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Ratledge began playing jazz piano around 1963 – he was heavily influenced by “Free Jazz” pianist Cecil Taylor, but became a fan of, and was influenced by, jazz greats Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis. In 1966, he was asked to join British band SOFT MACHINE, which was an avant-garde jazz-rock combo. While it has had ...
But although the fifth man would change several times in the interim, the quartet of Mike Ratledge, Karl Jenkins, Roy Babbington and John Marshall would remain in place for nearly three years, until Ratledge’s departure in April 1976—a very long time by Soft Machine’s standards, and a sure sign of shared musical affinity.
Mike Ratledge was born in April 1943 in Maidstone, Kent, England, UK. He is a composer, known for Crystal Gazing (1982), Riddles of the Sphinx (1977) and About Time (1985). He has been married to Marsha A. Hunt since 15 April 1967.
Aug 23, 2010 · Softs represents the real end of an era, however, relegating the group's solo remaining founder, keyboardist Mike Ratledge, to guest status, providing synth colors only on the up-tempo, vamp-driven "Ban-Ban Caliban," a tune more defined by John Etheridge 's high velocity guitar solo and saxophonist Alan Wakeman's similarly impressive soprano ...
1967 demos by the line-up of Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers and Daevid Allen. 1977. Triple Echo. A "best of" album, including both sides of their first single and material from all the albums up to Softs (the most recent at the time) 1990. The Peel Sessions. Radio sessions recorded during 1969–71. 1996.
Oct 27, 2013 · Michael R. "Mike" Ratledge (born April 1943) is a British musician. Ratledge was part of the Canterbury scene and a long-time member of Soft Machine. Ratledge also met Brian's younger brother Hugh, and Robert Wyatt. In 1961 he met Daevid Allen, who interested them in playing jazz. Through Cecil Taylor's piano pieces Ratledge became familiar wi…
Jun 12, 2023 · Mike Ratledge produced great, innovative, and important music, but one of the associates of Soft Machine he didn’t make especially great duplicate for journalists. Created in 1943 in Maidstone, Kent, he went to Canterbury’s Simon Langton Sentence structure School for Kids two grades before future Softs users Robert Wyatt (after that Robert ...
