Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Mark Murphy: I'll Close My Eyes

295

Mark Murphy: I'll Close My Eyes

By

View read count
Mark Murphy: I'll Close My Eyes
Every album by Mark Murphy is a gem and I'll Close My Eyes is no exception. Starting with the title track, Murphy displays his uncanny sensitivity to the relationship between words and music by delivering a very emotional reading of the song's verse, a text that is overlooked by most performers. Added to the performance's appeal is a tasty obbligato by Brazilian trumpeter Claudio Roditi.

The song "If" is all too often a staple of karaoke bars and Holiday Inn lounge singers, but in Murphy's hands it becomes a heartfelt dissertation on the conditional nature of love. And when it comes to sheer swinging, nobody can top Murphy. This is especially evident in the seldom performed "Happyin'" where Murphy scats up a storm and is matched by an exquisite guitar solo by John Basile.

The Murphy/Roditi collaboration is also heard to great effect in the Latin swinger "Small World" (not to be confused with "It's a Small World") and in the ballad "There Is No Reason Why." The Kid Creole-ish "Ugly Woman" shows the humorous side of Murphy's artistry as he relates the tale of the ultimate male horror story—rejection by a homely member of the opposite sex.

The album ends with "Not Like This," a slow ballad about the end of a relationship, that quickly builds to an emotional crescendo before tapering off into the sonic ether. While the song's text may be correct in its assessment of romantic love, it would be so nice if every album could end "just like this." I'll Close My Eyes is a classic and should be a part of every serious jazz lover's CD collection.

Track Listing

I'll Close My Eyes; If; Happyin'; Miss You Mr. Mercer; Small World; There Is No Reason Why; Time on My Hands; Ugly Woman; Not Like This

Personnel

Mark Murphy
vocals

Mark Murphy, vocals, Sammy Figueroa, percussion; Peter Grant, drums; John Basile, guitar; Cliff Carter, keyboards; David Finck, bass; Pat Rebillot, Piano; Claudio Roditi, trumpet

Album information

Title: I'll Close My Eyes | Year Released: 2002 | Record Label: Muse Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.