Mark Murphy - The Artistry of Mark Murphy

Is there such a thing as a jazz singer?  Why might people classify Mark Murphy and Mel Tormé as such, but disqualify Frank Sinatra and Buddy Greco?*

Mark Murphy’s fifth** album for the Muse label was recorded and issued in 1982.  The blues and bedsitter moods of the first two Muse albums (Bridging A Gap and Mark II) were long gone - although this album did feature a James Taylor song as part of the closing medley.  

With each album. song selection was becoming considerably more mainstream (for example, I Remember Clifford, Autumn Nocturne & Moody’s Mood).  Indeed, the standards on this album outweighed the rarer nuggets that populated the first two Muse records.  

The album opens with a barnstorming reading of George Wallington’s Godchild - originally a 1949 B-side from by Miles Davis’ Nonet.  The original is much easier to find on the compilation album, The Birth Of The Cool.  On The Artistry Of Mark Murphy, the tune was given lyrics by Mark and retitled The Odd Child.  (Similarly, one year previously Mark had added lyrics to another Birth Of The Cool tune – Boplicity -for his Bop For Kerouac album).

Victor Schertzinger’s I Don’t Want To Cry Anymore is afforded six minutes plus of gentle Californian funk – a long cry from Billie Holiday’s 1955 recording (to be found on the Music For Torching album). Mark’s recording contains one of the best examples of his vocal gymnastics – his ability to sing around, ahead, above, below and before the beat, always making it back home in time.  On stage, he would take timing and enunciation to a whole new level – it should be noted that his studio work was by comparison somewhat restrained.

Especially charming is the Trilogy For Kids melody – the track opens with a waltz - Jon Hendricks’ lyrics to Randy Weston’s Babe’s Blues and Little Niles.  The medley links through to Oscar Brown’s words on Bobby Timmons’ Dat Dere. 

Another medley closes side 2 – Kern/Gershwin’s Long Ago And Far Away hooks up with James Taylor’s song of the same name. You’ll have to make up your own mind whether this particular marriage works all that well – it may be possible that on this occasion Mark Murphy over-reached himself.

Once again, the arrangements are by David Matthews.  The band deliver great backing and exquisite solos – particularly those from horn player Tom Harrell and guitarist Gene Bertoncini.  Outside of The Odd Child, there’s not much here for the jazz dance crowd; the record has a mostly subdued mood – melancholic, even.  The arrangements are more jazz than blues; there’s still a contemporary feel but overall, The Artistry Of Mark Murphy is a world away from the first two Muse label records.  It is a masterclass in the union of the American songbook, virtuoso playing and jazz vocal inflection. 

To the best of our knowledge, the record has never been available on CD.  Here’s another ultra-clean rip, on this occasion taken from an original American pressing.

Track listing

1.       The Odd Child

2.       I Don’t Want To Cry Anymore

3.       Moody’s Mood

4.       Trilogy For Kids:

a.       Babe’s Blues

b.       Little Niles

c.       Dat Dere

5.       I Remember Clifford

6.       Autumn Nocturne

7.       Close Enough For Love

8.       Medley: Long Ago And Far Away

The players

George Mraz – acoustic Bass (tracks: 1, 3, 6, 7)

Mark Egan - electric bass – (tracks: 2, 4, 8)

Jimmy Madison - Drums

Gene Bertoncini - guitar

Ben Aronov - keyboards

Sue Evans - ercussion

Gerry Niewood - saxophone

Tom Harrell - trumpet, flugelhorn

Dave Matthews – arrangements

Muse MR 5286

download here

* In my book, a jazz singer is one that allows the bassist to take a solo.

** The third and fourth albums were Mark Murphy Sings (1975) and Stolen Moments (1978), both of which have appeared on CD.  Both are truly magnificent records – but I don’t own vinyl copies. Although both CDs are long deleted, I’m still toying with the idea of putting CD rips onto what is intended to be a vinyl site.  Hmm.