Soft Works

Abracadabra in Osaka Soft Works

Elton Dean - Saxello, Alto Sax, Fender Rhodes

Allan Holdsworth - Guitar

Hugh Hopper - Bass Guitar

John Marshall - Drums

Recorded live in Osaka, August 11, 2003. (8 panels eco-wallet with 20 pages booklet).

Additional notes by Leonardo Pavkovic, to the liner notes by Chris Hoard:

Perhaps if there were a "progressive mantra," it might be embodied by my drive and determination to always keep moving forward and looking ahead. That said, a person cannot gauge progress without reflecting back on the road traveled which carried him to a given point in life. The music on this album brings back a lot of fond memories, but it goes far deeper than that: the band, itself, was a result of some of my earliest efforts in the music industry; efforts which served as an impetus for carrying the entire 'MoonJune' concept forward.

I first met Elton Dean back in the mid '80's, while still residing in Italy. Elton and I reconnected again, a decade-and-a-half or so later, via two mutual friends on the first day of the new millennium: January 1, 2000. Had Elton's and my paths not again crossed, I seriously doubt that not only would 'Soft Works' never have materialized, but more than likely I wouldn't have started MoonJune Records. It seemed like a dream, at the time: getting to assist and produce the very musical artists I had long idolized. Not long after the two of us met with John Marshall and Hugh Hopper (whom I had the privilege of meeting, 5 or 6 years earlier), and corporately began dreaming about a potential Soft Machine reunion!

The dream continued the following year, when LA jazz / rock journalist, Ken Kubernik, introduced me to another of my heroes: legendary guitar icon, Allan Holdsworth. Knowing his previous history with the band, I naturally viewed Allan as the missing piece to the Soft Machine reunion puzzle. I told him of our (Elton, John, Hugh and myself) ambitions and offered him the position as the band's fourth member -- which he promptly accepted. "Abracadabra" (up until now, the lone release by this exquisite lineup) was the first project I ever produced.

Although sadly short lived, the creation of this progressive supergroup fundamentally changed my entire existence. Despite the lone studio album and only a small handful of live performances, the progressive genre is graced by our foresight to have recorded several of these shows. "Abracadabra In Osaka" represents the best of these recordings: serving as a living testimony of true musical icons -- the group which unknowingly became the seed which would sprout, grow and blossom into MoonJune Records and MoonJune Music.