David Murray has never been one to stick to a single
group, or even group size, for that long a period. Having played in bands of
various sizes he has at times favoured quartets and octets (of which you should
absolutely check out his octets collection from Black Saint & Soul Note),
more recently he has played with much larger big bands, to great effect, but with
his newest release ‘Be My Monster Love’ he makes a return to the always popular
‘traditional’ quartet setting.
A largely new group, and dubbed the ‘Infinity
Quartet’, Murray here is given uniformly excellent support by piano and organ
player Marc Cary, bassist Jaribu Shahid and drummer Nasheet Waits, who all hit
the ground running on the opening ‘French Kiss For Valerie’. Armed with a
winning groove it none-the-less also showcases a great blend of various styles,
from the refined and melodic up to the more open and freer emotionally charged.
On release ‘Be My Monster Love’ was largely noted for
it’s well-known guest singers, and although they all make a strong impression,
soul star Macy Gray gets the juicy title cut, and makes sure she gives her
everything in a powerful and emotionally charged performance that’ll make many
wish she followed this stronger, though perhaps less commercial, direction.
Fast rising jazz singer
Gregory Porter hits the mark too, on the tasty R’n’B of ‘Army Of The Faithful’,
and a more introspective and moving ballad in ‘Sorrow Song’, while ‘About The
Children’ offers up a more Latin vibe with a heavy dose of Soul (with a capital
‘S’).
Despite being billed as the
‘Infinity Quartet’, the singers aren’t the only guests however. Trumpet man
extraordinaire Bobby Bradford drops in for some fine blues strutting on ‘The
Graduate’ and very almost steals the show. He doesn’t however. Murray has
always been one to cast the spotlight on others, and in doing so, rather than
pushing attention away from himself, he instead is pushed to raise his game
even further, and here, surrounded by guest players, and thus given less
spotlight time, he goes all out.
Where Porter’s rich soulful
vocal could easily dominate so much of the playing time here, Murray’s warm
rounded tone offers just as much soul and pure musical emotion, and on the
excellent ‘Stressology’ he displays some light yet dazzlingly fast runs and
even some classics Ayler-esque cries.
It’s not a classic, but ‘Be My
Monster Love’ is a record with some great moments. Perhaps too varied for some,
it does show Murray yet again trying something new, and doing it in his own
unique way. The pieces themselves are some of his best, and the choice of
singers is inspired (even if one or two of the songs lyrics can occasionally be
a little weak). Stellar band, great guests, superb vocals, Murray’s signature
soulful yet free sax playing – what’s not to love?
****
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