| Name | John Surman |
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| Landscape | yes |
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| Background | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
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| Birth name | John Douglas Surman |
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| Born | August 30, 1944Tavistock, Devon, EnglandUnited Kingdom |
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| Instrument | Baritone saxophoneSoprano saxophoneBass clarinetSynthesizer |
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| Genre | Free jazz, modal jazz |
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| Occupation | Musician, Composer, Film scorer, Musical arranger |
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| Years active | Mid 1960s - current |
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| Label | Deram, Dawn, ECM |
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| Associated acts | John McLaughlin, Barre Phillips, Stu Martin, John Warren, John Potter. |
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| Url | John Surman.com/ |
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John Douglas Surman (born 30 August 1944, Tavistock, Devon) is an English jazz saxophone, bass clarinet and synthesizer player and composer of free jazz and modal jazz often using themes from folk music as a basis. He has also composed and performed much music for dance performances and film soundtracks.
Life and career
He initially gained recognition playing
baritone saxophone in the
Mike Westbrook Band in the mid-1960s. He was soon heard regularly playing
soprano saxophone and
bass clarinet as well. His first playing issued on a record was with the
Peter Lemer Quintet in 1966. After further recordings and performances with jazz bandleaders
Mike Westbrook and
Graham Collier and blues-rock musician
Alexis Korner, he made the first record under his own name in 1968.
In 1969 he founded the well-regarded and influential group The Trio along with two expatriate American musicians, bassist Barre Phillips and drummer Stu Martin. In the mid-1970s he founded one of the earliest all-saxophone jazz groups, S.O.S., along with alto saxophonist Mike Osborne and tenor saxophonist Alan Skidmore. During this early period he also recorded with (among others) saxophonist Ronnie Scott, guitarist John McLaughlin, bandleader Michael Gibbs, trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff, and pianist Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath.
By 1972 he had begun experimenting with synthesizers. That year he recorded Westering Home, the first of several solo projects on which he played all parts himself via overdubbing. He recorded his final album with Mike Westbrook, Citadel/Room 315 in 1975. The album features Surman playing powerful solos on baritone and soprano sax as well as bass clarinet and many critics believe it to be his finest work with Westbrook.
Many of the musical relationships he established during the 1970s have continued to the present. These include a quartet with pianist John Taylor, bassist Chris Laurence, and drummer John Marshall; duets and other projects with Norwegian singer Karin Krog; and duets and other projects with American drummer/pianist Jack DeJohnette.
His relationship with ECM Records has also been continuous from the late 1970s to the present, as Surman has recorded prolifically for the label playing bass clarinet, recorders, soprano and baritone saxophones and using synthesisers, both solo with a wide range of other musicians.
In recent years he has composed several suites of music that feature his playing in unusual contexts, including with church organ and chorus (Proverbs and Songs, 1996); with a classical string quintet (Coruscating); and with the London Brass and Jack DeJohnette (Free and Equal, 2001). He has also played in a unique trio with Tunisian oud-player Anouar Brahem and bassist Dave Holland (Thimar, 1997); has performed the songs of John Dowland with singer John Potter formerly of the Hilliard Ensemble; and made contributions to the Drum 'n' Bass album Disappeared by Spring Heel Jack.
Other musicians he has worked with include bassist Miroslav Vitous, bandleader Gil Evans, pianist Paul Bley, guitarists Terje Rypdal and John Abercrombie and trumpeter Tomasz Stańko.
Selected recordings
John Surman (1968) - his debut album, acoustic jazz with Caribbean rhythms - Deram Records
John McLaughlin Extrapolation (1969) - Surman is featured heavily and solos on baritone and soprano.
Way Back When (1969) - free-jazz jam session with John Taylor on electric piano, drummer John Marshall and saxophonist Mike Osborne.
Glancing Backwards - anthology of his recordings for Dawn Records (1969–1976), with The Trio and others. The anthology includes the albums The Trio by The Trio, Conflagration with the Trio as part of a larger group including Dave Holland, Nick Evans and trumpeter Kenny Wheeler and Live at Woodstock Town Hall, a duet with drummer Stu Martin
Tales Of The Algonquin (1971) with Canadian saxist John Warren along with British musicians Alan Skidmore, Wheeler and Osborne.
Westering Home (1972)
Morning Glory (1973) with Terje Rypdal
Upon Reflection (1979) - overdubbed solo improvisations
The Amazing Adventures of Simon Simon (1981) duet with Jack DeJohnette - ECM
Withholding Pattern (1985) - solo - ECM Records
Private City (1987) - overdubbed solo improvisations, playing saxophones, recorders, bass clarinet and keyboards - ECM Records
Road To Saint Ives (1990) - solo, overdubbed layers of soprano and baritone saxophone and bass clarinet
Adventure Playground (1991) - with Paul Bley, Gary Peacock, and Tony Oxley
Stranger Than Fiction (1994) - as the John Surman Quartet with John Taylor, Chris Laurence, and John Marshall
A Biography Of The Rev. Absalom Dawe (1995) - overdubbed solo clarinets, saxophones and keyboards.
In Darkness Let Me Dwell (1999) - the songs of John Dowland, with singer John Potter
Coruscating (1999) with the Trans4mation String Quartet and bassist Chris Laurence - ECM Records
Care-Charming Sleep (2003) - another album of Dowland songs
The Spaces In Between (2006) - the revival of the Coruscating jazz-classical collaboration with a string quartet, with bassist Chris Laurence.
Rain on the window (2008) with organist Howard Moody
Brewster's Rooster (2009) with Jack DeJohnette, John Abercrombie and Drew Gress
References
External links
John Surman's homepage
Discography
John Surman on ECM Records
Complete list of sessions
Interviews with John Surman: All About Jazz; Jazz.com; Point of Departure
Category:1944 births
Category:Living people
Category:People from Tavistock, Devon
Category:Bass clarinetists
Category:Jazz baritone saxophonists
Category:English jazz soprano saxophonists
Category:English jazz musicians
Category:English jazz saxophonists
Category:Jazz-blues saxophonists
Category:Spellemannprisen winners
Category:ECM artists
Category:Moers Music artists
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