Elton Dean facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Elton Dean
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| Background information | |
| Born | 28 October 1945 Nottingham, England |
| Origin | Tooting, London, England |
| Died | 8 February 2006 (aged 60) London, England |
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| Years active | 1966–2006 |
| Associated acts | Bluesology, Elton John, Keith Tippett, Soft Machine, The Wrong Object |
Elton Dean (born October 28, 1945 – died February 8, 2006) was an English jazz musician. He was known for playing the alto saxophone, a special type of saxophone called a saxello, and sometimes keyboards. He was a key part of the "Canterbury scene" in music and played in famous bands like Soft Machine.
Contents
Life and Music Career
Elton Dean was born in Nottingham, England. He moved to Tooting, London, when he was very young.
Early Bands and Elton John
From 1966 to 1967, Elton was a member of a band called Bluesology. This band was led by a musician named Long John Baldry. The band's pianist, Reginald Dwight, later became the super famous singer Elton John! He actually got his stage name by combining Elton Dean's first name ("Elton") with Long John Baldry's first name ("John").
Becoming a Well-Known Musician
Elton became very well-known for his music when he joined the Keith Tippett Sextet. He played with them from 1968 to 1970. He also joined the popular band Soft Machine in 1969 and played with them until 1972. Just before he left Soft Machine, he started his own music group called Just Us.
Leading His Own Groups
After Soft Machine, Elton Dean led a nine-person band called Ninesense from 1975 to 1978. They performed at big events like the Bracknell Jazz Festival. After Ninesense, his own groups were usually smaller, with four or five musicians. They often played a style of music called free jazz, which means they didn't always have pre-written songs. They would often make up the music as they played!
But Elton also kept working with other bands that played more structured music. These included guitarist Phil Miller's band In Cahoots and drummer Pip Pyle's group Equipe Out. He also worked on many projects with Hugh Hopper, who was the bass player for Soft Machine.
Later Projects and Soft Machine Legacy
In 2002, Elton Dean joined up with three other former members of Soft Machine: Hugh Hopper, drummer John Marshall, and guitarist Allan Holdsworth. They toured and recorded music together under the name Soft Works.
Later, another former Soft Machine member, guitarist John Etheridge, joined them instead of Allan Holdsworth. They then toured and recorded as Soft Machine Legacy. This group played some of the old Soft Machine songs, as well as new music. They released several albums, including Live in Zaandam and a studio album called Soft Machine Legacy.
Elton Dean also worked with other groups in his last years, like Soft Bounds and Alex Maguire's project Psychic Warrior.
Elton Dean passed away on February 8, 2006, after dealing with heart and liver problems for over a year. Another musician, Theo Travis, took his place in Soft Machine Legacy.
Discography
This is a list of some of the music albums Elton Dean was involved in.
As a Leader
- 1971: Elton Dean (also known as Just Us)
- 1975: Live at the BBC (with Ninesense, released in 2003)
- 1976: Oh! For The Edge
- 1976: They All Be on This Old Road (live)
- 1977: Happy Daze (live)
- 1979: Three's Company Two's A Crowd
- 1979: The 100 Club Concert (released after he passed away in 2012)
- 1980: Boundaries
