When is a saxophone trio more than a saxophone trio? When they also play synthesizer, keyboards, and drums, as S.O.S. -- baritone/soprano saxophonist John Surman, alto saxophonist Mike Osborne, and soprano/tenor saxophonist Alan Skidmore -- did during the trio's brief existence during the mid- to late '70s. Before Cuneiform released the two-disc archival collection Looking for the Next One in 2013, S.O.S. had only one album to their name, an eponymous disc on Ogun in 1975, although the trio members were all major contributors to various other '60s and '70s British jazz projects. The 1975 album revealed Surman's multi-layered keyboards and synthesizer and Skidmore's drums to be effective complements to the threesome's saxes (and Surman's bass clarinet), and the previously unreleased Cuneiform set provides even stronger evidence of the group's stellar multi-instrumentalism. Three late-1974 London studio recordings begin disc one, the three-minute leadoff track "News" immediately establishing that S.O.S. had feet planted in both electronic music and improvisational jazz. The track actually features only Surman, playing forceful soprano with copious echo and wah-wah over the insistent sequencer patterns and rhythms of his EMS synthesizer. Those seeking unadulterated saxophone dialogues get their wish with "Rashied," written by Coltrane drummer Rashied Ali; the trio begins with an initially sparse conversation and builds into a tight riff supporting animated free blowing by each of the members in turn.

1		News
2		Rashied
3		Looking for the Next One
4		Country Dance
5		Q.E. Hall
6		The Mountain Road
7		Introduction
8		Suite
9		Trio Trio
10		Up There
11		Legends