John Surman and Jack DeJohnette - The Amazing Adventures of Simon Simon (ECM, 1981)

This post is by Dan

John Surman (bs, ss, bcl, synth); Jack DeJohnette (d, p, congas) 

Recorded January, 1981

When John Surman joined ECM for 1979's Upon Reflection, he chose a solo format that he frequently revisited throughout his long career. Through overdubbing his multiple instruments and playing over a synth background, he produced music of great beauty. I don't fully buy into the criticism of his solo albums as too inward or withdrawn. All artists are self-indulgent to a degree, and Surman had found a format that worked for him. 

Nonetheless, The Amazing Adventures of Simon Simon shows how well Surman responds to the spark provided by a provocative drummer like Jack DeJohnette. Amazing Adventures offers a highly interactive and engaging dialogue between the two players. The album's first track, "Nestor's Saga," reprises Surman's solo formula for most of its 10:48 minutes, with DeJohnette heating things up near the end. This sets the stage for "The Buccaneers" on which the drummer goads Surman into growls and squawks on soprano. Each subsequent track varies the pace, choice of instruments, and length to produce a varied program of driving rhythms interspersed with pastoral beauty. A synth-baritone overdubbed solo feature for Surman is a delight ("Within the Halls of Neptune"), and on "Fide et Amore" DeJohnette on electric piano and Surman on baritone create a beautiful dialogue reminiscent of Harold Budd and Marion Brown playing on the former's The Pavillion of Dreams album. 

 

It's unclear who Simon Simon may have been or what his adventures were. The cover art and section titles offer some clues, but in the end, it doesn't add to or detract from the appreciation of this wonderful album.