Jazz Articles about David Murray

like 205

David Murray 4Tet & Strings: Waltz Again

by R. Emmet Sweeney
December 21, 2005

Waltz Again begins with a thick squall of strings and hyper-Ayler sax wailings, laying down a warning. The strings in this recording will not sit still as a plush backing for treacly balladeering, but will instead bob and weave in constant interplay with the quartet. And when the true ballads come, their beauty gleams off the frenzy that passed before and will rage after.After the squall there is mourning, a swirling dirge of violins that would have Bernard ...

like 255

David Murray and the Gwo-Ka Masters: Gwotet

by Rex Butters
November 6, 2004

A passionate prolific player with lots to say and the vocabulary to preach, David Murray finds an aggregation capable of burning through the music with him in the Gwo-Ka Masters. Anchored by the ambi-rhythmic drummer Hamid Drake and Gwo-Ka drummer Klod Klavue, this thirteen piece ensemble rolls like an 18 wheeler downhill. Using hyper funk rhythms of Afro-Cuban music, Murray keeps his big, rough sound light on its feet for the fast dance through hurtling beats. Herve Samba and Christian ...

like 264

David Murray: Gwotet

by Russ Musto
October 20, 2004

David Murray has recorded more albums in a greater variety of settings than any musician of his generation, and he has done so with consistently astounding success. On this ambitious date the outstanding saxophonist displays his remarkable range in the company of Gwo-Ka master drummer/vocalists Francois Ladrezau and Klod Kiavue, guitarists Herve Sambe and Christian Laviso, bassist Jaribu Shahid, drummer Hamid Drake, and a six-piece horn section drawn primarily from his Cuban big band. And, as if all that wasn't ...

like 216

David Murray and the Gwo Ka Masters: Gwotet

by Jim Santella
July 2, 2004

Don’t try to pigeonhole David Murray. He communicates in the universal language: music.

Featuring guest tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, Gwotet crosses geographical boundaries to incorporate funk, blues, world beat, Afro-Cuban, and traditional “roots” in Murray’s melting pot. The title track summarizes his intended message, with Sanders and Murray soloing over an enchanting, rhythmic beat, swirling saxophone quartet harmonies, traditional vocal chants, and a contemporary back beat.

Horns and a classical Spanish guitar introduce “O’ léonso,” ...

like 225

David Murray & The Gwo Ka Masters: Gwotet

by AAJ Staff
June 19, 2004

David Murray, as well as his partners in the World Saxophone Quartet, have devoted considerable time recently to concept projects, most recently a Latin big band effort and a Hendrix tribute, respectively. Two years ago Justin Time released Yonn-Dé, Murray's original collaboration with the so-called “Gwo-Ka masters" of Guadeloupe.

The new Gwotet represents a (rather vast) extension of the Gwo-Ka masters project, so much so that it left me scratching my head and returning to the archives to ...

like 135

David Murray Latin Big Band: Now Is Another Time

by Jim Santella
March 1, 2003

David Murray shares the microphone with two large ensembles here to combine articulate big band arrangements with fiery, Afro-Cuban improvisation. His wall of percussionists and detailed harmonic landscape introduce the leader’s seven compositions. Where one piece moves slowly along sensual borders, the next selection charges headlong into a frenzy of animation. All the while, the composer fills each bar with the cultural colors we identify as Afro-Cuban.

Murray’s “Aerol’s Change” glides swiftly over a syncopated dance floor ...

like 207

Kahil El'Zabar: Love Outside Of Dreams

by Kurt Gottschalk
November 1, 2002

Despite more domestic releases in the last decade than ever before in his career, and a higher profile after playing with the likes of Hamiet Bluiett and DD Jackson, percussionist and composer Kahil El'Zabar remains one of the best kept secrets in the Midwest. There are a few possible (if superficial) reasons: the strong Africanism embraced by much of Chicago's AACM (where El'Zabar got his start) doesn't always play in New York; his simple repeated-and-inverted themes are, admittedly, an acquired ...