Jazz Articles about John Surman

John Surman: Way Back When

by Glenn Astarita
June 17, 2005

I played this disc before reading the press kit and liners, and was wondering why it took so long for a recording of strikingly good sound quality to be reissued 35 years after the fact. And of course, British saxophonist/composer John Surman's praiseworthy legacy is well-documented. But after finally perusing the press release, it all made sense: This was a jam session recorded prior to Surman's exit from London, signaling in the advent of the Trio, featuring bassist Barre Phillips ...

John Surman: Way Back When

by AAJ Staff
June 4, 2005

Most listeners know John Surman for his spacious baritone and soprano saxophone work on around thirty ECM releases, dating back to his appearance on Barre Phillips' Mountainscapes (1976) and his own label debut, Upon Reflection (1979). Surman's saxophone playing tends to be open, articulate, and lyrical, and he's usually at his strongest in acoustic settings. Check out John Abercrombie's quartet record November (1993) for an excellent sample.

The recently discovered Way Back When dates back to 1969, right before Surman ...

John Surman: Way Back When

by Jerry D'Souza
June 2, 2005

Britain in the sixties was a musical maelstrom. Pop music was witnessing some exciting changes, and so was jazz. While American musicians were influential during this period, a large number of British musicians were beginning to cast their own voices and give the music new extensions in ideas and approaches. John Surman was one of them.

Surman is a multi-instrumentalist who is particular adept on the baritone and soprano saxophones, both of which are his instruments on this ...

John Surman: Way Back When

by John Kelman
May 30, 2005

Musical developments rarely occur in a vacuum. While many look to Miles Davis and his associates in the late '60s as the progenitors of jazz-rock fusion, the truth is that a wide range of artists were exploring the juncture of these two styles, including New Zealander Mike Nock and his group Fourth Way, and American vibraphonist Mike Mainieri with albums including Journey Through an Electric Tube and White Elephant. In Britain, trumpeter Ian Carr's Nucleus and Soft Machine would merge ...

John Surman: Rarum XIII: Selected Recordings

by Norman Weinstein
March 7, 2004

Here is a much needed career retrospective of John Surman, arguably the most impressive baritone saxophonist in the post-Mulligan era. ECM continues to treat its stars honorably by having them choose their own high points from their back catalog, and no one can fault Surman for being wildly eclectic. The problem is: the stellar horn man can be as devastatingly dull when overdubbing himself as he is dazzling in a band context. Five of the thirteen selections present ...

John Surman: Free and Equal

by AAJ Staff
May 1, 2003

Back in 1948, when John Surman was only four years old, the United Nations announced the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - which, among other things, proclaimed all humans to be “free and equal." Surman takes this document and this idea as inspiration for his new collaboration with Jack DeJohnette and the ten-piece London Brass.

It's ironic, however, that the other concept of “free" (as in “free jazz") is not practiced here; neither is “equal" (in its usual ...

John Surman: Free and Equal

by Andrey Henkin
March 11, 2003

ECM's jazz releases have attempted to bridge the gap between the refinement of classical music and the spontaneity of improvisation. Some efforts have been more successful than others, particularly when undertaken by musicians who have tried to rectify these concepts within their own musical careers. John Surman is such a musician, adding a long affiliation with big band music to the mix. Since the '60s, Surman has been a fixture in large format groups like the orchestras of Mike Gibbs, ...