Jazz Articles about John Surman

About John Surman

Album Review

The oud is an ancient short-necked, plucked Arabic instrument. On Thimar, East meets West with oud instrumentalist Anouar Brahem along with jazz masters, saxophonist/bass clarinetist John Surman and bassist Dave Holland. The opener, “Badhra," commences with Surman's light as a feather soprano work while Holland and Brahem successively join the festivities as if they were doing one of those “let's introduce the band" exercises. “Taiwin" leans toward the Arabic end of the spectrum as Holland and Brahem perform Middle Eastern ...

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Album Review

Anouar Brahem: Thimar

Read "Thimar" reviewed by Larry Koenigsberg

by Larry Koenigsberg
January 1, 1999

Once again ECM expands the boundaries of jazz. This brings up the question of whether this music is jazz, and purists would argue that it's not: no blues, no standards, no drums. Why not go all the way and decry the absence of banjo and tuba? The fact is that there are elements of jazz here, including group improvisation, rhythmic propulsion, and two established jazz players, Surman and Holland. But the listener who appreciates this release will be someone who ...