By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Live in Athens, Greece
Unless
you’re a longtime jazz fan — and likely a senior citizen, to boot — you
probably haven’t the foggiest notion who Mark Murphy was. That’s a shame,
because he’s one of the finest male jazz vocalists who ever lived.
But
he was born too soon (in 1932), and performed during a period when vocalists of
his gender were crooners such as Frank Sinatra, Vic Damone, Bing Crosby, Mel
Tormé and the many others who were all the rage. A few, usually later in their
lives, were
indoctrinated
into the jazz world — most notably Sinatra and Tormé — but nobody ever reached
the skill level that Murphy occupied during his entire career.
It
was a long one: He died in 2015, and had performed his final concert just two
years earlier. And although the general public likely wasn’t aware of his prowess,
iconic jazz musicians and vocalists knew and worshiped him. When he performed
or recorded, he had his pick of artists eager to back him. Murphy also was
prolific, recording more than 50 albums. The last one released during his
lifetime was 2013’s A Beautiful Friendship:
Remembering Shirley Horn.
This
“new” album was recorded live in 2008, at the Gazarte Club in Athens, Greece,
but has just now become available.
Murphy’s
performances were unique, in that he melded his songs together, moving from one
to another without waiting for applause. He also added lyrics to and between them, to provide a steady flow of words and
thoughts. If lyrics didn’t exist, as is the case with many jazz tunes, he
created his own. His scatting was phenomenal, with and without actual
words.
In
retrospect, that may have been a cause for Murphy’s relative lack of
popularity: He often was described as “eccentric,” when in fact he was far, far ahead of his time. He paid no
attention to the original intent of meter; he’d transform a ballad into a
barn-burner.
The
11 tunes here include all genres, and Murphy makes them all swing like crazy. Get
ready for a genuine treat.
Oh,
how I miss him.
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