Colosseum & Soft Machine in Southampton

Colosseum are a British jazz-rock band formed in London in 1968 by drummer Jon Hiseman. Their music pairs rock songwriting with jazz improvisation and progressive arrangements, heard on albums including Those Who Are About to Die Salute You, Valentyne Suite and Daughter of Time, and in songs such as “Walking in the Park.” Colosseum recorded their 1971 album Colosseum Live at Manchester University and the Big Apple in Brighton, preserving the extended performances that shaped their concerts. The classic lineup reunited for shows in 1994, including a filmed performance in Cologne.

Soft Machine are an English band formed in Canterbury in 1966 by Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen and Mike Ratledge. Emerging from the Canterbury scene, they moved from psychedelic rock toward largely instrumental jazz-rock and extended improvisation. Their central recordings include Volume Two, Third, Fourth and Bundles, while “Moon in June” remains one of their best-known compositions. In 1968, Soft Machine toured North America supporting the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Two years later they performed at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall, bringing their long-form jazz-rock to a concert-hall setting. In 1974, the band performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, a concert later released as Switzerland 1974.