Cuneiform: Elton Dean – Just Us / Dieses Wochenende für FIVE

Just Us is the LONG awaited reissue of Elton Dean’s very first solo album, recorded & released in 1971, while he was still a member of Soft Machine.

In addition to the original 5 tracks on the album [which feature Marc Charig-cornet, Neville Whitehead-bass & Phil Howard-drums + guests Mike Ratledge-piano/organ & Roy Babbington-string basson 2 tracks], we have added 30′ of never heard bonus material, recorded live in 1972. The music on this release is a cross between the musical freedom that Elton’s career would later take & more composed music comparable to Soft Machine’s output.

„A welcome reissue of music first recorded in 1971 and 1972, shortly before Dean left the popular British jazz-rock group the Soft Machine, which he had officially joined only a short time earlier, in late 1969. On this recording, Dean plays alto sax, saxello and electric piano and is aided by a group of musicians which includes two additional Soft Machine members, Mike Ratledge on organ and electric piano and Roy Babbington on string bass. One of Dean’s compositions on Just Us, „Neo-Caliban Grides,“ was actually recorded by the Softs, however, in spite of the obvious parallels, Dean’s group is by no means a Soft Machine knock off. The absence of drummer/vocalist Robert Wyatt and bassist Hugh Hopper reduces both the rock element and the experimental electronics, while the presence of the additional musicians — especially Marc Charig on cornet — gives Dean’s group a fuller sound and one that is much more in the jazz tradition. Charig’s contributions on horn and those of an electric guitarist on several tracks, invite some obvious comparisons with the Miles Davis electric band of the Bitches Brew era. And with the extraordinary recording by the Davis group having been released only two years earlier in 1969, its influence on hip young British jazz players would have been substantial. Dean’s prominent use of the electric keyboards also provides an obvious parallel with the contemporaneous Davis group.“

 William Tilland / AllMusic

released September 8, 1998

[The original album, released in 1971, is tracks 1-5]

ELTON DEAN alto sax / saxello / electric piano all tracks
MARK CHARIG cornet 1/2/3/4/5/8
NEVILLE WHITEHEAD electric bass 1/2/3/4/5/8
PHIL HOWARD. drums all except 8
MIKE RATLEDGE organ/electric piano 3/4
ROY BABBINGTON string bass 3/4
NICK EVANS trombone 6/7/8
JEFF GREEN 6 string electric bass/guitar 6/7/8
LOUIS MOHOLO drums 8

Tracks 1-5
Engineered by Eddie Offord.
Recorded at Advision Studios, London, May 1971.

Tracks 6-7
Recorded June 27, 1972 at the Gondel Filmunstheatre, Bremen, Germany.
A production of radio Bremen and released by Cuneiform Records by exclusive arrangement with Radio Bremen.

Track 8
Recorded live in London, December 11, 1972.

1) Click this album link: https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/just-us
2) Click „Buy Digital Album“
3) Type „10“ into the Name your price field (The discount comes next! 😉 ).
4) Type the word „FIVE“ into the Discount code field.
5) Click „apply“
6) Click „Check out now“ or „Add to Cart“