- 1985: The Bologna Tape
- 1986: Welcomet
- 1988: Duos (cassette only)
- 1988: Trios (cassette only)
- 1989: EDQ Live (cassette only)
- 1989: Unlimited Saxophone Company
- 1990: Vortex Tapes (live)
- 1995: Silent Knowledge
- 1997: Headless Quartet
- 1997: Newsense
- 1998: Moorsong
- 2000: QED
- 2002: Sea of Infinity
Collaborations (Working with Others)
- 1976: Dean, Hopper, Tippett, Gallivan: Cruel But Fair
- 1977: Dean, Skidmore: El Skid
- 1977: Dean, Wheeler, Gallivan: The Cheque Is in the Mail
- 1977: Dean, Hopper, Tippett, Gallivan: Mercy Dash
- 1985: Dean, Miller: Steve Miller Trio Meets Elton Dean
- 1990: Dean, Howard Riley Quartet: All The Tradition
- 1992: Dean, Hewins: Bar Torque
- 1993: Dean, Riley: One Two One
- 1995: Dean, Dunmall: If Dubois Only Knew
- 1995: Dean, Riley: Descending Circles
- 1996: Dean, Rudd: Rumours of an Incident
- 1996: Dean, Cuomo: The Origin of Man
- 1997: Dean, Hopper, Clarke, Knight: The Mind in the Trees
- 1998: Dean, Bellatalla, Sanders: Into The Nierika
- 2000: Dean, Trovesi: Freedom in Jazz
- 2004: Dean, Domancich: Avant
- 2004: Dean, Dunmall, Rogers, Blanco: Remembrance (released after he passed away in 2013)
- 2005: Dean, Wilkinson, Bianco: Freebeat – Northern Lights
- 2007: Dean, The Wrong Object: The Unbelievable Truth (recorded live in Paris on October 18, 2005)
Bands He Was Part Of
with Soft Machine (see Soft Machine discography for live albums)
- 1970: Third
- 1971: Fourth
- 1972: Fifth
Other Bands
- 1971: Centipede: Septober Energy
- 1978: Soft Head: Rogue Element
- 1979: Soft Heap: Al Dente (live)
- 1979: Soft Heap: Soft Heap
- 1983: Soft Heap: A Veritable Centaur
- 1985: Pip Pyle's Equip' Out: L'Equipe Out
- 1989: In Cahoots: Live 86–89
- 1990: Anglo Italian Quartet: Put It Right Mr. Smoothie
- 1990: l'Equip' Out: Up!
- 1995: British Saxophone Quartet: Early October
- 1995: Anglo Italian Quartet: Twice Upon A Time
- 2002: Soft Works: Abracadabra
- 2003: Soft Mountain: Soft Mountain
- 2004: Soft Bounds: Live at Le Triton
- 2005: Soft Machine Legacy: Live in Zaandam
- 2006: Soft Machine Legacy: Soft Machine Legacy
Guest Appearances (Playing on Other Artists' Albums)
- 1969: Julie Driscoll: 69
- 1970: Keith Tippett: You Are Here... I Am There
- 1970: Kevin Ayers: BBC Sessions 1970-1976
- 1970: Robert Wyatt: The End of an Ear
- 1971: Keith Tippett: Dedicated To You, But You Weren't Listening
- 1971: Heads Hands & Feet: Heads Hands & Feet
- 1971: Reg King: Reg King
- 1972: Mike Hugg: Somewhere
- 1973: Alexis Korner: Alexis Korner
- 1973: Mike Hugg: Stress & Strain
- 1974: Hugh Hopper: Monster Band
- 1975: Brotherhood of Breath: Bremen to Bridgwater
- 1975: Dudu Pukwana: Diamond Express
- 1975: Julie Tippetts: Sunset Glow
- 1976: Hugh Hopper: Hoppertunity Box
- 1976: Intercontinental Express: London
- 1978: Keith Tippett: Frames
- 1978: Carla Bley Band: European Tour 1977
- 1979: John Stevens Dance Orchestra: A Luta Continua
- 1981: National Health: DS Al Coda
- 1984: Keith Tippett: A Loose Kite in a Gentle Wind...
- 1985: Phil Miller: Cutting Both Ways
- 1985: Harry Beckett: Pictures of You
- 1987: Dennis Gonzalez Dallas-London Sextet: Catechism
- 1988: Phil Miller: Split Seconds
- 1991: Joe Gallivan's Soldiers of the Road: Innocence
- 1994: John Greaves: Songs
- 1996: MASHU: Elephants in your head?
- 1999: Roswell Rudd: Broad Strokes
- 2003: Psychic Warrior: Psychic Warrior
- 2003: Carol Grimes: Mother
- 2003: Hugh Hopper: Jazzloops
- 2003: In Cahoots: All That
- 2005: The Wrong Object featuring Elton Dean: The Unbelievable Truth
See also
In Spanish: Elton Dean para niños
