This is a total joy. If you thought Surman’s previous album Coruscating with this same line-up was good, this is even better. … The sound of the instruments and the way they combine is truly amazing. The throaty, guttural baritone finds an echo in the bass and cello and the soprano in the higher tones of the violins. The harmonies are fabulous, deep and rich, and evoke, for me at least, the English countryside through the seasons. As for the performances, they are quite perfect with Rita Manning’s solo violin on the title track an absolute highlight. This is simply the best record I’ve heard this year.
Duncan Heining, Jazzwise Almost a decade has passed since John Surman initiated this special project in which his reeds and the bass of Chris Laurence are flanked by, and interact with, a string quartet. “Coruscating”, the debut album from this unique combination of players, was recorded in January 1999 and met with a warm response from listeners to jazz, chamber music and beyond. An Editor’s Choice in Gramophone, hailed as “coruscating indeed, a classic ECM disc” by composer Ivan Moody in International Record Review, and as “an album of almost unspeakable beauty: fantastically vivid and evocative”, by rock magazine Mojo, the recording established a template on which Surman could build. And “The Spaces In Between” marks a big step forward... |