Toasted Head Malbec and Chardonnay
R.H. Phillips
By Fred L. Bouchard
Mark MurphyÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs recordings and R.H. Phillips' wines (by winemaker John Giguiere) have a great deal in un-common. They create robust expressions of noble yet recherchÃÂÃÂÃÂé materials (songs / grapes) from unusual points of view (i.e., Murphy's unique style, Dunnigan Hills' scarcely explored territory). They have staying power from/in the mouth: both crooner and winemaker know how to deliver a balance of bracing acidity (Murphy's searing wail) with spicy fruitiness (plum, anise, and toast on the Malbec) for a satisfactorily lingering experience.
They slip a little heady lagniappe into our ears / glasses: Murphy slips in his references to the far and wide of the jazz experience (Joe Carroll's ur-bop fantasia, Cole Porter's smart sass), while Giguiere zings a dash of Merlot and Cab Sauvignon into his Malbec. Both arrive in tall, elegant, high-shouldered packages with a distinctive look (mien / label). Even the wineÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs logo -- a bear breathing fire -- is strikingly apropos for Murphy, an arch-hipster whoÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs been bearish in sustaining (and surviving a bear market in) exquisite and endangered repertoire over two generations.
Moreover, Murphy repeatedly and fearlessly toasts his head (while sizzling audiences) with his singular penchant for Jack Kerouac recitations, free-wheeling improvisations, wed-in-the-wood lyrics mated with bop classics (Dameron, Pettiford, Walton, et al.) He continues to breathe the holy spirit of bebop into a zealous and hand-picked cadre of acolytes among the younger jazz vocalists -- Rebecca Parris, Kurt Elling, and Madeleine Eastman, to name but a few.
Visit the R.H. Phillips Web Site.
Fred Bourchard hosts Crosscurrents (WMBR-FM, MIT Radio, Cambridge, MA, 88.1mHz, 2-4 Thursdays) and AGLIO (Italian wine-dine club.) Reach him at fbouchard@juno.com or visit his web site at www.fredbouchard.com.
