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The postman brought me the latest batch of promos from
Cuneiform Records this morning, and i found an album
which has been briefly mentioned here recently: John
Surman's 'Way Back When'. I had to play it, and it was
such a happy surprise of great joyous jazz (jazz
rock!!!) it got played twice with no break.
Cuneform again have become the Indiana Jones of the
record industry world, raiding the lost archives, in
disintering and releasing this great album for the
first time, recorded in London during the Autumn of
1969. The piece that gives the album its names, in
four movements was clearly intended to sit on the A
Side of a LP, while two other tracks 'Owlshead' and
'Out & About' on Side B. But who got cold feet about
it, worse forgot it for 35 years - it was recorded by
Tangerine Studios who issued 'Extrapolation'. ???It is
an excellent album of jazz rock fusion: so I have to
ask, why it has sat in the archives for so long??
Inevitably other jazz rock/fusion reference points
come to mind. There are strong hints of Soft Machine
but the Machine heard in after 1971. However, Surman's
music is exuberant, extrovert. After 1971 Machine were
sounding increasing introvert and cerebral - with
Ratledge's use of the minimalism of Terry Riley
(subsequently taken up by Karl Jenkins), (even as an
avid fan of Machine) I then often felt they were
spiralling inwards with respect to direction (almost
literally) - made worse when the most exuberant
founder member of Machine, Wyatt, was sidelined and
then dismissed from his own band. Think ofNucleus, but
with either alto or sop sax leading - Nucleus in the
early 70's were increasingly sounding exuberant and
cerebral - some of the dynamism coming from a rather
funky sounding Chris Spedding, on rhythm & lead guitar
(in that order) - no guitar here though. Then of
course John McLaughlin's 'Extrapolation' - but that
album is McLaughlin's with Surman guesting, and
'Extrapolation' could probably be called more one of
the high points of a youthful modern British jazz
movement, as opposed to jazz rock (jazz fusion without
the rock, maybe).
Then Miles - a mite too early to be compared or say
be influenced by 'Bitches', although due reference is
given to 'In A Silent Way'. However, the lead is
dominated by John Surman, first on alto and on later
tracks on soprano sax - augmented here by Mike
Osbourne on alto.
This album is making me rigorously think about which
album could called the first British jazz rock album,
this surely is now a strong candidate. Made all the
better for being so bloody good!!!!!
And back to Cuneiform - while only a handful of
British labels are finding archived music, forgotten
and indeed never previosly released by British bands
(e.g Voiceprint/Blueprint Records), Cuneiform
persistently find the gems. If you want further
evidence of this check out another album just released
by Cuneiform, a double of archived live performances
of Graham Collier. Thanks you (as a Brit)
Cuneiform!!!!!!!!!
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New (old) John Surman (Cuneiform’s praise
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