#John Surman

[musicwithoutborders]

John Surman, Words Unspoken, 2024

[jt1674]

[jazzdailyblog]

"Hoarded Dreams": Graham Collier's Magnum Opus Unveiled

Introduction: In the vast landscape of jazz, where every note tells a story, certain albums stand out as magnum opuses that transcend time and genre. One such monumental creation is “Hoarded Dreams,” a live album by bassist and composer Graham Collier. Released on January 16, 2007, under the Cuneiform label, this recording is a testament to the brilliance of Collier and the ensemble of…

[professeur-stump]

Extrapolation

2296. Extrapolation, John McLaughlin (John McLaughlin, Extrapolation, 1969) (Polydor, 1972)

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[dustedmagazine]

John Surman — Words Unspoken (ECM)

To progress from being an adequate or good soloist toward the coveted realms of greatness involves increasing narrative subtlety. Telling a story is fine, but moving from phrase to phrase carrying forward those minute details in which worlds are distilled is quite another program. Then, there are the felicities of ensemble playing. While by no means mutually exclusive, a great soloist is often not a great ensemble player and vice versa. John Surman does both, wonderfully and in a unique voice; Words Unspoken, his new quartet album, is the proof that makes the pudding well worth sampling.

Surman’s bassless quartet includes guitarist Rob Luft, vibraphonist Rob Waring and drummer Thomas Stronen. Even on the most up-tempo tunes, the rhythm section provides that gorgeously airy sound for which ECM has become lauded and stereotyped. In this context, given the fact that each player transcends instrumental preconceptions through a continually morphing ensemble approach against which Surman is free to emote. It can be difficult to judge whether guitar or vibes, or both, buttress and swirl around Surman’s mellifluous baritone on the title track. Try the windy swells and crystalline curves at 2:05 to experience the full-blown ambiguity. By way of complete and utterly joyful contrast, sample “Onich Ceilidh,” where, at 4:49, Surman swaps out his soprano saxophone and provides a bassline via continuously shifting bass clarinet articulations as Waring and Luft skip along in rippling counterpoint with Stronen expressing foundational alacrity. Surman’s compositional lines support this integrated approach; “Belay That” slides along in sinewy seconds and more forceful open intervals, saxophone and guitar shimmering against each other in timbral accord as Stronen shows himself to be a wonderfully facile time drummer, his touch as light as it is precise.

Indeed, like time and temporal suspension, even constructing these solo and group boundaries borders on falsehood. As with the 1970-75 Miles Davis aggregates, this quartet’s concept of soloing is amoebic, the boundaries of accompaniment blurred at so many strategic points. If Waring’s repetitive riffs opening “Pebble Dance” do not constitute a solo, then neither does Stronen’s timbrally rich rhythmic “melodies” anticipating Luff’s simpatico stealth groove at 1:01. Even that vamp is both rhythmic and melodic, open harmonies in play as they so often are throughout this collection of Surman compositions.

Then, there is Surman’s soloing, a perfect foil to the accented rhythms, modal areas and scalar melodicism of his compositions. Dig the way he slides so gently but with such purpose up to the two notes at 2:34 of “Flower in Aspic” or builds tiered crescendos on the same pitch 3:52 into “Bitter Aloe,” his clarinet a fountain of pitched nuance and color. Maybe best of all is the glissando 2:19 into “Pebble Dance.” Surman’s soprano slides gracefully, effortlessly, up to a note that falls just between the cracks, a blue note transmogrified, a pitch existing within and just beyond itself, inhabiting two cognitive spaces simultaneously, like his music does. As always, Surman is at home in any genre or style he chooses. Every track is a landscape in flux, and every album a series of them. For nearly six decades, Surman’s restless explorations have bolstered and defied genre categorization, but beauty persists. Beauty of tone, of timbre, of compositional conception and ensemble deployment, often an inward and reflective beauty, have been mainstays of Surman’ daunting and, happily, still growing and consistently superb discography. Much of it lives in the ECM catalog and may its entries multiply!

Marc Medwin

[donospl]

Co w jazzie piszczy [sezon 2 odcinek 12]

premierowa emisja 27 marca 2024 – 18:00 Graliśmy: Arve Henriksen, Harmen Fraanje “Touch Of Time” z albumu “Touch Of Time”  – ECM Records Vijay Iyer and Linda May Han Oh, Tyshawn Sorey “Nonaah” z albumu “Compassion” – ECM Records The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis “Emergence” z albumu “The Messthetics And James Brandon Lewis” – Impulse! Records Matthieu Bordenave “Cyrus” z albumu “The…

[morningwalksposts]

22.02.2024

wednesday ~ 22.02.2024

television - marquee moon

america - tin man

khruangbin - may ninth

john surman - flower in aspic

john surman - pebble dance

[jt1674]

[tejedac]

John Potter & The Dowland Project

Discography: playlist

John Potter (voice)

The Dowland Project: Stephen Stubbs (chitarrone, baroque guitar) John Surman (soprano saxophone, bass clarinet) Maya Homburger (baroque violin) Miloš Valent (violin, viola) Barry Guy (double-bass)

About The Dowland Project

[jazzdailyblog]

Dave Holland: Crafting Jazz Landscapes with Bass Mastery

Introduction: Dave Holland is a modern jazz legend known for his innovative achievements as a bassist, composer, and bandleader. With a five-decade career, his work crosses conventional bounds, embracing a range of styles from avant-garde to post-bop. This blog post dives into Dave Holland’s life, artistry, and influence as an artist who has made an unforgettable impression on the world of…

[dungeonsynthguide]

Today, I'd like to share one of my favorite songs with you—caveat being it's not dungeon synth, but a song by John Surman, a jazz saxophone and bass clarinet player known for incorporating progressive electronic elements into his compositions.

I think this song—the whole album, really, but especially this song—would go over well with open-minded dungeon synth enthusiasts. Between the synthesizer, the mysterious and evocative atmosphere, and the wonderful sax playing, there's a lot to appreciate here.

[turtlevisionstudio]

John Surman - Edges Of Illusion (Statecoral Remix) 2023 Re-Master

[projazznet]

John McLaughlin – Extrapolation

Extrapolation is the debut album by jazz guitarist John McLaughlin. It was recorded at Advision Studios in London on January 18, 1969 and first released later that year in the United Kingdom by Giorgio Gomelsky’s Marmalade Records. John McLaughlin – guitar Brian Odgers – bass Tony Oxley – drums John Surman – baritone and soprano saxophones