Jazz Articles about Mark Murphy

Mark Murphy: Inside the Mystery

by Suzanne Lorge
July 31, 2009

Beyond its stylistic differentiators, jazz contains what vocalist Mark Murphy calls “a wonderful mystery," a mystery that was fostered in small, regional clubs around the US during the '30s-40s, when Murphy was developing the distinctive vocal style that launched his decades-long career. “I've seen this mysterious quality of jazz set rooms on fire," Murphy attests. “[Rooms] where nothing was going on until the band shuffled up and this musical rhythmic thing would happen right there on the spot." ...

The Five Corners Quintet: Chasin' The Jazz Gone By

by Budd Kopman
March 3, 2008

Chasin' The Jazz Gone By is the product of producer Tuomas Kallio, who wanted to recreate, using both analog and digital equipment, the sound and the visceral coolness of jazz from the 1950s and 1960s, which means the Blue Note sound of hard bop. And make no mistake, this record is very, very cool, deeply enjoyable in an almost time-warp way. The Five Corners Quintet actually exists in two forms, live and recorded. The live group routinely ...

Mark Murphy at The Iridium, NYC

by Martin Longley
October 22, 2007

Mark Murphy The Iridium New York, New York October 4, 2007

Most folks would probably deem Mark Murphy a bit of an eccentric figure, but it's this very individuality that has marked him as one of the most distinctive jazz singers in the music's history--not only his voice but his whole storytelling persona, his demeanour and delivery. Is Murphy in the throes of early senility, so abstract is his poise? Or is this, as ...

Mark Murphy: Love is What Stays

by Joel Roberts
October 16, 2007

The cover of Mark Murphy's Love is What Stays features a tight close-up of the 75-year-old singer staring unflinchingly into the camera, the ravages of age clear on his face. It's a fitting counterpart to the music inside, which fearlessly confronts the passage of time from the vantage point of one considering his own mortality. Produced in Berlin by trumpeter Till Bronner with lush string arrangements on several tunes, the album covers an astoundingly wide range of ...

Mark Murphy at Blues Alley, Washington, DC

by Erik R. Quick
July 29, 2007

Mark Murphy Blues Alley Washington, DC July 11, 2007

I may not be the most aggressive advocate of Blues Alley, but the intimate eighteenth-century carriage house in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC has been host to countless jazz legends for over forty years. The lackluster food, indifferent service and an increasingly commercial booking agenda can easily be a disincentive to all but the most intrepid jazz listener. However, it remains one of the ...

Mark Murphy: Once To Every Heart

by Andrew Rowan
February 20, 2006

Mark Murphy just gets better and better, to steal a phrase, like an elegant wine. And he is fearless. In his distinguished career, he's covered it all: blues, Latin, contemporary pop, songbooks (most notably Cole Porter, Joe Williams, Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields). And he still remains one of the foremost interpreters of the Great American Songbook. The ballads-only session Once to Every Heart, his first offering on Verve, finds him at the top of his art. ...

Mark Murphy: Bop for Miles

by Andrew Rowan
October 4, 2004

Simply put, Mark Murphy is one of the great jazz singers. His musical gifts remain prodigious, his depth of expression a model for all who practice this art, his recordings reside in the treasure trove of vocal jazz. On his current recording, Bop for Miles , Murphy is in top form, ebullient and able to carry off any idea with ease. Herein, though, lies the problem. When he unleashes the full scope of his musical talent without tether ...