Isotope was a British

jazz rock 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, fronted by the guitarist

Gary Boyle Gary Winston Boyle (born 24 November 1941) is a British jazz fusion guitarist. Biography Boyle was born in Patna, Bihar, India, on 24 November 1941. He attended the Leeds College of Music in the early 1960s and then joined the folk-rock band Ecl ...

. Boyle founded the band in June 1972 and a first album, ''Isotope'', was largely composed by their keyboardist Brian Miller.

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 ...

played bass and Nigel Morris played drums. Clyne and Miller left in 1974, however, and were replaced by

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 ...

and Laurence Scott (born 7 February 1946) respectively. After touring, this new line-up recorded the band's second album, ''Illusion''. In late 1974, the band appeared on film on

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

's ''

The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. ...

'', playing "Spanish Sun" from the album. Further touring followed and there were various personnel changes. ''Deep End'' was recorded in 1976 with two keyboardists; Zoe Kronberger and Frank Roberts. Hopper played on one track, but the bass was otherwise played by Dan K. Brown.

Morris Pert Morris David Brough Pert (8 September 1947 – 27 April 2010) was a Scottish composer, drummer/percussionist, and pianist who composed in the fields of both contemporary classical and jazz-rock music. His compositions include three symphonies, p ...

also played percussion. Boyle subsequently focused on a solo career. The band also appeared on a 2004 nine-track, 48-minute compilation CD ''Live at the BBC'', issued by Eclectic Records / Hux Records, presenting material from three BBC sessions.

Discography

* ''Isotope'' (Gull, 1974) * ''Illusion'' (Gull, 1974) * ''Deep End'' (Gull, 1975) * ''Live at the BBC'' (Hux, 2004) * ''Golden Section'' (Cuneiform, 2008)

References

External links

Isotope at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isotope Canterbury scene British jazz-rock groups British jazz ensembles