Centipede were an English

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

with more than 50 members, organized and led by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Keith Tippett Keith Graham Tippetts (25 August 1947 – 14 June 2020), known professionally as Keith Tippett, was a British jazz pianist and composer. According to AllMusic, Tippett's career "..spanned jazz-rock, progressive rock, improvised and contemporary ...

. Formed in 1970, it brought together much of a generation of young British jazz and rock musicians from a number of bands, including

Soft Machine Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–196 ...

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

Nucleus Nucleus ( : nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: *Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom *Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucle ...

and Blossom Toes. Centipede performed several concerts in England, toured France, and recorded a double album, ''

Septober Energy ''Septober Energy'' is the only album of the jazz/progressive rock big band Centipede. Produced by Robert Fripp under the musical direction of Keith Tippett, it was originally released 1971 in the UK as a double LP, and 1974 in the US with a dif ...

'' (produced by

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...

), before disbanding at the end of 1971. They reformed briefly in 1975 to play at a few French jazz festivals.

History

Centipede was formed by

in 1970 to perform an extended composition, ''Septober Energy'', that he had been working on. The members were drawn from his own band at the time, The Keith Tippett Group; several British progressive rock, jazz-rock and avant-garde jazz groups, including

(

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...

Elton Dean Elton Dean (28 October 1945 – 8 February 2006) was an English jazz musician who performed on alto saxophone, saxello (a variant of the soprano saxophone) and occasionally keyboards. Part of the Canterbury scene, he featured in, among oth ...

, Nick Evans,

Mark Charig Mark Charig (born 22 February 1944 in London) is a British trumpeter and cornetist. He was particularly active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when he played in settings as diverse as Long John Baldry's group, Bluesology, Soft Machine, and ...

(

Karl Jenkins Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins (born 17 February 1944) is a Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer. His best known works include the song " Adiemus" and the ''Adiemus'' album series; '' Palladio''; ''The Armed Man''; and his ''Requiem''. J ...

Ian Carr Ian Carr (21 April 1933 – 25 February 2009) was a Scottish jazz musician, composer, writer, and educator. Carr performed and recorded with the Rendell-Carr quintet and jazz-fusion band Nucleus, and was an associate professor at the Guildhall ...

, Brian Smith,

Jeff Clyne Jeffrey Ovid Clyne (29 January 1937 – 16 November 2009) was a British jazz bassist (playing both bass guitar and double bass). He worked with Tubby Hayes and Ronnie Scott in their group the Jazz Couriers for a year from 1958, and was part ...

Roy Babbington Roy Babbington (born 8 July 1940 in Kempston, Bedfordshire, England) is a rock and jazz bassist. He became well known for being a member of the Canterbury scene progressive rock band Soft Machine. Biography Babbington started his musical career ...

, Bryan Spring,

John Stanley Marshall John Stanley Marshall (born 28 August 1941) is an English drummer and founding member of the jazz rock band Nucleus. From 1972 to 1978, he was the drummer for Soft Machine, replacing Phil Howard when he joined. Marshall was born in Isleworth, ...

) and

(

Peter Sinfield Peter John Sinfield (born 27 December 1943) is an English poet and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and former lyricist of King Crimson, whose debut album '' In the Court of the Crimson King'' is considered one of the first and mo ...

, Ian McDonald,

Boz Burrell Raymond "Boz" Burrell (1 August 1946 – 21 September 2006) was an English musician. Originally a vocalist and guitarist, Burrell is best known for his singing with King Crimson (1971–1972) and bass playing in Bad Company (1973–1982, 1998� ...

); and students of the London School of Music. ''Septober Energy'' consisted of four

movements Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

, or "concepts", that the band

improvised Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

around. It was first performed by the band live at the Lyceum Theatre in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 15 November 1970. Centipede toured

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in November 1970, giving two "memorable performances" at the Alhambra Theatre in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. They also played for the

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

Arts Council in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, at the Lanchester Arts Festival and the

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

Student Union. Centipede's concerts attracted "uneven reviews", with some critics calling Tippett's music "long and leaden", and others praising it as a "bold extension" of what Tippett and his band were already doing. In April 1971, Neon Records, a British sub-label of

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

in the United States, signed up Tippett and Centipede, and Centipede recorded Tippett's composition on a double album, ''

'', in June that year.

produced the album and it was released in October 1971 in the United Kingdom only. Tippett had featured prominently on three of King Crimson's albums (''

In the Wake of Poseidon ''In the Wake of Poseidon'' is the second studio album by English progressive rock group King Crimson, released in May 1970 by Island Records in Europe, Atlantic Records in the United States, Philips Records in Australia, and Vertigo Records in ...

