Gilgamesh (1972–1975, 1977–1978) were a

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, ...

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

band in the 1970s led by keyboardist

Alan Gowen Alan Gowen (19 August 1947 – 17 May 1981) was an English fusion/progressive rock keyboardist, best known for his work in Gilgamesh and National Health. History Gowen was born in North Hampstead, northwest London. He joined Assagai in 1971 ...

, part of the

Canterbury scene The Canterbury scene (or Canterbury sound) was a musical scene centred on the town of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Associated with progressive rock, the term describes a loosely-defined, improvisational styl ...

History

The original basis of Gilgamesh was keyboardist

and drummer Mike Travis, the two working together on a band project with guitarist Rick Morcombe. The original Gilgamesh line-up consisted of Gowen, Travis, Morcombe,

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 ...

and

Alan Wakeman Alan Wakeman (born 13 October 1947) is an English saxophonist who was a member of Soft Machine during 1976, appearing on the album '' Softs''. He is a cousin of the keyboard player Rick Wakeman. Career Wakeman started on the clarinet at age ...

on saxophone. The band's line-up took a while to stabilise with, for example,

Richard Sinclair Richard Stephen Sinclair (born 6 June 1948) is an English progressive rock bassist, guitarist, and vocalist who has been a member of several bands of the Canterbury scene. Biography Born in Canterbury, England, both his father (Dick Sinclair) ...

deputising for Clyne on their debut performance in January 1973; soon afterwards it settled on the quartet of Gowen, Travis,

Phil Lee Phillip Robert Lee (born 8 April 1943, London, England) is an English jazz guitarist. Lee studied guitar with Ike Isaacs as a teenager and was a member of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, including for their performance at the 1960 Antibes Jaz ...

on guitar (recommended by Travis) and Neil Murray on bass. Regular gigs followed throughout 1973, including two special performances co-headlining with

Hatfield and the North Hatfield and the North were an experimental Canterbury scene rock band that lasted from October 1972 to June 1975, with some reunions thereafter. Career In mid 1972 the band grew out of a line-up of ex-members of blues/jazz/rock band Del ...

which included a "double-quartet" set consisting of a 40-minute composition by Gowen. A

demo tape A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...

was also recorded for gig- and contract-hunting purposes. In late 1973, Murray was replaced by Steve Cook but gigs subsequently became ever sparser, despite a series of radio sessions for the BBC's jazz programmes. For one of those the quartet were augmented with a second keyboard player,

Peter Lemer Peter Naphtali Lemer (born 14 June 1942) is an English jazz musician. He worked with the Pete Lemer Quintet, Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Annette Peacock, Harry Beckett, Gilgamesh, Baker Gurvitz Army, Seventh Wave, Harry Beckett's Joy Unlimited, ...

. In 1975 Gilgamesh finally secured a contract with Virgin's subsidiary label

Caroline Records Caroline Records is a record label originally founded in 1973. Initially founded in the United Kingdom to showcase British progressive rock groups, the label ceased releasing titles in 1976, and then re-emerged in the United States in 1986. ...

, and recorded their debut album in downtime at the Virgin-owned

Manor Studio The Manor Studio (a.k.a. The Manor) was a recording studio in the manor house at the village of Shipton-on-Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England, north of the city of Oxford. Overview The Manor and its outbuildings are listed Grade II on the Nati ...

, with Hatfield's Dave Stewart acting as co-producer. Gowen and Stewart had become friends over the previous months and discussed a possible collaboration, but Stewart was hesitant about being in two bands simultaneously. When Hatfield and the North finally broke up in mid-1975, Stewart joined Gilgamesh as auxiliary member, playing one gig and a couple of radio sessions with the group. Meanwhile, plans were laid for the Stewart-Gowen collaboration, which eventually materialised as

National Health National Health were an English progressive rock band associated with the Canterbury scene. Founded in 1975, the band featured members of keyboardist Dave Stewart's band Hatfield and the North and Alan Gowen's band Gilgamesh, including guita ...

and also (briefly) included Gilgamesh guitarist Phil Lee. Gilgamesh themselves ceased operations in late 1975 following the cancellation of a proposed Scottish tour. After leaving National Health, in 1977 Gowen reformed Gilgamesh as a rehearsal-oriented unit with Murray, Lee and drummer

Trevor Tomkins Trevor Ramsey Tomkins (12 May 1941 – 9 September 2022) was a British jazz drummer best known for his work in a number of British bands in the 1970s, including Gilgamesh. Biography Tomkins was born in London and studied music at the Guildhall ...

(a longtime collaborator of Lee's) for occasional rehearsals. A second album was recorded in June 1978, ''Another Fine Tune You've Got Me Into'' (released 1979 on

Charly Records Charly Records is a British record label that specialises in reissued material. Among the labels whose original releases are reissued by Charly are Vee-Jay, Sun, Immediate, BYG, Tomato, and Fania. History Charly Records was founded in Franc ...

), with Gowen, Lee, Tomkins and bassist

Hugh Hopper Hugh Colin Hopper (29 April 1945 – 7 June 2009) was a British progressive rock and jazz fusion bass guitarist. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and other bands. Biography Early career Starting in ...

, but the band had no further existence. Gowen died a few years later in 1981. In 2000

Cuneiform Records Cuneiform Records is a record label in Silver Spring, Maryland. Founded in 1984, the label releases an mixture of musical styles, all with a Rock in Opposition aesthetic, including progressive jazz, jazz fusion, the Canterbury scene, and electr ...

released archive recordings of the band under the name ''Arriving Twice''. It consists of the 1973 demo as well as two radio sessions from 1974–75. It features variously Gowen, Lee, Travis, Murray, Cook, Clyne and Lemer, and includes several previously unheard compositions, notably "Extract", from the unrecorded Gilgamesh/Hatfield and the North double-quartet piece.

Discography

Filmography

* 2015: '' Romantic Warriors III: Canterbury Tales'' (DVD)

References

External links

Gilgamesh FAQ at Calyx
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilgamesh Canterbury scene Jazz fusion ensembles Musical groups established in 1972 Musical groups disestablished in 1978 1972 establishments in the United Kingdom 1978 disestablishments in the United Kingdom