East of Eden originated in Bristol in 1967 from non-rock roots and presented a mix of Jazz-Fusion, Prog and World Music with some experimental avant-garde bits tossed in for good measure.
Moving to London in 1968, they took on ex-Graham Bond bass player Steve York (later with Vinegar Joe) and drummer Dave Dufort and signed with Decca’s ‘underground’ label Deram and found a college audience.
Their rousing set-closer Jig-A-Jig drew them a new audience when it was released as a single and charted unexpectedly.
The band split up in 1978 with no original members left. Multi-instrumentalist Dave Arbus reunited with fellow founding members Ron Caines and Geoff Nicholson to record 1997’s Kalipse and further reunions took place intermittently.
Dave Arbus
Violin, flute, saxophone, trumpet
Ron Caines
Saxophone, piano, vocals
Geoff Nicholson
Guitar, harp, vocals
Dave Dufort
Drums
Steve York
Bass
Andy Sneddon
Bass
Geoff Britton
Drums
Al Read
Vocals
Jeff Allen
Drums
David Jack
Bass, vocals
Don Weller
Saxophone
Mike Price
Bass
Stuart Rossister
Drums
Terry Brace
Bass