MJF: John Surman: Words Unspoken at Royal Northern College of Music

British composer, saxophonist and clarinettist John Surman will be 80 in 2024, and, in the lead-up to this milestone, he will continue his musical adventures with a new band and CD called Words Unspoken.

Words Unspoken is a development of his 2018 ECM release Invisible Threads (described in The Times as ‘…elegant chamber jazz…’) and sees Surman working in collaboration with British rising star, guitarist Rob Luft, Oslo-based American vibraphonist Rob Waring and celebrated Norwegian drummer Thomas Strønen.

Words Unspoken was recorded at Rainbow Studios in Oslo in December 2022 and released on the prestigious European label ECM earlier this year. Live, it premièred at Oslo Jazz Festival in 2023 and is an unmissable addition to Manchester Jazz Festival.

For lauded British saxophonist and composer, John Surman, every project is part of an ongoing adventure.  The journey from his imagination to the page, into the recording studio, and finally onto the stage, is a quest for the ‘unspoken words’ in the music.  John Surman’s newest project, Words Unspoken, continues the conversations that started with the music for his trio Invisible Threads – and this time, he has added elements of percussion and some electronics to the mix.

John Surman bass clarinet
Rob Luft guitar
Rob Waring  vibraphone
Thomas Strønen drums
Stuart Mørch Kerrison sound design & electronica