John Surman - Coruscating

Jazz : MP3/192Kbps







2000



Personnel:

John Surman: soprano and baritone saxophones, bass and contrabass clarinets

Chris Laurence: double-bass

Rita Manning: violin

Keith Pascoe: violin

Bill Hawkes: viola

Nick Cooper: cello



Track listing:

01. At Dusk

02. Dark Corners

03. Stone Flower

04. Moonless Midnight

05. Winding Passages

06. An Illusive Shadow

07. Crystal Walls

08. For The moment



For this CD John Surman teams up with bassist Chris Laurence, a longterm collaborator and an instinctive choice, and Trans4Mation, a string quartet specially assembled for the occasion, to produce some imaginative music which will appeal to those followers of jazz and 20th/21st century classical music who think the dichotomy between the composed and the improvised is a false one.



In a long and varied career Surman has - among other engagements - played saxes and clarinets as a soloist with the Mike gibbs and Mike Westbrook orchestras, developed the use of electronics in the trio SOS, extended the boundaries of jazz singing with his wife Karin Krog, and also produced his own series of albums, mainly for ECM. A feature of a lot of this music has been the infusion of calm pastoral elements into the jazz framework, and this is firmly in evidence on Coruscating.



Generally on this CD, the strings set the scene and provide a secure setting for Surman and Laurence to improvise. The eight pieces which result are elegant and, though far from musically simple, quite easy on the ear. "Stone Flower", a tribute to Duke Ellington's baritonist Harry Carney, is the most evidently "jazz" piece; the rest could fit quite easily into the modern classical repertoire.



The only problem is, for all its qualities, you can't honestly say that it yields any moments that are truly memorable. Given the album's pedigree this comes as something of a disappointment.



Coruscating is certainly worth investing your time and money in. It's just not the classic it could - and should - have been. - wiseowl96 (http://cd.ciao.co.uk/Coruscating_John_Surman__Review_5645569)