| Proverbs and Songs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 1997 | |||
| Recorded | 1 June 1996 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 49:28 | |||
| Label | ECM ECM 1639 | |||
| Producer | Derek Drescher | |||
| John Surman chronology | ||||
| ||||
Proverbs and Songs is a live album by the English saxophonist John Surman recorded at Salisbury Cathedral on June 1, 1996 with organist John Taylor and the 75-strong Salisbury Festival Chorus and released on ECM the following year, consisting a suite of choral settings of Old Testament texts. [1] [2]
It was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 1998. [3] Surman performed the suite several times after the 1996 performance. [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [4] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [5] |
The AllMusic review awarded the album 2.5 stars. [4] Alyn Shipton wrote that Surman's "unaccompanied choral writing was rich and unusual and elsewhere the sense of jazz rhythm and forward motion came almost exclusively from his saxophone, creating rich ostinatos, or swirling aggressively among the choral parts." [2]
John Taylor was a British jazz pianist, born in Manchester, England, who occasionally performed on the organ and the synthesizer.
ECM is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's artists often refuse to acknowledge boundaries between genres. ECM's motto is "the most beautiful sound next to silence", taken from a 1971 review of ECM releases in Coda, a Canadian jazz magazine.
John Douglas Surman is an English jazz saxophone, clarinet, and synthesizer player, and composer of free jazz and modal jazz, often using themes from folk music. He has composed and performed music for dance performances and film soundtracks.
Stuart Victor Martin was an American jazz drummer.
Withholding Pattern is a solo album by English jaz msician John Surman recorded in December 1984 and released on ECM the following year.
Private City is a solo album by English saxophonist John Surman, recorded in December 1987 and released on ECM the following year.
Fragments is an album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley recorded in January 1986 and released on ECM October later that year. The quartet features reed player John Surman, guitarist Bill Frisell, and drummer Paul Motian.
The Paul Bley Quartet is an album by the Paul Bley Quartet, recorded in November 1987 and released on ECM March the following year. The eponymous quartet features reed player John Surman, guitarist Bill Frisell, and drummer Paul Motian.
In the Evenings out There is an album by Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley recorded in September 1991 and released on ECM two years later. The quartet features rhythm section Gary Peacock and Tony Oxley and reed player John Surman.
Journey's End is an album by Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš recorded in July 1982 and released on ECM the following year. The quartet features reed player John Surman, pianist John Taylor, and drummer Jon Christensen.
Such Winters of Memory is an album by English saxophonist John Surman recorded in December 1982 and released on ECM the following year. The trio features singer Karin Krog and drummer Pierre Favre.
Road to Saint Ives is a solo album by the English saxophonist John Surman, recorded in April 1990 and released on ECM the following year.
Adventure Playground is an album by English saxophonist John Surman recorded in September 1991 and released on ECM the following year. The quartet features rhythm section Paul Bley, Gary Peacock and Tony Oxley.
The Brass Project is an album by English jazz saxophonist John Surman and Canadian conductor and composer John Warren, recorded in April 1992 and released on ECM the following year. Warren's brass nonet consists trumpeters Henry Lowther, Stephen Waterman, and Stuart Brooks, trombonists Malcolm Griffiths and Chris Pyne, bass trombonists David Stewart and Richard Edwards, and rhythm section Chris Laurence and John Marshall.
Stranger than Fiction is an album by the John Surman Quartet recorded in December 1993 and released on ECM October the following year. The quartet features rhythm section John Taylor, Chris Laurence and John Marshall.
A Biography of the Rev. Absalom Dawe is a solo album by English saxophonist John Surman, recorded in October 1994 and released on ECM the following year.
Invisible Nature is a live album by English saxophonist John Surman and American drummer Jack DeJohnette recorded in Tampere and Berlin in November 1999 and released on ECM in 2002.
The Spaces in Between is an album by English saxophonist John Surman recorded in February 2006 and released on ECM the following year.
Nordic Quartet is an album by English saxophonist John Surman recorded in 1994 and released on ECM the following. The quartet features singer Karin Krog, guitarist Terje Rypdal and pianist Vigleik Storaas.
Rain on the Window is an album by English saxophonist John Surman with organist Howard Moody recorded in January 2006 and released on ECM in 2008.
