S.O.S.

John Surman, Mike Osborne, and Alan Skidmore, three of the most groundbreaking saxophonists in British jazz of the '60s and '70s, had already been making their marks in a variety of contexts -- performing and recording both together and apart -- when they formed the S.O.S. trio in 1973. All three saxmen had been members of the Mike Westbrook Concert Band (appearing on both volumes of 1969's Marching Song), with Surman and Osborne playing in Westbrook ensembles since 1962, and Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath (appearing on the Brotherhood's eponymous debut in 1970). Howe...