Jazz / Rock, Modern Big Band, Progressive Jazz, Jazz-Rock, Art Rock
Alan Skidmore Soloist, Sax (Tenor)
Benje Stage Manager
Bill Furlong Lighting
Boz Vocals
Brian Belshaw Bass
Brian Godding Soloist, Guitar
Brian Smith Soloist, Sax (Tenor)
Carol Slater Violin
Catherine Finnis Cello
Channa Salononson Violin
Colin Kitching Violin
Dave Amis Trombone, Soloist
Dave Markee Soloist, Bass
Dave Perrottet Trombone
Dave Tilling Stage Manager
David White Clarinet, Soloist, Sax (Baritone)
Dick Whitbread Design
Dudu Pukwana Sax (Alto), Soloist
Elton Dean Soloist, Saxello, Sax (Alto)
Esther Burgi Violin
Garth Morton Violin
Gary Windo Sax (Tenor), Soloist
Harry Miller Bass
Ian Carr Flugelhorn, Trumpet, Soloist
Ian Knight Stage Manager
Ian MacDonald Soloist, Sax (Alto)
Jan Steel Sax (Alto), Flute, Soloist
Jane Gillam Lighting
Jeff Clyne Soloist, Bass
Jill Lyons Bass
John "Buddy" Williams Sax (Bass), Soloist, Sax (Baritone), Sax (Soprano)
John Marshall Piano, Soloist, Percussion, Drums
John Rees Jones Cello
John Trussler Violin
Julie Tippetts Drawing, Vocals
Karl Jenkins Oboe, Soloist, Sax (Baritone)
Katharine Thulborn Cello
Keith Tippett Piano
Ken Ley Photography
Larry Stabbins Soloist, Sax (Tenor)
Louise Jopling Violin
Maggie Nicholls Vocals
Marc Charig Trumpet, Soloist, Cornet
Martin Adelman Cover Photo
Micaela Comberti Violin
Michael Hurwitz Cello
Mick Collins Trumpet
Mike Patto Vocals
Mike Thompson Engineer
Mongezi Feza Cornet (Pocket), Soloist, Trumpet
Nick Bell Lighting
Nick Evans Soloist, Trombone
Paul Rutherford Soloist, Trombone
Pete King & His Orchestra & Chorus Executive Producer
Peter Parkes Trumpet
Philip Saudek Violin
Robert Fripp Producer
Robert Wyatt Original Liner Notes, Soloist, Drums
Rod Bell Lighting
Rod Skeaping Violin
Rod Yallop Stage Manager
Roy Babbington Guitar (Bass), Bass, Soloist
Steve Rowlandson Violin
Suki Towb Cello
Timothy Kramer Cello
Tom Callaghan Liner Notes
Tony Fennell Drums, Soloist
Vick Stage Manager
Wendy Treacher Violin
Wilfred Gibson Lead, Soloist, Violin
Zoot Money Vocals
Centipede
Active Decade: '70s
Born: 1970
Died: 1971
Genre: Rock, Jazz
Styles: Art Rock, Jazz-Rock, Modern Big Band, Progressive Jazz
Centipede was a 50-piece jazz-rock orchestra assembled late in 1970 by pianist Keith Tippett (b. 1947) in order to perform his large-scale conceptual work "Septober Energy." Made up of a core of musicians drawn from Tippett's own band and the orbit of the Soft Machine and King Crimson, and augmented by various established professional players (including solid jazz men like Alan Skidmore) and student musicians, the group didn't sound quite like anything else to come out of the progressive rock boom.
Centipede gave live performances for the Jazz Center Society "Sigma" Organization of Bordeaux in France, the Lanchester Arts Festival, the Bristol University Student Union, and the Rotterdam Arts Council, garnering uneven reviews in the process. Some critics found the Tippett's music to be long and leaden, others saw it as a bold extension of the kind of free-form experimentation that Tippett and his band were already engaged in on a smaller scale -- Centipede merely added saxes, trumpets, and violins to the mix.
It must've impressed somebody at RCA's British arm, however, where -- apparently eager to get in on the progressive rock boom sweeping England's college campuses -- they signed Tippett and Centipede to a contract in the spring of 1971. At the time, he was neck-deep in the workings of King Crimson, having participated in the recording of three LPs by the band (In the Wake of Poseidon, Lizard, Islands), and had even been invited into the group formally, which he declined. Tippett did get Robert Fripp to produce the Septober Energy album. which was recorded that June in Wessex. Also on hand was ex-Crimson saxman Ian MacDonald on alto, alongside Elton Dean, while Crimson's Boz Burrell contributed vocals (along with Julie Tippett, Mike Patto, Zoot Money, and Maggie Nicols.
The resulting two-LP set came out as a British-only release in 1971, to indifferent or negative reviews. Some of this seemed justified by the structure of the work Septober Energy, which seemed to deliberately antagonize listeners with a long, meandering opening section that appeared to go nowhere. There was also some disappointment among Crimson fans (who comprised a major part of the purchasers) that Fripp, in the process of serving as ringmaster of this 50-piece circus, never got to play any guitar on the album, as had been his intent. Centipede broke up in 1971, the album having failed to garner the group any further engagements.
In 1974, American RCA, apparently hoping to elicit sales based on Fripp's presence as producer (and the very high visibility that a newer incarnation of King Crimson had gained in the previous year), issued Septober Energy in the United States. The results were disastrous, especially without a group (which had long since broken up) or even a group organizer to explain the project, for the album was far more jazz-oriented than King Crimson's brand of electric progressive rock. The noisy domestic pressings (and warped Dynaflex plastic) of the U.S. release didn't enhance the experience of hearing this music.
In 1999, What Disc re-released the album as a double-CD in Europe, as part of a series of Robert Wyatt-related reissues.
---Bruce Eder, All Music Guide |
