Coruscating
British multireed player John Surman has enjoyed a long career, making significant marks in free jazz, modal, and fusion, and also developing his own distinctive blend of folk and jazz elements. His ability to bridge styles has even extended to 1999's treatment of Renaissance-era composer John Dowland's songs,In Darkness Let Me Dwellwith theHilliard Ensemble's John Potter.Coruscatingis another unusual venture, with Surman and regular associate bassist Chris Laurence improvising on eight of Surman's compositions with the string quartet Trans4mation. There's a seamless beauty here, composition and improvisation becoming one. Beginning with the baroque clarity of melody on "At Dusk,"Coruscatingdevelops often dark, looming textures. While Surman has made his baritone fly, here he emphasizes intense lyricism, whether with a true, full-bodied, baritone sound or a light upper register. "Stone Flower" is dedicated to the greatEllingtonbaritonist Harry Carney, and Surman's breathy, overtone-rich sound invokes Carney's own recordings with strings. He uses other horns unexpectedly, picking up traditional tones of oboe, clarinet, and flute on his soprano saxophone and cello on his bass clarinet. A preoccupation with depths extends to the beginning of "An Illusive Shadow," which contrasts his contrabass clarinet with eerie, high dissonances from the strings, before the piece evolves to other moods that suggest a kind of classical Dixieland and Gershwin. Laurence also develops solos of unusual, brooding power, adding significantly to this unusual, often meditative work.--Stuart Broomer