Keyboardist/composer Mike Ratledge was the longest-serving member of Canterbury scene pioneers Soft Machine, beginning with the group's 1966 inception as a psychedelic pop four-piece. He departed a decade later -- as the band's last remaining original member -- with the Softs having permuted into jazz-rockers bearing little resemblance to their original incarnation. Ratledge's fuzz organ and legato soloing became Canterbury hallmarks, and his inventive compositions, notably "Slightly All the Time" and "Out-Bloody-Rageous" on 1970's Third and "Teeth" on 1971's Fourth, combined experimental rock with modal jazz and touches of hypnotic minimalism in an utterly unique hybrid. Bundles, released in 1975, was the Softs' last album featuring Ratledge as a full-fledged bandmember; he was a "guest" on 1976's Softs and worked with Karl Jenkins on various TV and film projects in later years. ~ Dave Lynch