John Etheridge’s Blue Spirits will be performing at a Benefit Concert for the Herne Bay Jazz Festival at the King’s Hall in Herne Bay on 20 April. In this interview, John talks about guitars…Sting…the passing of John Marshall…and starts with his personal connection to this quintessential British seaside resort.
UKJazz News: Are you excited to be coming back to Herne Bay for the Jazz Festival Benefit with Blue Spirits?
John Etheridge: Absolutely. I remember the first time at Herne Bay Pier, just after the lockdowns in 2021. Everything the festival managed to achieve that year, against the grain. It was really nice. In fact, Herne Bay is crucial in my family’s history. My grandparents ran away to Herne Bay to have my dad in 1912, which was quite scandalous at the time.
UKJN: You have toured with Stephane Grappelli, Soft Machine and Blue Spirits for many years… How do you find the flexibility to swap from one role to another?
JE: It’s not something I intended to happen but it works for me. This month, I’ve done a solo tour with Kit Holmes, a Django / Stephane style acoustic set with Chris Garrick, and Bristol Jazz Festival with singer Vimala Rowe. In fact, I’ve been mixing it up since I first auditioned for Stephane Grapelli. I was playing with Soft Machine and Diz Disley asked me to audition for Stephane Grappelli. I was then asked to do the world tour, and had to go to Soft Machine and explain – and they said go ahead. That set me off on this path of doing lots of things. The same thing happened with John Williams. He said, let’s do a duo! And I was like, you’re John Williams, how’s this going to work? But we did it. You fight through the nerves and do it. That’s what I’ve been doing ever since.
They’re all the ‘real’ me, but my heart is in the jazz/rock fusion genre, like the new Blue Spirits album. Seems like we’ve been playing together forever; there was always talk of doing an album, but playing live is the main thing for me. It’s taken us twenty years. This band has existed the longest time in history without recording! And this is really me, I am the leader of Blue Spirits, as well as it being a collaborative creation. I do like getting the balance as both leader and collaborator. Being the leader is a responsibility of a particular kind.
UKJN: Do you put on a different ‘hat’ with contrasting groups?
JE: My mother used to ask “Do you ever take the wrong guitar?”
Playing solo, hot club or accompanying, all have different requirements. I adjust quite quickly – it’s a psychological thing. If I’m the front man, as when I’m playing with Blue Spirits, my job is then to BE the singer as I’m presenting the melody and the song. Maybe that’s why I’ve played in all these different areas. I have difficulty when the improvisational quotient is low. I prefer to react spontaneously to what’s going on. In jazz, you’re meant to have a style which is relentlessly there – always the same. I think that’s great, but it hasn’t been like that for me.
UKJN: What type of guitar do you use?
JE: I don’t take a great barrage of guitars anymore. I used to chop and change – I’d take six guitars – but not now. My main instrument is an electric made by Martyn Booth in Suffolk. I can get a sound out of the Booth that suits any gig, because I’m comfortable with that guitar. My acoustic is a Collings, from Texas – they’re both great instruments. There are two types of guitar players – I’m essentially an electric guitarist, but I play acoustic guitar as well.
UKJN: What sort of amp do you prefer?
JE: I use a Two-Rock Valve Amp, plus a pedal which imitates a ‘65 Fender Deluxe Reverb, to create the sound that everybody used until the early ‘70s. Wes Montgomery would have used something similar. It gives a very good imitation. If you’re someone like Pat Metheny you’re better off on a transistor amp, because it speaks quicker, but a valve amp is particularly good for sustain and timbre and tone.
UKJN: Tell me about that Sting quote “I never wanted to be a star, I wanted to be a respected musician like John Etheridge”
JE: I met Sting in Newcastle in the late ‘70s. I was playing with Soft Machine and there was another band playing called Last Exit. The bass player had a bumblebee t-shirt, that’s why he was called Sting. I had forgotten about that gig, and then I was on tour with Stephane Grappelli and opened up The Guardian, and there was an article on Sting just as the Police were becoming big. I read “I never wanted to be a star, I wanted to be a respected musician like John Etheridge.” I went, what? Have I met this guy? I knew Andy Summers very well (the guitarist in The Police ); I wondered if he had spoken with him. And then later, I did something with Sting, went round his house, and asked about the quote. He said, “You don’t remember, do you? I was in Last Exit, and you were in Soft Machine. But the wheel turns…” They were getting very, very big by then. We did a workshop together apparently too.
UKJN: How are things going with this latest version of Soft Machine? How was it for the band continuing after John Marshall passed away?
JE: John was not well enough to perform, on and off, for a long time. I remember playing with him at Ronnie Scott’s in June 2022. Ronnie’s was like his second home. He was sat there, at 6pm, in the dressing room saying “I can’t do it.” But he got up on stage and played fantastically well, and I thought, “this is it, this is probably the last time with John Marshall.” He lived for another year. I insisted we make another record; he wanted to do it. He managed three of the five days recording ‘Other Doors,’ and that was it – someone I’d worked with since 1975, one of the great drummers of our era, and a very personal loss for me. We are playing at Ronnie’s on 10 April and we are dedicating the show to him.
Now, we’ve finally got Asaf Sirkis and it sounds so fantastic, I’m determined to continue. I like being part of something, to be part of a band that plays democratically, an institution like The Soft Machine. The commitment on stage from everybody is amazing. The longer we can keep it going the better. I guess I’ll be the next one… hopefully not for a bit though!
UKJN: Who are your favourite guitarists? Is there anyone coming up and showing promise?
JE: I’ve heard amazing people coming up. In this country, Rob Luft blew me away. Mike Outram, Mike Walker, John Parricelli, Pete Oxley, and Phil Robson are the guys (now quite venerable themselves!) who came up after the British greats of my era, like Jim Mullen, Louis Stewart, and Dave Cliff. And my list of major influences: Hank Marvin, Django Reinhardt, Charlie Christian (my Dad’s favourite!), Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, John McLaughlin, Allan Holdsworth, John Scofield, Wes Montgomery – the list is endless.
UKJN: Where do you get your enthusiasm?
JE: Playing in a lot of different contexts helps my enthusiasm, definitely. Two types of people retire – session guys and classical musicians. I’m seventy-six and I wouldn’t say I get bored easily. The jazz musicians I know are the most intelligent, quick-witted, high-grade people in the world.
Kai Hoffman is Founder and Director of the Herne Bay Jazz Festival, now in its seventh edition, to be held on 16th, 17th and 18th August, 2024.
Herne Bay Jazz Festival CIC is raising funds in partnership with The Kings Hall, Herne Bay for their non-profit, multi-day seaside music event to be held on 16/17/18 August 2024, bringing the best of UK talent to venues across this beautiful coastal town.
All proceeds from the evening’s show will benefit the 2024 Herne Bay Jazz Festival.
PROGRAMME for 20 April: Herne Bay Jazz Festival Benefit Concert featuring John Etheridge Blue Spirits Trio plus an opening set: Special Guests from the Canterbury scene including Kai Hoffman / Geoff Mason / Francis Knight and more
