Search - John Surman :: Glancing Backwards: The Dawn Anthology

Beware Duplication

Patrick Oshea | Flint Hill, VA United States | 11/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tracks 24-34 are identical to "The Dawn Sessions".



Tracks 29-34 are identical to "Live at Woodstock Town Hall".



"

GLANCING BACKWARDS: THE DAWN ANTHOLOGY

Stuart Jefferson | San Diego,Ca | 05/16/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Three discs 73,74,71 minutes each approximately. The sound is surprisingly clean and open,sounding good whether listening with headphones (the bells on disc two track three especially) or in the open air at volume. The horn sound is bright yet not brittle,the bass is warm,and the drums retain their percussive "snap". The three discs are housed in the standard thick jewel case,with room for the booklet. The information is brief on both Surman and the music,but there's enough to help put this music in it's proper context.



These three discs comprise all the recordings John Surman did for Dawn Records in the years 1970-1975. Dawn was a short lived,"underground", company under the umbrella of Pye Records in England. All tracks on disc one were originally released as THE TRIO: "The Trio" in 1970. The first five tracks on disc two were originally released as THE TRIO: "The Trio" in 1970. Tracks six through eleven were originally released as THE TRIO,"Conflagration",in 1971. On disc three,tracks one through five were originally released as "When Fortune Smiles"in 1971,credited to all the members of the band. Tracks six through eleven were originally released as "John Surman and Stu Martin: Live at Woodstock Town Hall",in 1976.



Surman met his two future band mates at Ronnie Scott's club during a gig Surman was doing with Mike Westbrook's band. With Barre Phillips on double bass,and Stu Martin on drums,the three recorded what,at the time,was labeled as "underground jazz". Enough material was recorded that a double album (remember those days) was released as their first effort. This music is,indeed,improvisational,with little of it being composed. One of the band members might play a certain cluster of notes,or a certain phrase,and the others would begin to play off of that. This music speaks of it's time,with the trio being young in age and outlook-they wanted to take musical chances. This music,heard in the present,is not all that daring or cutting edge. This is improvised jazz that won't leave you wondering-"whats this all about"?



The drummer keeps arhythmic time,but always seems to be on the beat,while simultaneously filling in any gaps in the music. The bassist is very nimble,sometimes grounding everything as straight bassists will,but every now and again he'll throw in some notes in tandem with Surman's horn. In other spots his arco bowing is very effectively used. Not enough can be said about Surman's baritone sax playing,which is his primary instrument. He can play fiery clusters of notes and then shift down to some open,almost "breathy" playing. He shows on these tracks that he is capable of firing off runs of notes in any register,and then step back and use his horn to open spaces in the music. One of the marks of great jazz (and players) in this style is how the music can shift and flow effortlessly from busy,rhythmic groups of notes,to something quieter,more introspective. This trio pulls it off seamlessly.



The music is still relevant sounding today. There are any number of trios playing (or attempting) this style of music. While all these tracks were met with good reviews,they certainly didn't make the charts. Virtually all the compositions were "written" by one of the members of the trio.



The second release,"Conflagration",saw the original trio augmented by several top-drawer jazz musicians of their time. Most listeners of this era's music will recognize names like Alan Skidmore (sax),Kenny Wheeler (trumpet),and Chick Corea (keyboards),who was yet to put together his group RETURN TO FOREVER,plus others. Skidmore and Wheeler also play on Surman's,"Tales of the Algonquin",a fine album of big band jazz.



"Conflagration" consists of all fairly lengthy tracks,and while it has it's moments,it's not as good as the trio recordings. However,don't be misled into thinking this is sub-par jazz-definitely not. The addition of extra players gives the music more color,more variation than what a trio can produce. The other side of that coin is that now there is more to digest-and it can become intimidating. At times this music reminds one of Ornette Coleman's FREE JAZZ album,or possibly,any of a number of Anthony Braxton's "free" compositions for jazz group,though not as intricate and sometimes,inscrutable. These tracks (and your ears) will benefit greatly from repeated listenings-when the music will begin to take shape,and make more sense.



The fourth release,"When Fortune Smiles",credited to the entire group,is sometimes referred to as "the other half" of the fine,ground-breaking album,EXTRAPOLATION,credited to guitarist John McLaughlin,with Surman playing a big part on this also. In addition to Surman and McLaughlin,Stu Martin returns on drums,Dave Holland is the bassist,and the underrated Karl Berger on vibraphone. All the others are well known,with the exception of Berger. He played with Ornette Coleman and in Don Cherry's group,of which the third volume of live recordings under Cherry's name has lately been released on ESP Records.



The first track,titled "Glancing Backwards (For Junior)",is actually a composition Surman wrote and recorded in 1969,on the album,"Way Back When". This album was not released until 2005,with this composition being the title track. The 1969 album is another lost gem of the era,with plenty of fine playing by the quintet. On "Conflagration",while the melody is the same,McLaughlin's guitar is at the forefront,with,of all players,Holland's bass,which is mixed higher so as not to get lost in all the firepower. The tracks range from in-your-face playing to gentle,open,relaxed playing from both Surman and McLaughlin. Berger's vibes give this music (hear track three,the title track) more delicacy and depth,countering McLaughlin's electric guitar chords to good effect. Elsewhere his playing within the group fits in perfectly.



Tracks six through eleven,"Live at Woodstock Town Hall",are duets between (once again) Stu Martin's drums and Surman's horn-with the addition of a synthesizer. This music is different than whats gone before. In 1975,when this was recorded,it must have raised a few eyebrows. In several ways this foreshadows Surman's solo albums done later in his career for the ECM label. All of these tracks are joint compositions of Martin and Surman. This music was,at the time,new to most listeners and today it still retains some of that raw "newness". Whether this is your cup of tea,only the individual listener can decide, These tracks will definitely take some getting used to.



It's one of life's curiosities that the Dawn label began with a Surman release,and ended with a Surman release. Even though the label didn't exist long,at least we have this fine music,when recording jazz of this type was a true gamble. Today's music labels could learn a lesson. Anyone with an interest in John Surman during this time would do well to pick this up. Besides some fine music,this shows Surman when he was still forging his sound and approach to music,which laid the foundation for what he recorded later,to greater aclaim."