''Stranger than Fiction'' is an album by the

John Surman John Douglas Surman (born 30 August 1944) is an English jazz saxophone, Clarinet family, 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 danc ...

Quartet recorded in December 1993 and released on ECM October the following year. The quartet features rhythm section John Taylor,

Chris Laurence Chris Laurence (born 6 January 1949) is an English musician. Born in London, he studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and primarily works with jazz and classical music. In the classical world he was principal double bass with th ...

and

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...

.ECM discography
accessed October 5, 2011

Reception

The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

review by

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Life and career Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...

awarded the album 4 stars, stating, "Surman always sounds relaxed, even on the more heated originals. It's an interesting set of generally introverted music."Yanow. S
Allmusic Review
accessed October 5, 2011

Track listing

All compositions by John Surman except where noted. # "Canticle with Response" – 6:10 # "A Distant Spring" – 7:45 # "Tess" – 6:44 # "Promising Horizons" (Marshall, Surman, Taylor) – 5:32 # "Across the Bridge" – 7:55 # "Moonshine Dancer" – 6:43 # "Running Sands" – 9:10 # "Triptych: Hidden Orchid/Synapsis/Paratactic Paths" – 14:43

Personnel

John Surman Quartet

– soprano and baritone saxophones, alto and bass clarinets * John Taylor – piano *

– bass *

– drums

References

{{Authority control ECM Records albums John Surman albums 1994 albums Albums produced by Manfred Eicher