John Surman

小简介
John Surman (1944~)来自英国， 学生时代 John Surman 在伦敦大学念与音乐还有教育学系相关的课程， 60 年代他玩过一阵子摇滚乐，时常在伦敦的 Marquee Club 表演，所以他是英国少数萨克斯风演奏者中，也能同时拥有摇滚乐听众的乐手。
John Surman 不但会吹奏萨克斯风，还会低音黑管，键盘等乐器，可谓多才多艺。 1968年 John Surman 在国际知名的 Montreux 爵士音乐节被票选为最佳独奏乐手， 1979年在 ECM 旗下发行 Upon Reflection (左图)，这是他第一次在 ECM 厂牌发行专辑，不过在这之前他已经在其他厂牌发行过许多张专辑了。
Upon Reflection 为他打开 ECM 的大门，此后他成为 ECM 旗下首当其冲的艺人，接下来的 20 多年，他在 ECM 旗下发行 10 多张专辑，均有出色的成绩。
这张专辑的所有歌曲均由 John Surman 一手包办，他一个人使用了高/中音萨克斯风，低音黑管与合成器，在内省低沉的静谧中仍具有多样的风貌。第一首歌 Edges of Illusion 与第 6 首歌 The Lamplighter 的灵感来自与法国现代芭蕾舞蹈大师 Carolyn Carlson 的作品。这张专辑获得 all music 四星半的高评价，相当难得 !
by Ronn Wynn & Bruce Eder
John Surman was one of the very few saxmen in England to find a significant audience in rock during the late 60s, playing gigs regularly at venues like the Marquee Club in London. Also a clarinetist of some renown, and no slouch on keyboards either, the atmospheric sounds that Surman creates on his horns has been a major asset to the ECM label ever since the late 70s; but, before that, he was an extremely prolific artist on Deram, Futura, Dawn, and Island, cutting seven solo albums between 1968 and 1974 on those mainstream pop-oriented labels, as well as recording with Morning Glory on Island. One of Englands top jazz players of the past several decades, Surman is particularly strong on the baritone. Surman played in jazz workshops while still in high school. He studied at the London College of Music and London University Institute of Education in the mid-60s, played with Alexis Korner and Mike Westbrook until the late 60s, and recorded with the latter until the mid-70s. He was voted best soloist at the 1968 Montreux Festival while heading his band. Surman worked with Graham Collier, Mike Gibbs, Dave Holland, Chris McGregor, and John McLaughlin in the 60s, and toured Europe with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland big band in 1970. Surman toured and recorded with Barre Phillips and Stu Martin in the late 60s and early 70s, and again in the late 70s, adding Albert Mangelsdorff to the group. They called themselves the Trio, then Mumps. Surman played with Mike Osborne and Alan Skidmore in the sax trio SOS in the mid-70s. He also collaborated with the Carolyn Carlson dance company at the Paris Opera through the mid- and late 70s. Surman recorded with Stan Tracey and Karin Krog, while working with Miroslav Vitous and Azimuth. He led the Brass Project in the early 80s, and played in Colliers big band and Gil Evans British orchestra. Surman toured with Evans again in the late 80s. He began recording as a leader for Pye in the early 70s, and did sessions for Ogun and ECM. Surman continued recording in the 80s, mostly for ECM. He worked with Terje Rypdal, Jack DeJohnette, Pierre Favre, Bengt Hallberg, Archie Shepp, Warne Marsh, and Red Mitchell, among others. Surman has made many recordings for ECM, spanning from free form to mood music, and he remains one of the labels most consistently stimulating artists.