February 11, 2008

John Surman & Trans4mation


Coruscating
(2000)
A new chapter opens in the work of one of Europe's most consistently adventurous musicians. "Coruscating" features finely crafted and richly-melodic music for strings by John Surman, with the composer and his long-time associate Chris Laurence deployed as primary soloists and improvisers. The music heard on "Coruscating" was, in live performance, one of the big successes of ECM's 30th Anniversary Festival in Brighton and was also hailed as one of the highlights of the Bath Festival. Reviewing the material, The Times of London compared its sonorities to the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams and Benjamin Britten. Jazz, though, remains a crucial component of the material. Tracks such as "Stone Flower" reveal Surman's love of Duke Ellington. The piece is dedicated to the memory of Ellington's great baritone saxophone, Harry Carney, one of Surman's primary influences and a player to whom John has often been compared by the press.
Link

The Spaces In Between
(2007)

This is a total joy. If you thought Surman’s previous album Coruscating with this same line-up was good, this is even better. … The sound of the instruments and the way they combine is truly amazing. The throaty, guttural baritone finds an echo in the bass and cello and the soprano in the higher tones of the violins. The harmonies are fabulous, deep and rich, and evoke, for me at least, the English countryside through the seasons. As for the performances, they are quite perfect with Rita Manning’s solo violin on the title track an absolute highlight. This is simply the best record I’ve heard this year.
Duncan Heining, Jazzwise
Link
Like what you hear, buy it! And support the artists that really need it!

5 comments:

goinsidemyhead said...

...let me state very clearly right off the bat that i don't know shit about anything...but this John Surman & Trans4mation is most definitely a beautiful piece of work...music that slowly took root inside my head and urged me to take notice of it's meaning...and purpose and joyous humanity...

NB said...

Hi! I wish download John Surman's Coruscating, but Sendspace never allow the download ("free service is at full capacity"...). Can you upload to any other server?
Please visit mi music blog at www.nestorbarron.blogspot.com, I did put a link to your wonderful blog. If you want, add my blog to yours.
Thanx!! Greetings from Buenso Aires, Argentine

Anonymous said...

I am reading this article second time today, you have to be more careful with content leakers. If I will fount it again I will send you a link

bloggor said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
kamagra gel said...

Excellent, these are a great soundtracks thanks for sharing.