FRANCESCA / Francesca. Ninno. Shenzhen. Come and Go. Am Gone Get Some. Free Mingus. Cycles and Seasons (David Murray). Richard’s Tune (Don Pullen) / David Murray, t-sax/bs-cl; Marta Sanchez, pno; Luke Stewart, bs; Russell Carter, dm / Intakt CD 422
David Murray is, in my estimation, the most diversely talented of the members of the former World Saxophone Quartet; at least, I can tell you that I have more recordings by Murray in my collection that me made after he left that group than any of the others, good as they were. And the reason is that he is, quite simply, a much more creative and interesting jazz composer than the others. I was first hooked on his music many years ago, in another century, when I heard his album 3D Family, and I’ve been a Murray fan ever since.
On this, his latest recording, he is joined by an exceptionally talented quartet of musicians who understand his aesthetics and are thus sympathetic to his approach. Evaluating Murray strictly as a saxophonist, I would also say that he had, and still has, the most interesting timbre of the WSQ members: it is simultaneously dark, rich, and biting, sort of a cross between Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins and Illinois Jacquet; and interestingly, his style of improvisation combines elements of these three tenor players as well. As a result, you never know where a Murray solo is going to go, but the journey is always interesting and rewarding. He is, I’d also add, a constructionist, by which I mean that all of his solos have direction and form; even when he goes off the deep end with “sheets of sound” or high-register squeals, the notes are always part of a larger pattern that, when you analyze it, makes logical musical sense. And that is another reason why I value him so highly as an artist, and always will as long as both of us are still around and active.
Nor am I exaggerating when I call this group exceptionally talented. Although I admit to not having heard bassist Luke Stewart before, I was utterly bowled over by his playing. He has a big, rich sound, similar to Charles Mingus, much of Mingus’ imagination but an even wilder sense of imagination when he solos…sort of a hybrid of Mingus and Eddie Gomez with a touch of Thomas Fonnabæk, the great European modern jazz bassist whose work I have also praised on this blog. Nor is pianist Martha Sanchez far behind Murray in her wildly creative solos, which skirt tonality while still retaining a sense of structure. And on top of it all, this quartet really swings, even when, as in the final chorus of the opener, bass and drums are fracturing the beat behind Murray, at least until his coda which is played a cappella and is every bit as good as the classic series of cadenzas that Bunny Berigan played on I Can’t Get Started nearly a century ago. That’s just how good Murray still is. He never seems to run out of ideas and seldom, if ever, repeats himself.
The third reason I value Murray so highly is that, even in his wildest outbursts, he always swings, thus he never loses touch with one of the basic elements of jazz. This is especially evident in Ninno, which swings hard from start to finish. If I have any caveat about this band, it is that drummer Russell Carter sometimes overpowers the others with his sound, fracturing the beat in a way that is sometimes interesting but also sometimes distracting, but that is a common style among modern jazz drummers.
Another small caveat that I have is that Murray is simply such an overpowering presence that no matter how good his bandmates are, he always seems to dominate the proceedings. You might say that I feel that way because he is a horn player with an exceptionally powerful tone, which is certainly true, but I would counter that it’s also because he dominates the solo space. Sanchez’ second and third choruses on Ninno are nearly as wildly creative as Murray’s, but her range of dynamics simply isn’t as wide or as arresting as his. Carter takes an excellent drum solo on this one, showing off his multifaceted technique, but to be honest his solo goes on a bit too long and repeats certain licks.
Yet another thing I liked about this recording is the way it was recorded, with the whole band being close-miked in such a way that they are always well-balanced without resorting to too much reverb. This gives the quartet a strong audio presence; they sound as if they are right in your living room. On Shenzen Murray switches to bass clarinet and proves once again what an absolute master of reed instruments he is. In addition to playing in the hard, loud style pioneered by Eric Dolphy on this instrument, he also pulls back on the volume by reducing his breath pressure to just a little above a whisper, which produces the loveliest sound in the middle range I have ever heard on that instrument. His extended solo uses a great many 16th notes in what is basically a medium tempo, yet his control of the instrument is always impeccable. (In addition to all of his other talents, I get the impression that Murray would make a phenomenal teacher to young reed players. I personally feel that he is one of the greatest technicians on his instruments I’ve ever heard, and in his career of nearly a half-century he hasn’t lost an iota of control.)
Come and Go is one of the wildest, most outré pieces on the entire album, written in a cut 5/4 tempo with Murray flying all over his instrument in a solo of almost indescribable brilliance yet also with a few (not many) chaotic moments. And this is clearly one of those tracks where Sanchez, for all her brilliance, simply cannot match the leader because of his wider range of both dynamics and color—but she’s in there pitching. Following her solo, for instance, Murray returns with intense high-register screams before coming back down to his Coleman Hawkins-like finale.
Am Gone Get Some is one of the most complex pieces on this album, harking back to Murray’s creative days of the 1980s and ‘90s. It has a quirky sort of rhythm in the opening theme statement, and for once Murray gives way to Sanchez to play the first solo, which is brilliant as usual for this excellent pianist. She uses a full two-hands style with perfect interaction between the two, playing not just chords but alternate themes, slower in tempo but extremely varied in where she puts the stress beats. This set us Murray to try to equal her. Of course, since his tenor sax can just play one line he cannot play accompanying lines, but he doesn’t really try to top her. He just plays his own way for three choruses, each one building on what the previous chorus had created, using a slightly different style for each of them. He really is an amazing musician!
Then, finally, a ballad—just one!!! What a refreshing idea! This is Richard’s Tune, written by Don Pullen, the former pianist with Charles Mingus’ Changes group of the 1970s. After a lovely out-of-tempo intro by Murray on bass clarinet, he plays the theme, which alternates between 4/4 and 3/4. Neither he nor Sanchez has any trouble with the shifting meter; a piece of cake! Stewart, who hadn’t been given solo space over the previous few tracks, makes up for lost time with another brilliant statement. And, naturally, Stewart plays the opening few bars of Free Mingus, another sort-of ballad but not a very slow one with a memorable melodic line, showing once again the breadth of Murray’s talent, although the tune really didn’t put me in mind of Mingus. It’s more lyrical and doesn’t have the odd tempo shifts that Mingus created so often and easily.
We end this set with Cycles and Seasons, a Murray piece that alternates between a sort of quasi-Latin beat and a straight four. It’s taken at a medium tempo but still swings; I don’t think Murray is capable of not swinging. But the whole quartet sounds loose and relaxed on this one, everyone gives their best, and a good time is had by all.
This is quite an album, but then again, when I see David Murray’s name on anything I expect the very best—and he usually delivers.
—© 2024 Lynn René Bayley
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