Results for "John Surman"

John Surman

Born: August 30, 1944

Born in Tavistock, Devon in 1944, composer/multi-instrumentalist John Surman is one of the key figures in a generation of European musicians who have crucially expanded the international horizons of jazz during the past thirty years or so. Long acknowledged as an improviser of world class, Surman has also composed a body of work which extends far beyond the normal range of the jazz repertoire. Already, by the late 60s, it was clear that Surman was a phenomenon. He started out as a teenager playing the music of fellow Devonian Mike Westbrook, and then amazed the London establishment with displays of extravagant instrumental proficiency combined with a passionate, rumbustious imagination. As a soloist, Surman's early career took shape in the melting pot that produced a number of fine British musicians during the 60s

Large Jazz Ensembles, Past And Present

by Jerome Wilson
July 1, 2022

This show on jazz orchestras and big bands begins and ends with Duke Ellington. In between, it includes Michael Gibbs, Count Basie, the Either/Orchestra, Chico O'Farrill, George Russell and several others. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air ...

Betty Accorsi Quartet: Growing Roots

by Chris May
June 30, 2022

The second album from Italian born, British based soprano saxophonist Betty (Elisabetta) Accorsi's quartet confirms what was already apparent on her debut, The Cutty Sark Suite (Betty Accorsi Music, 2020). That is, here is a young musician and composer of outstanding talent who is destined for the big stage. There is nothing radical ...

Mike Westbrook Concert Band: Marching Song Volumes 1 & 2 Plus Bonus Tracks

by Maurizio Comandini
June 20, 2022

Mike Westbrook, pianista e soprattutto direttore di orchestra, è nato il 21 marzo del 1936 a High Wycombe, 50 chilometri a nord-ovest di Londra. Dapprima tentato dalla Art School di Plymouth, si dedica poi con decisione alla musica, dalla fine degli anni cinquanta. Nel 1958 forma la sua prima band per la quale gli capita di ...

Festival Musiche Corsare 2022

by Luciano Rossetti
June 9, 2022

John McLaughlin: Where Fortune Smiles

by Maurizio Comandini
May 2, 2022

L'invito che Tony Williams fece a John McLaughlin, chiamandolo a New York per far partire l'intensa avventura musicale denominata 'Tony Williams Lifetime,' arrivò proprio quando lo stesso McLaughlin aveva magicamente trovato un suo punto di equilibro. Dopo aver lasciato intravedere interessanti bagliori nell'eccellente disco Things We Like di Jack Bruce (registrato a Londra a fine agosto ...

WE3: WE3

by Neri Pollastri
April 4, 2022

Ispirata a The Trio, storica formazione degli anni Settanta composta da John Surman, Barre Phillips e Stu Martin, WE3 ne riprende la strumentazione e ne aggiorna lo spirito in composizioni perlopiù originali, traendole in questo disco da un'esibizione dal vivo.La formazione vede all'opera Francesco Chiapperini alle ance e al sintetizzatore, Luca Pissavini al violone ...

Wadada Leo Smith: A Love Sonnet For Billie Holiday

by Mark Corroto
December 1, 2021

Trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith creates a new trio with Vijay Iyer and drummer Jack DeJohnette. While the pianist and drummer have never recorded together, like a Venn diagram, their orbits were destined to overlap. Both musicians have recorded duets with Smith and both were members of Smith's Golden Quartet, just not at the same time.

Francesco Guaiana: Bandha

by Neri Pollastri
October 14, 2021

Chitarrista e compositore esperto, formatosi anche con una lunga permanenza negli Stati Uniti, il palermitano Francesco Guaiana pubblica per Dodicilune questo album composito, articolato su dieci brani originali (solo “Go Back" non della sua penna e scritto dal bassista Gabrio Bevilacqua), nel succedersi dei quali la formazione cambia ripetutamente. La cifra della musica è ...

Dave Holland: More Than Just Notes

by Ian Patterson
August 2, 2021

The creative juices, if not the hunger, desert many artists as they advance in years. Repetition and mediocrity—a blunting of the sword— can creep in, while past glories are often left to provide the kindling for flames that never quite catch. Such charges could never be levelled at English bassist Dave Holland, who turns seventy-five in ...