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| 6.969 Ft
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| 1. | Slanted Sky
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| 2. | Hilltop Dancer
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| 3. | No Finesse
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| 4. | Kickback
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| 5. | Chelsea Bridge
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| 6. | Haywain
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| 7. | Counter Measures
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| 8. | Brewster's Rooster
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| 9. | Going for a Burton
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Jazz / Post-Bop, Avant-Garde Jazz
Recorded Feburary 2008
John Surman - baritone & soprano saxophones
John Abercrombie guitar
Drew Gress double-bass
Jack DeJohnette drums
After ECM recordings with organ (“Rain on the Window”), strings (“The Spaces In Between”), brass ensemble (“Free and Equal”), choir (“Proverbs and Songs”), and early music experiments with the Dowland Project (“Romaria”). John Surman offers an album unequivocally jazz in its orientation. Soulful ballads, hard-driving pieces and fiery improvisations are all to be found here, and Surman is in best creative form on baritone and soprano saxophones. Both Surman and guitarist Abercrombie have long musical relationships with powerhouse drummer DeJohnette, and all three are in accord at a high level. A strong showing, too, for bassist Drew Gress in his ECM debut. Music is all by Surman, apart from “Slanted Sky” by old comrade John Warren, and the timeless “Chelsea Bridge” of Billy Strayhorn.
Christoph Stickel Mastering
Joe Ferla Engineer, Mixing
Lukas Rehm Cover Photo
Manfred Eicher Executive Producer
Rick Kwan Assistant Engineer
Robert "RX Lord" Lewis Photography
Sascha Kleis Design
Saxophonist and composer John Surman has, in his nearly 50-year career, played and recorded in as many settings as one might imagine. Whether it's experimental free music, rockist fusion projects, large ensembles, solo, duets, concept recordings, you name it. His ECM tenure has been a fascinating one. That said, no matter how far afield his explorations have taken him, the place he always returns to, is playing jazz -- some might meritoriously argue the point that no matter what he does, jazz lies at its root. Brewster's Rooster is indeed a pretty straight-ahead jazz date. Accompanied by guitarist John Abercrombie, drummer Jack DeJohnette, and bassist Drew Gress. The sound on the recording, while contemporary, does hearken back to the heady days of ECM in the late '70s. Seven of the nine cuts here are Surman originals, the two covers are an utterly gorgeous reading of "Chelsea Bridge," and John Warren's "Slanted Sky," which opens the set. The band can swing when they need (or want) to: check the set's second cut, "Hilltop Dancer," with some beautifully understated work by Abercrombie and double-timed, Latin syncopation by DeJohnette. The lyric line is Spanish-tinged and Surman is in excellent post-bop form, extending the harmonic possibility with a gloriously knotty chorus. "Slanted Sky" is a more atmospheric tune. It's slow, but flows nearly pastorally with Surman's horn moving through the melody and taking the improvisation into subtle territory. "No Finesse" is another swinger and "Kickback," which begins with a taut, labyrinthine lyric line, quickly moves into adventurous harmonic terrain before a duet between Surman and DeJohnette move it to the stratosphere. It's kinetic, head-to-head, and a real "moment" in jazz terms. The reading of Billy Strayhorn's "Chelsea Bridge" is particularly lovely here. Surman's baritone saxophone is painted beautifully by Abercrombie's subtle chord voicings and the sparse arrangement. But it's Surman's lyricism that impresses most. It's tender and tough with that slight edge in his tone. The track loses none of its grace or elegance, but feels less nostalgic in this context. "Haywain" is slightly more out with an excellent and prolonged contrapuntal exchange between Surman and Abercrombie. Brewster's Rooster is another high point in Surman's career. This studio band is as sympathetic as his working road unit, and his willingness to place the tradition in the context of his more contemporary, sometimes ambiguous harmonic explorations reveals the roots, shoots, and branches of his art and discipline. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
John Surman
Active Decades: '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s and '00s
Born: Aug 30, 1944 in Tavistock, England
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Post-Bop, Modern Composition, Jazz Blues, Jazz-Rock, Avant-Garde Jazz
John Surman was one of the very few saxmen in England to find a significant audience in rock during the late '60s, playing gigs regularly at venues like the Marquee Club in London. Also a clarinetist of some renown, and no slouch on keyboards either, the atmospheric sounds that Surman creates on his horns has been a major asset to the ECM label ever since the late '70s; but, before that, he was an extremely prolific artist on Deram, Futura, Dawn, and Island, cutting seven solo albums between 1968 and 1974 on those mainstream pop-oriented labels, as well as recording with Morning Glory on Island. One of England's top jazz players of the past several decades, Surman is particularly strong on the baritone. Surman played in jazz workshops while still in high school. He studied at the London College of Music and London University Institute of Education in the mid-'60s, played with Alexis Korner and Mike Westbrook until the late '60s, and recorded with the latter until the mid-'70s. He was voted best soloist at the 1968 Montreux Festival while heading his band. Surman worked with Graham Collier, Mike Gibbs, Dave Holland, Chris McGregor, and John McLaughlin in the '60s, and toured Europe with the Kenny ClarkeFrancy Boland big band in 1970. Surman toured and recorded with Barre Phillips and Stu Martin in the late '60s and early '70s, and again in the late '70s, adding Albert Mangelsdorff to the group. They called themselves the Trio, then Mumps. Surman played with Mike Osborne and Alan Skidmore in the sax trio SOS in the mid-'70s. He also collaborated with the Carolyn Carlson dance company at the Paris Opera through the mid- and late '70s. Surman recorded with Stan Tracey and Karin Krog, while working with Miroslav Vitous and Azimuth. He led the Brass Project in the early '80s, and played in Collier's big band and Gil Evans' British orchestra. Surman toured with Evans again in the late '80s. He began recording as a leader for Pye in the early '70s, and did sessions for Ogun and ECM. Surman continued recording in the '80s, mostly for ECM. He worked with Terje Rypdal, Jack DeJohnette, Pierre Favre, Bengt Hallberg, Archie Shepp, Warne Marsh, and Red Mitchell, among others. Surman has made many recordings for ECM, spanning from free form to mood music, and he remains one of the label's most consistently stimulating artists.
---Ronn Wynn & Bruce Eder, All Music Guide |
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