did not have the same opportunity, as he passed away rather suddenly in 1981 from leukaemia. (R. Carlberg)