In Cahoots was a

Canterbury scene The Canterbury scene (or Canterbury sound) is a musical scene that originated in the city of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Associated with progressive rock, the term describes a loosely-defined, improvisation ...

band led by guitarist

Phil Miller Philip Paul Miller (22 January 1949 – 18 October 2017) was an English progressive rock/jazz guitarist and a central part of the Canterbury scene. He was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is ...

, their main composer.

History

The band was formed in November 1982 by Miller with

Pip Pyle Phillip "Pip" Pyle (4 April 1950 – 28 August 2006) was an English-born drummer from Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, who later resided in France. He is best known for his work in the Canterbury scene bands Gong, Hatfield and the North ...

(drums), Richard Sinclair (bass) and

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 Soft Mach ...

(

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

), as the Phil Miller Quartet. It was expanded to a quintet and given its definitive name when Peter Lemer (keyboards) joined in early 1983. Miller and Pyle had been working together in National Health and had been in Hatfield and the North with Sinclair before that, while Pyle and Dean were longstanding collaborators too, recently having worked together in the Weightwatchers (with pianist

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 contemporar ...

) and Soft Heap. Early in 1985,

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 i ...

replaced Sinclair. The band appeared on Miller's first solo album, ''Cutting Both Ways'' (released 1987). In 1987, Steve Franklin replaced Lemer, and in 1988 Fred Baker replaced Hopper. This line-up appeared on Miller's solo album ''Split Seconds'', while ''In Cahoots Live 86-89'' was released in 1989 (released under the name Phil Miller/In Cahoots like all their albums). In 1990, Franklin left and the band was joined by Jim Dvorak on

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

. Baker and Lemer appeared on Miller's ''Digging In'' (1991), which also had programmed drums by Pip Pyle. In 1991, Miller and Pyle were reunited with Hopper in

Short Wave Shortwave radio is radio transmission using radio frequencies in the shortwave bands (SW). There is no official definition of the band range, but it always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (app ...

. In Cahoots continued with a Japanese tour, including Lemer, documented on ''Live in Japan'' (1993). The next studio effort, ''Recent Discoveries'', was recorded in 1993. Lemer rejoined the band in 1995 and they recorded ''Parallel'' (1996) and ''Out of the Blue'' (2001), which saw

Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Caravan (trail ...

guitarist Doug Boyle sitting in on two tracks (he also took part in a brief European tour that year). In 2002, Mark Fletcher replaced Pyle and the line-up of Miller, Fletcher, Dean, Dvorak, Baker and Lemer released ''All That'' in 2003. In 2004, Dean and Dvorak left and, since then, the brass section consists of Simon Picard on tenor sax, Simon Finch on trumpet, and occasionally Gail Brand on trombone. Former Short Wave collaborator

Didier Malherbe Didier Malherbe (born 22 January 1943) is a French jazz, rock, and world music musician and poet. He is a member of the bands Gong and Hadouk. He plays the saxophone, flute, alto clarinet, ocarina, Laotian Khen, Bawu flute, Hulusi, and ma ...

, however, was the featured saxophonist on Miller's latest effort, 2006's ''Conspiracy Theories'', which also included guest spots by Richard Sinclair, Dave Stewart and Doug Boyle.

Discography

* 1991: ''Live 86-89'' (Mantra Records) * 1993: ''Live In Japan'' (Crescent Discs) * 1994: ''Recent Discoveries'' (Crescent Discs) * 1996: ''Parallel'' (Crescent Discs) * 2001: ''Out Of The Blue'' (Crescent Discs) * 2003: ''All That'' ( Cuneiform Records) * 2007: ''Conspiracy Theories'' (Crescent Discs) * 2011: ''Mind Over Matter'' (Crescent Discs)

Filmography

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

Sources

*
Calyx - the Canterbury scene website
{{Authority control Canterbury scene British jazz fusion ensembles English progressive rock groups English jazz ensembles Musical groups established in 1982 1982 establishments in England