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Karen Borca / Paul Murphy: Entwined
by John Sharpe
Entwined pairs pioneering bassoonist Karen Borca with drummer Paul Murphy in an unadorned duet setting. It arrives hot on the heels of her leadership debut Good News Blues (NoBusiness, 2024). While the latter comprised archival concert tapes of sets from the 1998 and 2005 Vision Festivals, the former is an undated studio session which presents both in close detail. The seven cuts include four which were also featured on the live date and raise the possibility that this was recorded ...
Continue ReadingKaren Borca, Paul Murphy: Entwined
by Hrayr Attarian
Bassoonist Karen Borca has impeccable credentials, both as an improviser and performer. She was one of the groundbreaking pianist Cecil Taylor's students, and a large part of her recorded output has been in collaborative settings with other Taylor disciples. Most notably, Borca has appeared on four superb discs by her late husband, and Taylor's side man, saxophonist Jimmy Lyons. Given her impressive résumé, it is surprising that she has not appeared as a leader until Entwined (Relative Pitch, 2024).
Continue ReadingKaren Borca: Good News Blues
by John Sharpe
Pioneering jazz bassoonist Karen Borca has had to wait a long time for her leadership debut. It arrives courtesy of the adventurous Lithuanian NoBusiness imprint, compiled from archival recordings of two appearances at New York City's fabled Vision Festival. But that is not to say that she does not have a weighty resume. An acolyte of Cecil Taylor, she played in his college ensembles at both Antioch and Wisconsin in the early 1970s. Through the pianist she also met alto ...
Continue ReadingPaul F. Murphy: Playing Universally
by Dominic Fragman
Legendary drummer Paul F. Murphy has been involved with the high end of improvised music since the mid-1970s in San Francisco. He is most closely associated with the avant-garde of the '70s, '80s and '90s as a 12-year member of alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons' band and a leader of several of his own groups, including Trio Hurricane. Currently, he is working with pianist Larry Willis, performing and recording groundbreaking pieces of complete improvisation, including the duo's August release, Foundations (Murphy ...
Continue ReadingPaul Murphy: Expose
by Lyn Horton
Honesty in music is without doubt identifiable. It comes across in the way musicians touch their instruments, the statements they make, the tone they set, the nature of their musicality and how they all merge. No truer an example of this can be found than the 2008 duo Exposé from drummer Paul Murphy and pianist Larry Willis.
An improvisation this clean can only arise through expertise, confidence and vision. Murphy and Willis do not intend to throw the listener out of ... Continue ReadingPaul Murphy: Excursions
by Lyn Horton
Hidden away on small unknown labels is music that needs to be heard. A case in point is Excursions, featuring pianist Larry Willis and percussionist Paul Murphy.
This music evokes no largesse, only thoughtfulness and solace. Abstraction is not as much the focus in this music as it is a concise, direct delivery of fluid musical notions that seem to be right at the tips of the fingers of these two musicians. Over the course of ... Continue Reading
