John Surman - How Many Clouds Can You See? (1970)

Tracklist

01 - Galata Bridge
02 - Caractatus
03 - Premonition
04 - Event
05 - How Many Clouds Can You See?

personnel :

Mike Osborne – alto saxophone
John Warren – baritone saxophone, flute
John Surman – baritone saxophone, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet
Barre Phillips, Harry Miller – bass
Alan Jackson, Tony Oxley – drums
Alan Skidmore – tenor saxophone, flute
Chris Pyne, Malcolm Griffiths – trombone
Dave Holdsworth – trumpet
Harold Beckett – trumpet, flugelhorn
John Taylor – piano
George Smith – tuba

John Surman's second album remains his most impressive, anticipating the sound and scope of the European free jazz movement that would blossom in the decade to come -- boasting an extraordinary roster highlighted by trumpeter Harry Beckett, tenorist Alan Skidmore and bassist Barre Phillips, How Many Clouds Can You See? captures a singular moment in the evolution of British jazz, forging a new and distinct sound with few musical antecedents. Surman is a force of nature here, wielding his baritone, soprano and bass clarinet as if they were weapons -- no less impressive is his control, however, and no matter how far How Many Clouds Can You See? may travel, the music never lapses into self-indulgence or swallows its own tail.~Jason Ankeny