British saxophone master John Surman has recorded prolifically on ECM since 1978, and worked with drummer Jack DeJohnnette and guitarist John Abercrombie even before that. Only bassist Drew Cress is new to the label, but he completes this quartet as if born to it. The leader's plaintive yet velvety-smooth soprano sax and Abercrombie's bell-like guitar open the album enticingly with 'Slanted Sky', written by Surman's one-time Brass Project cohort John Warren. Then, on baritone, Surman duets fiercely with DeJohnnette on 'Kickback', and produces a lovely interpretation of Strayhorn's 'Chelsea Bridge', just as lyrical as Mulligan's classic take from 1959. An album full of interest and attractive contrasts.
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