John Surman Quartet – Stranger than fiction (1994)
September 18th, 2008
John Surman Quartet – Stranger than fiction (1994)
MP3 CBR 320 kbps 44100 Stereo – 150 MB
FLAC + EAC log + Cue Sheet – 290 MB
ECM 1534 | Jazz | Artwork
This is a characteristically beautiful recording from the British saxophonist & clarinetist John Surman: those who dislike the famed “ECM sound” should probably give this disc a wide berth, as it’s squarely within that style, but it’ll not disappoint those sympathetic to it.
The band here is all-British: John Taylor on piano; Chris Laurence on bass; & John Marshall on drums. It’s a fine rhythm section. This disc starts out quietly & freely, with the opening “Canticle with Response” (there’s that church-music influence again) & “A Distant Spring”; it closes the same way, with an entirely improvised “Triptych”, nearly 15 minutes of highly intelligent & empathetic interplay between first subdivisions of the band & then all four musicians. In the middle of the disc there’s some surprisingly forceful music, including “Tess”and “Across the Bridge”.
Surman’s playing is always lyrical & passionate, & often has an edge to it that I don’t get from his other recordings.
Personnel
John Surman soprano and baritone saxophones, alto and bass clarinets
John Taylor piano
Chris Laurence double-bass
John Marshall drums
Tracklist
Canticle With Response
A Distant Spring
Tess
Promising Horizons
Across The Bridge
Moonshine Dancer
Running Sands
Triptych: Hidden Orchid, Synapsis, Paratactic Paths
Recorded December 1993
ECM 1534
Download from RS
FLAC – PART 1 || PART 2 || PART 3
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