'', ''

Lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

'' and ''

Islands An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

'') and Fripp had even invited Tippett to join the band (he declined). While some other Crimson members featured on ''Septober Energy'', Fripp, who had performed live with Centipede, did not as he was too busy with his production duties. Centipede, now reduced in size for economic reasons, gave two performances in London to promote the album, one at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

in October 1971, and the other at the

Rainbow Theatre The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as a cinema. It later became a music venue. Today, the building is used by the Universa ...

in December 1971. But the album was not generally well received by critics and as no further engagements were forthcoming, Centipede disbanded at the end of 1971. In 1974 RCA issued ''Septober Energy'' in the United States, hoping to cash in on Fripp's name as the producer, but it failed, particularly because Centipede did not exist to promote the album with performances. The band did, however, reform briefly in October 1975, with

David Cross David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and writer known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series ''Mr. Show'' (1995–1998), and his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox/Netflix sitcom ...

from King Crimson, to perform at several French jazz festivals. Tippett said in a January 2003 interview that in 1970 the Centipede project was "quite innocent" and that "no-one was doing it for the money". Their debut performance at the Lyceum was a benefit concert for the Jazz Centre Society. Tippett said that at the time there was considerable interest in the project, and that while the initial performance consisted of 50 musicians, "there could have been 100". Tippett later instigated The Ark, another large jazz ensemble that recorded the album ''Frames (Music For An Imaginary Film)'' for

Ogun Records Ogun Records is a jazz record label created in London in 1973 by South African expatriate bassist Harry Miller, his wife Hazel Miller, and sound engineer Keith Beal. They recorded British avant-garde jazz musicians Keith Tippett, Mike Osborne ...

in 1978.

Recordings

*''

'' (1971, 2 LPs, Neon Records)

Members

The members below are the personnel that appeared on Centipede's album, ''

''. ;Violins *Wendy Treacher *Jihn Trussler *Roddy Skeping *

Wilf Gibson Wilfred Gibson (28 February 1942 — 21 October 2014) was an English violinist, session musician, and early member of the Electric Light Orchestra. Early life Wilfred Gibson was born on 28 February 1942 in Dilston, Northumberland. He received ...

(lead) *Carol Slater *Louise Jopling *Garth Morton *Channa Salononson *Steve Rowlandson *Mica Gomberti *Colin Kitching *Philip Saudek *Esther Burgi ;Cellos *Michael Hurwitz *Timothy Kramer *Suki Towb * John Rees-Jones *Katherine Thulborn *Catherine Finnis ;Trumpets *Peter Parkes *Mick Collins *

(doubling flugelhorn) *

Mongezi Feza Mongezi Feza (11 May 1945 – 14 December 1975) was a South African jazz trumpeter and flautist. Biography Feza was born in Queenstown, Cape Province, Union of South Africa, into a family of musicians, His elder brother, Sandi Feza, who ...

(pocket cornet) *

(cornet) ;Alto saxophones *

(doubling saxello) *Jan Steele (doubling flute) * Ian McDonald *

Dudu Pukwana Mthutuzeli Dudu Pukwana (18 July 1938 – 30 June 1990) was a South African saxophonist, composer and pianist (although not known for his piano playing). Early years in South Africa Dudu Pukwana was born in Walmer Township, Port Elizabeth, S ...

;Tenor saxophones *

Larry Stabbins Larry Stabbins (born 9 September 1949 in Bristol) is a British jazz saxophonist, flutist and composer. Biography Larry Stabbins learned clarinet at school from the age of eight, when his musical idol was Acker Bilk. He started playing saxophone a ...

Gary Windo Gary Windo (7 November 1941, in Brighton, England – 25 July 1992, in New York City) was an English jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Windo came from a musical family in England. By age six he took up drums and accordion, then guitar at twelve and ...

* Brian Smith *

Alan Skidmore Alan Richard James Skidmore (born 21 April 1942) is an English jazz tenor saxophonist, and the son of saxophonist Jimmy Skidmore. Career He was born in London, England. Skidmore began his professional career in his teens, and early in his care ...

;Baritone saxophones *Dave White (doubling clarinet) *

(doubling oboe) *

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

(bass saxophone, doubling soprano) ;Trombones * Nick Evans *Dave Amis *Dave Perrottet * Paul Rutherford ;Drums *

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...

(and all percussion) *Tony Fennell *

;Vocalists * Maggie Nichols *

Julie Tippetts Julie Driscoll Tippetts (born 8 June 1947) is an English singer and actress. Career Driscoll is known for her 1960s versions of Bob Dylan and Rick Danko's "This Wheel's on Fire", and Donovan's " Season of the Witch", both with Brian Auger and ...

Mike Patto Mike Patto (born Michael Thomas McCarthy, 22 September 1942 – 4 March 1979) was an English musician, who was primarily notable as lead singer for Spooky Tooth, Patto and Boxer. Life and career Patto was born in Cirencester, England, and fi ...

Zoot Money George Bruno Money (born 17 July 1942) is an English vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader. He is best known for his playing of the Hammond organ and association with his Big Roll Band. Inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Charles, he was drawn ...

;Basses *

(doubling bass guitar) *Gill Lyons * Harry Miller *

* Dave Markee *Brian Belshaw ;Guitar *

Brian Godding Brian Godding (born 19 August 1945, Monmouth, South Wales) is a pop music, pop, rock music, rock and jazz rock guitarist. Reviews Regarding his 1988 solo album ''Slaughter on Shaftesbury Avenue'', Dave Wayne in the ''New Gibraltar Encyclopedia ...

Ollie Halsall Peter John "Ollie" Halsall (14 March 1949 – 29 May 1992) was an English guitarist best known for his role in the Rutles, the bands Timebox, Patto and Boxer, and for his contribution to the music of Kevin Ayers. He is also notable as one of ...

;Piano *

(musical director)

References

External links

*
Collapso – Canterbury Music Family Tree
{{DEFAULTSORT:Centipede 1970 establishments in England 1975 disestablishments in England English progressive rock groups British jazz ensembles Jazz fusion ensembles Canterbury scene Musical groups established in 1970 Musical groups disestablished in 1975