The David Murray Guide

Our greatest tenor man began with Ayler and Gonsalves and kept going

Comments (0) By Tom Hull Tuesday, May 30 2006

The Long Goodbye: A Tribute to Don Pullen
[1996, DIW]

Four songs by the late, great pianist; two by his protégé D.D. Jackson, who occupies the hot seat; the title cut a Butch Morris dirge. Despite some rousing passages, this is becalming and elegiac, a fitting companion to Pullen's own Ode to Life.

photo: Youril Lenquette

Murray: 180 albums and who's counting?

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See also:

The Billie Holiday Guide
A pre-album genius in key songs and unforgettable longforms, with extra consumer advice
by Farah Jasmine Griffin

The Thelonious Monk Guide
He recorded the same songs over and over and never wore them out.
by Larry Blumenfeld

The John Coltrane Guide
From sideman to mesmerizer to evangelical to interstellar space
by Francis Davis

The Sun Ra Guide
Magic cities and other planes of there, all disguised as jazz
by John F. Szwed

2006 Jazz Supplement Listings

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Creole
[1997, Justin Time]

Moving to France, Murray stepped further out into the world. Fo Deuk Revue introduced him to Senegal's griots and rappers. Here he goes to Guadeloupe, encountering the ka drums, flutes, and vocals at the other end of the Mid-dle Passage. Two remarkable reunions followed—Yonn-Dé (2002) and the Pharoah Sanders–fortified Gwotet (2004)—but this is one jazz-world fusion of Murray's that comes together whole.

Like a Kiss That Never Ends
[ 2000, Justin Time]

"David Murray Power Quartet," the billing says, but it's more like Classic Quartet, with longtime mates Hicks, Cyrille, and Ray Drummond on board. Classic album too—powerful, yes, but unlike his youthful work, never rough.

Now Is Another Time
[2001–02 ( 2003) , Justin Time]

The "David Murray Latin Big Band" goes south of the border for real. A huge band with muy Latinos and no Butch Morris. Still, Murray stands out—as with Dizzy Gillespie, no band is big enough to contain him.