John Etheridge

John Michael Glyn Etheridge (born 12 January 1948) Curtain, the drummer for Icarus, set Etheridge up with a flat and offered him a spot in the band after their guitarist left. Though the album sleeve credited Etheridge for all the guitar parts, only one track featured him as the sole guitarist (though he did overdubs on several other tracks).

In 1982, Etheridge played solo concerts in Australia and duo dates with bassist Brian Torff in the US. Between 1988 and 1994, 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, Etheridge 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).

Collaborations 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 Zappanale in 2006; and Soft Machine Legacy, alongside fellow ex-Soft Machine members Hugh Hopper, John Marshall and Elton Dean (the latter replaced 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.

Discography As leader 1994: Ash 2003: Chasing Shadows (Dyad) 2006: Places in Between with John Williams (Sony Classical)

As member With Icarus 1972: Marvel World of Icarus

With Darryl Way's Wolf 1973: Canis Lupus 1973: Saturation Point 1974: Night Music

With Soft Machine 1976: Softs 1977: Triple Echo 1978: Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris 1994: Rubber Riff 2005: British Tour '75 2018: Hidden Details 2023: Other Doors 2026: Thirteen

With Soft Machine Legacy 2005: Live in Zaandam 2006: Soft Machine Legacy 2006: New Morning: The Paris Concert 2007: Steam 2010: Live Adventures 2013: Burden of Proof

With Second Vision 1980: First Steps

Collaborations With Stéphane Grappelli 1978: Tea for Two with Yehudi Menuhin 1980: Strictly for the Birds with Yehudi Menuhin 1981: At the Winery 1983: Live at Carnegie Hall 1988: Menuhin & Grappelli Play "Jealousy" and Other Great Standards with Yehudi Menuhin

With Nigel Kennedy 1996: Kafka 1999: The Kennedy Experience

With others 1992: Obsession Fees, Dick Heckstall-Smith 1992: Hear My Song, John Altman 1993: Invisible Threads, Andy Summers 1995: Two's & Three's, Elton Dean 1996: Secret Island, Theo Travis 1998: Whatever's Best, Danny Thompson 2001: The Music of Frank Zappa - Absolutely Live, Zappatistas 2002: Fairport Unconventional, Fairport Convention 2002: Unhinged Take No. 2, Mark Latimer 2006: Bohemia, Vic Juris 2008: Still Waters, Ric Sanders 2009: The Ridge, Chris Jagger 2015: Space Fusion Odyssey, Nik Turner 2015: Space Ritual Live 2014, Hawkwind 2017: From the Half House, Pye Hastings

Filmography 2014: Jake Thackray and Songs (DVD) 2015: Romantic Warriors III: Canterbury Tales (DVD)