Brewster's Rooster

Personnel: Drew Gress (double bass); Jack DeJohnette (drums); John Abercrombie (guitar); John Surman (soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone).Audio Mixers: Jack DeJohnette; Joe Ferla; John Surman.Photographer: Robert Lewis.In his nearly 50-year career, saxophonist and composer John Surman has played and recorded in as many settings as one might imagine. Whether it's experimental free music, rockist fusion projects, large ensembles, solo, duets, concept recordings, you name it. Surman's 2009 ECM release BREWSTER'S ROOSTER is a pretty straight-ahead jazz date, here accompanied by guitarist John Abercrombie, drummer Jack DeJohnette (with whom he recorded the stellar DUETS set in 2007), and bassist Drew Gress. Further, the sound on the recording, while contemporary, does hearken back to the heady days of ECM in the late 1970s. Seven of the nine cuts here are Surman originals, the two covers are an utterly gorgeous reading of "Chelsea Bridge," and John Warren's "Slanted Sky" which opens the