I paid way too much for this CD, but I've never seen it (or any Surman disc) in a used bin, so I threw caution to the wind along with some of my fixed income. A true solo effort, Surman wrote and performed the entirety of the album. It's difficult to describe Surman's music, but Ron Wynn over at allmusic gave it a shot in a ★★★★ review: "Surman mixes enough elements of rock, free, blues, and hard bop to keep the songs varied." I'd call it a unique blend of electronic and acoustic jazz fusion with hypnotic woodwind lines over looping synth textures. It could only be an ECM release. Listen on headphones if you're up for it.
Surman - baritone and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet, recorder, piano, synthesizer
Reviews/ratings:
- CashBox: "A sly and very attractive LP"
- Billboard: "continues the stately, brooding mood of his earlier label works."
- The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★
- The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★
Album as described in the above magazine advertisement:
British multi-instrumentalist and composer John Surman presents an intricately layered and beautiful work, Withholding Pattern. Surman's extensive use of overdubbing allows the synthesizer and piano to provide a foundation for his passionate reed forays on soprano and baritone saxophones and bass clarinet.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Tracks: It's all trippy, but my top picks today are tracks that are more synth-based à la Tangerine Dream: Changes Of Season, Holding Pattern I, and Wildcat Blues, as well as the bass clarinet solo of The Snooper.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.
Previously revisited for the blog:
Selected Recordings :rarum XIII (2004)
No comments:
Post a Comment