JOHN SURMAN BIO
(courtesy of ECM Records)

Born in Devon in 1944, composer/multi-instrumentalist John Surman is one of the key figures in a generation of European musicians who have crucially expanded the international horizons of jazz in the '70s and '80s. Long acknowledged as a world-class improviser and composer of a body of work that extends far beyond the typical range of the jazz repertoire, Surman in the 1990s is at the height of his considerable powers.

By the late '60s, it was clear that Surman was a phenomenon. He started out as a teenager playing the none-too-easy music of fellow Devonian Mike Westbrook, and then amazed the London establishment with displays of extravagant instrumental proficiency combined with a passionate, rambunctious imagination. Almost perversely, he has specialized in the most difficult of technical challenges; his first chosen instrument, the baritone saxophone, has been described as having all the agility of a "double-decker bus in a fallow field..." He was quickly acclaimed as a major voice on the instrument—the first to make an impact since Gerry Mulligan in the early '50s.

Baritone was followed by a swing to the opposite end of the range, soprano saxophone, and then a further extreme, bass clarinet. Not only that, he began to delve into the world of electronics and synthesizers at a time when any deviation from acoustic purity was viewed with deep suspicion by the jazz fraternity.

Surman's creative instincts have proved more than equal to the challenge. Everything he does is charged with a rare musicality, and the substance and originality of his work are never subservient to his undoubted technical virtuosity.

As a soloist, Surman's early career took shape in the melting pot that produced a number of fine British musicians during the '60s. As well as his association with Westbrook, there was varied experience with Alexis Korner, Ronnie Scott, Humphrey Lyttleton, the Brotherhood Of Breath, and John McLaughlin, and he forged lasting relationships with John Warren, John Taylor, and Dave Holland. Surman also had his own octet, but the formation of the Trio, in 1969, can be seen as watershed in terms of his international profile. This unit, with expatriate Americans Barre Phillips (bass) and the late Stu Martin (drums) became one of the busiest and musically vital groups on the European circuit. Surman also featured (with Karin Krog) in the European Down Beat poll-winners group that toured Japan in 1970, further enhancing his reputation on the international front.

By the mid-'70s, Surman had produced a couple of important albums: the solo project Westering Home, and Morning Glory, with Terje Rypdal and John Taylor. The Trio SOS, with Alan Skidmore and Mike Osborne proved another groundbreaking project, combining electronics with the dynamic soloing of three fine saxophonists. He had also begun a long-term collaboration with the American choreographer/dancer Carolyn Carlson, and was based at the Paris Opera with her company for some time. Phase 2 of the career of the Trio saw increased use of synthesizers, and an expanded line-up (MUMPS) with the trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff. In 1978, he recorded in duo with Stan Tracey (Sonatinas) and the Norwegian singer Karin Krog (Cloudline Blue). He also toured and recorded with the quartet of bassist Miroslav Vitous until 1982.

He recorded a debut solo album, Upon Reflection, for ECM Records in 1979, launching a fruitful relationship with the company that continues to the present, and includes four further solo records; other records include Such Winters Of Memory, with Karin Krog and Pierre Favre; and the five-star Down Beat-rated Amazing Adventures Of Simon Simon with Jack DeJohnette.

During the '80s and '90s, Surman has maintained an impressive output of high-quality work. As an instrumentalist, he has played in duo with DeJohnette, Albert Mangelsdorff, Barre Phillips, John Taylor, Tony Oxley, and performed in more open group formations with peer group musicians such as Kenny Wheeler, Dave Holland, Elvin Jones, Oxley and Mangelsdorff, and in quartet with Paul Bley, Bill Frisell and Paul Motian. He toured over a period of years with the great Gil Evans. The duo with Karin Krog remains an important part of his activity, and this was augmented by a choir on a number of occasions. In the U.K., he toured twice for the Contemporary Music Network, with the 10-piece Brass Project, and with Jack DeJohnette.

As a composer, John has continued to work in the contemporary dance field, with Carolyn Carlson and for other companies in Europe. He wrote Private City for Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet—the music is featured on the ECM album of the same name. He was composer in residence at the Glasgow Jazz Festival in 1989, producing new work for the Surman/Krog duo plus choir, and reforming the Brass Project (this group has also performed at the North Sea Festival, and at festivals in Portugal, France, Germany, and the U.K).

A new departure in 1990 was a commission from the Leicester Film And Video Festival to compose and perform music to accompany the 1920s Georgian silent film My Grandmother, which was subsequently performed at the Musica Festival in Strasbourg (1992) and toured through Hungary in 1994. The Surman/DeJohnette duo devised new music with the Balanescu Quartet, the outstanding string quartet that specializes in new music repertoire, commissioned by the 1990 Camden Jazz Festival. He has also written music for theater and TV, and has had music performed regularly by Radio Big Bands in Germany and Scandinavia. December 1993 saw the premiere of a new suite, commissioned for the Oslo Radio Symphony Orchestra and Quartet.

In 1994, Surman was commissioned by the Bath Festival, BBC Radio 3, the Arts Council and South West Arts to write new music for various groupings from solo to Brass Project, including a Nordic Quartet with Karin Krog, Terje Rypdal, and Vigliek Storaas, to celebrate his 50th birthday.

A further commission in 1996 from the Salisbury Festival allowed John to return to a longstanding fascination with choral music, producing Proverbs And Songs, an extended work for solo saxophones, pipe organ (John Taylor), and the 80-strong Salisbury Festival Chorus, directed by Howard Moody and premiered in Salisbury Cathedral. The concert was recorded for BBC Radio 3, remixed in Oslo, and released by ECM in October 1997. In July 1998, the album was shortlisted for Britain's prestigious Mercury Music Prize, thus qualifying for album of the year. The judges described the work as "a dramatic meeting of the secular and the sacred."

In 1998, Surman also premiered a new chamber orchestra version of his acclaimed solo recording The Road To St. Ives, commissioned by the Bournemouth Sinfonietta, and presented new music, commissioned by Serious, for saxophones and string quartet led by Chris Laurence. The latter work received its first performance at the Bath Festival, and was subsequently recorded by ECM for the album Coruscating. 

As well as expanding his horizons as a composer, Surman has continued to play live throughout the world. His unique solo performances reflect the singular blend of acoustic and electronic music featured on recordings like The Road To St Ives and a biography of the Reverend Absalom Dawe, his duo with John Taylor, which toured to China towards the end of 1997. He also performs with Karin Krog and with Breton harpist Kristen Nogues. His quartet with John Taylor, Chris Laurence, and John Marshall remains one of the most distinctive of European small bands.

Surman has recorded prolifically for ECM over the years. During the 1990s, he has released solo albums and recordings with the Brass Project, with the English quartet with Taylor, Laurence, and Marshall, and with the Nordic Quartet. He was also featured on two records with Paul Bley, Gary Peacock, and Tony Oxley, and on a new album, Thimar, with Anouar Brahem and Dave Holland. The Brahem/Surman/Holland trio made its live debut at the ECM Festival in Badenweiler, Germany.

John Surman is a perennial poll-winner, and in 1989 received the Bird Award at the North Sea Jazz Festival and a Wire Award for services to jazz in Britain. 

Surman's music transcends familiar boundaries. Although a deep love of the entire jazz tradition (early Ellington is a particular favorite) is an important element, he is equally affected by the melodic qualities of choral music and English folk music. "If I look back to what turned me on about music, it was what I heard before I ever came across any jazz." The surprise, and the enduring pleasure, of Surman's art is the contrast of lyricism, rich texture, and intense and vibrant improvisation.

"Une musique toute legere et gracieuse, qui danse, qui danse..."