The Sound of Surprise

Last updated

The Sound of Surprise
The Sound of Surprise (Earthworks album) coverart.jpg
Studio album by
Released27 February 2001 (2001-02-27)
RecordedNovember 2000, Livingston Studios, London, England
Genre Jazz
Label Discipline Global Mobile

The Sound of Surprise is an album by Bill Bruford's Earthworks. It was the second Earthworks album to feature saxophonist Patrick Clahar, pianist Steve Hamilton and acoustic bassist Mark Hodgson. Unlike previous Earthworks albums, it showcases a more traditional acoustic jazz quartet sound. It was released on Robert Fripp's Discipline Global Mobile label in 2001.

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]

In a review for AllMusic, John Duffy wrote: " Precisely what made the early Earthworks records so interesting were the chordal drums, largely horn-driven songs, and more progressive outlook. Going back to a traditional jazz quartet format feels somehow like a step backward." [1]

Writing for Jazz Times, Steve Smith stated: "With each of his successive side projects, [Bruford]'s edged closer to the trappings of mainstream jazz, stripping away the electronics and gimmicks until finally, on The Sound of Surprise, what's left is the very foundation of the tradition: a saxophone, a piano, a bass and a drum kit." He concluded by calling the album "far and away Bruford's most convincing jazz work to date." [3]

David Cisco of Progressive World called the album "a treasure of complex musical arrangements and exciting musicianship," and commented: "The Sound of Surprise showcases the master timekeeper's vision and songwriting and production skills while sharing the spotlight with his highly talented bandmates. Almost every type of jazz is represented... The Sound of Surprise is indeed a surprise and a very happy one, to boot." [4]

Track listing

  1. "Revel Without a Pause"
  2. "Triplicity"
  3. "Shadow of a Doubt"
  4. "Teaching Vera to Dance"
  5. "Half Life"
  6. "Come to Dust"
  7. "Cloud Cuckoo Land"
  8. "Never the Same Way Once"
  9. "The Wooden Man Sings, and the Stone Woman Dances"
  10. "Sound of Surprise"

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Bruford</span> English drummer

William Scott Bruford is an English former drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording and touring with King Crimson (1972–1974), Roy Harper (1975), and U.K. (1978); and touring with Genesis (1976). In 1978, he formed his own group, Bruford, which was active until 1980.

<i>My Favorite Things</i> (John Coltrane album) 1961 studio album by John Coltrane

My Favorite Things is the seventh studio album by jazz musician John Coltrane, released in March 1961 on Atlantic Records. It was the first album to feature Coltrane playing soprano saxophone. An edited version of the title track became a hit single that gained popularity in 1961 on radio. The record became a major commercial success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwilym Simcock</span> Welsh pianist and composer

Gwilym Simcock is a Welsh pianist and composer working in both jazz and classical music, often blurring any distinction between the two musical forms.

<i>Kilimanjaro</i> (The Rippingtons album) 1988 studio album by The Rippingtons

Kilimanjaro is the second album by the American Jazz group The Rippingtons, released in 1988 for Passport Jazz Records, and later reissued under the GRP label. Kilimanjaro reached #3 on Billboard's Jazz chart.

<i>Friends</i> (Chick Corea album) 1978 studio album by Chick Corea

Friends is the thirteenth album by Chick Corea. It features a quartet of Corea, saxophonist Joe Farrell, acoustic bassist Eddie Gómez and drummer Steve Gadd. It was released by Polydor Records in 1978, and the cover featured The Smurfs.

"Starless" is a composition by English progressive rock band King Crimson. It is the final track on their seventh studio album, Red, released on 6 October 1974.

Bill Bruford's Earthworks were a British jazz band led by drummer Bill Bruford. The band recorded several albums for Editions EG, Discipline Global Mobile and Summerfold Records.

<i>Beginnings</i> (Steve Howe album) 1975 studio album by Steve Howe

Beginnings is the debut studio album by English guitarist and songwriter Steve Howe, released in October 1975 by Atlantic Records. It was recorded and released during a break in activity from the progressive rock band Yes, after they agreed for each member to produce a solo album. Howe employed various guest musicians, including past and present Yes bandmates Bill Bruford, Alan White and Patrick Moraz, plus members of Gryphon.

