Gilgamesh

Emerging on the edges of the storied Canterbury scene, Gilgamesh functioned as a perceptive younger counterpart to Hatfield and the North while delivering understated progressive rock marked by pronounced jazz fusion tendencies. Amanda Parsons supplied her clear backing vocals to both bands. Keyboardist Alan Gowen used the group to dissolve boundaries between composed and improvised material, foregrounding texture and atmosphere. After issuing a single album the ensemble disbanded, sending Gowen into a succession of other Canterbury-linked ventures.

He entered National Health in 1978 and soon revived Gilgamesh to record the reunion album Another Fine Tune You've Got Me Into, which spotlighted legendary Soft Machine bassist Hugh Hopper. Additional collaborations with Hopper produced several further releases, among them Two Rainbows Daily. Leukemia took Gowen’s life in 1982; National Health commemorated him on their third album, D.S. al Coda, which presented previously unissued Gowen compositions. Those pieces finally appeared on the 2001 Cuneiform CD Playtime. Cuneiform also issued the 2000 Gilgamesh archival set Arriving Twice, drawn from unreleased recordings by three distinct lineups active between 1973 and 1975. Gilgamesh drummer Trevor Tomkins died on September 9, 2022 at the age of 81.