Didier Lockwood / Surya ~ France

Live in Montreux (1980)

Violinist Didier Lockwood played on a ton of albums in and around the French jazz rock world of the late 70s. This includes the below, one of his most famous releases (though it was truly a band effort). I haven't heard a fraction of his solo albums, and a buddy of mine had this cheap at the Denver record show, so I grabbed it for a listen.

By 1980, Lockwood seemingly had the same reputation as Jean-Luc Ponty. While that may (or may not) have been true in France, it certainly wasn't here in the States. But that didn't stop the labels from trying. Pausa, whose parent label was based in Italy (for my core readers, think Maxophone), was one such entity working hard to bring European artists into the American fold. Usually with no success. To read the back quotes, you'd think Lockwood was as talented as David Oistrakh, Michael Rabin, or Nathan Milstein. Regardless, Live in Montreux is mostly garden variety fusion of the era. Tight unison lines are followed by swapping solos. Some atmospheric and funky pieces provide contrast. Lockwood gets in one unaccompanied solo, that I'm rather certain would not qualify for symphony hall status. Jan Hammer, who apparently didn't sleep in the 70s and 80s, is on hand with his trusty synthesizer. The audience seemed more enamored with him than Lockwood himself. Admittedly Lockwood does get some very interesting sound effects out of his fiddle. Formulaic, easy to listen to, but otherwise too much of the same thing for me.

Source: 1981 Pausa (LP)

4/28/26 (review)
 

Surya (1979)

Surya was a fusion band lead by the Lockwood brothers, and released this one album. In the US, the album was listed under Didier Lockwood's name with the title of Surya. Strange move, as I doubt Didier Lockwood meant too much to the average American at the time. Could have been a copyright thing. In any case, Surya is a smoking hot fusion album with Didier's violin up front, supported by Francis' piano, and some fantastic synthesizer work from Luc Plouton. In-every-band drummer Jean My Truong is keeping bassist Sylvain Marc busy trying to maintain the pace. It's not all chops, as you can find some beautiful songwriting such as found on 'Aspiring Answer'. There's some funky business too, as to be expected from the era. All in all, a superb fusion album for fans of the genre.

Ownership: 1979 Cornelia (LP). Information inner. Acquired in 2021.

First copy: 1980 Inner City (LP). Acquired in 2003. Replaced with the above.

2003; 1/20/22 (review)

1/20/22 (new entry)