<i>Earthworks</i> (album) 1987 studio album by Bill Brufords Earthworks

Earthworks is the first album by Bill Bruford's Earthworks, a jazz fusion band led by drummer Bill Bruford with keyboardist and trumpeter Django Bates, saxophonist Iain Ballamy, and acoustic bassist Mick Hutton. It was released in 1987 on EG Records and reissued on Summerforld in 2005. The album was co-produced by Bruford's former bandmate Dave Stewart.

<i>Stamping Ground</i> (album) 1994 live album by Bill Brufords Earthworks

Stamping Ground is a live album by Bill Bruford's Earthworks, released on EG Records in 1994. It was the final Earthworks album to feature Django Bates, Iain Ballamy and Tim Harries. Four years later, Bruford would form a new version of Earthworks in a more traditional acoustic jazz vein.

<i>Dig?</i> 1989 studio album by Bill Brufords Earthworks

Dig? is the second album by Bill Bruford's Earthworks, featuring Django Bates, Iain Ballamy and fretless bass guitarist Tim Harries. It was released on EG Records in 1989.

<i>All Heaven Broke Loose</i> 1991 studio album by Bill Brufords Earthworks

All Heaven Broke Loose is the third album by Bill Bruford's Earthworks, featuring Django Bates, Iain Ballamy and Tim Harries. It was released on EG Records in 1991. It was co-produced by experimental guitarist David Torn, with whom Bruford had played extensively in the 1980s (and would go on to do again in Bruford Levin Upper Extremities in 1998-2000.

<i>Sound Museum: Three Women</i> 1996 studio album by Ornette Coleman

Sound Museum: Three Women is an album by the American jazz composer and saxophonist Ornette Coleman recorded in 1996 and released on the Harmolodic/Verve label. It is dedicated to Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell.

<i>Music for Piano and Drums</i> 1983 studio album by Moraz and Bruford

Music for Piano and Drums is the first studio album by a duo consisting of Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz and English drummer Bill Bruford. Both were members of Yes at different times, and the two had played together on Yes bassist Chris Squire's solo album Fish Out of Water in 1975.

<i>Flags</i> (Moraz and Bruford album) 1985 studio album by Moraz-Bruford

Flags is a 1985 album by the duo of keyboardist Patrick Moraz and drummer Bill Bruford. Unlike their debut Music for Piano and Drums, which featured only the two instruments in the album's title, this recording expanded their musical palette by incorporating Kurzweil 250 synthesizer and Simmons electronic percussion. During the recording of this album, Moraz was a member of The Moody Blues, while Bruford's band King Crimson had just begun a hiatus that would last for ten years. Flags features ten original instrumentals, mostly derived from the duo improvising or working with sketches. There is also a drum solo Bruford based on Max Roach's "The Drum Also Waltzes".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First House (band)</span>

First House was a British jazz quartet that was active between 1983 and 1990. Founded and led by saxophonist and composer Ken Stubbs, the group also consisted of Django Bates on piano, Mick Hutton on acoustic bass and Martin France on drum kit and percussion.

<i>Ballads</i> (Liane Carroll album) 2013 studio album by Liane Carroll

Ballads is a studio album by English jazz pianist/vocalist Liane Carroll. It was released in April 2013 by Quietmoney Recordings and distributed by Proper Records.

Mick Hutton is a British jazz bassist and composer.

<i>Cant Help Swinging</i> 1961 studio album by Jimmy Hamilton

Can't Help Swinging is an album by saxophonist Jimmy Hamilton which was recorded in 1961 and released on the Swingville label.

<i>Message from Home</i> 1996 studio album by Pharoah Sanders

Message from Home is an album by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. It was recorded in New York City and Brooklyn, New York, and was released in 1996 by Verve Records. On the album, which was produced by Bill Laswell, Sanders is joined by kora player Foday Musa Suso, guitarist Dominic Kanza, violinist Michael White, keyboardists William Henderson, Jeff Bova, and Bernie Worrell, bassists Charnett Moffett and Steve Neil, and percussionists Aiyb Dieng and Hamid Drake.

References

  1. 1 2 Duffy, John. "Bill Bruford: The Sound of Surprise". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  2. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2006). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. p. 186.
  3. Smith, Steve (1 June 2001). "Bill Bruford and Earthworks: The Sound of Surprise". Jazz Times. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  4. Cisco, David (7 December 2001). "Bruford's Earthworks, Bill - The Sound Of Surprise". Progressive World. Retrieved 30 September 2022.