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I've been reading a book about him by Peter Jones called , "This is Hip"- A Life of Mark Murphy, published by Equinox Books as part of their Popular Music Series, a series of books that offers new perspectives on various musicians. Jones is a British jazz singer/pianist.
I'd be curious to hear what people think of MM.
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02-15-2024 03:59 PM
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So I had never heard of him. Went to Youtube.
Saw the 'stache and spray tan...thought...hmmmmm
Clicked on a video of him singing "Detour Ahead" with Marian McPartland. Because anybody with Marian is always a good starting point. It was absolutely lovely.
Then tried a live performance from 2006. that was...not for me.
Definitely somebody I want to know more about now...
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Can't say I'm a fan, but my organ player? she loves him.
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He's a genius at being annoying.How anyone can sit through a whole concert of him is beyond me.He seems like one of those guys who tries too hard to be an "artist" but he's had a long career so good for him.
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A friend of mine is a big fan, so we went to see Mark Murphy years ago in London. I remember he had a great voice and sang some interesting material. Good stage presence too.
I’ve heard ‘Rah’ which I think was an early album, and a Brazilian album of Ivan Lins songs. He also did a vocal version of Boplicity which was cool. Probably an acquired taste, but he certainly had a great voice on the things I’ve heard.
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.........never off my turntable
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Yeah, he could really destroy a tune when he went overboard on his artsy stuff, but when he reins it in he winds up with stuff like this:
Originally Posted by nyc chaz
Bruce Forman, Richie Cole and Bill Mays, those are some heavy cats!
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agreed but I like Eddie Jefferson w/those guys, though some might think he's annoying. Originally Posted by sgcim
Zap Carnivorous, NY Afternoon etc....
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Yeah, he could really lose me on some stuff, too, but when he cut the stupid stuff, he could be one of the best. jazz singers around. Same thing with Betty Carter; her early stuff is perfection, but then she got all artsy and lost me towards the end. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
As far as male jazz singers go, and Sinatra, Tony Bennett and the rest really didn't improvise like MM did. There was Eddie Jefferson, and you gotta love Jimmy Rushing and Joe Williams, but MM approached it more like a bopper.
I don't have any of his records, because he literally ruins some of my fave tunes, but after reading this book, I kind of understand what he was about. Crazy dude!
He had chances to sell out if he wanted to, but he turned down some big recording company contracts, and remained devoted to jazz.
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Yeah, it's tough to be a male jazz singer without being annoying, because they're so in your face when they start whooping and hollering. Originally Posted by wintermoon
agreed but I like Eddie Jefferson w/those guys, though some might think he's annoying.
Zap Carnivorous, NY Afternoon etc....
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agreed, if someone reading this hasn't heard that stuff, try her classic lps w Ray Charles and her own "Out There" on Peacock w/killer arrangements and a stellar big band Originally Posted by sgcim
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I "got hip" to quite a few obscure tunes through MM, he really had a knack for stuff left of center and I always appreciate that. He is never easy listening, much more JAZZ to my ears than Tony Bennett - even though I love TB's duo stuff with Bill Evans.
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I'll take Tony anyday over Mark.My favorite recording of Tony is the one he did with Ruby Braff and George Barnes on guitar,just some beautiful swinging stuff. Originally Posted by gitman
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Michael Franks ?
I never saw him in concert, but caught a vid here and there and liked his sound. Not sure he ever did any classic straight ahead stuff but didn't he write a lot of his songs ?
Maybe too 'easy listening' for some people....
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Jones has also written a bio of Donald Fagen for another book company Chicago Review Press, but in the Mark Murphy book, he manages to come up with an anecdote linking the two together.
Murphy dug Steely Dan's "Do It Again".
He wanted to record it, so he called them up to get the music. They told him to come over to pick it up at their Malibu house.
When he got there, Becker answered the door and yelled out to Fagen, "Mark Murphy's here, Donald".
Fagen said, "Let him in, I'll get the music".
Inside were a bunch of hippies hanging out there, stoned out of their minds on something or other.
Fagen walked in with the record, a pencil and a sheet of music manuscript paper. He gave MM the paper and pencil, and told him, "I'll put on the record, go ahead".
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I enjoyed his contributions to this album as a guest:
Guillaume de Chassy: p
Daniel Yvinec: b
Mark Murphy: voc
Paul Motian: dms
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I'm a big fan of Mark Murphy.
I have about a dozen of his albums and I was in the audience when he performed at the Blue Note in Milan many years ago. I also remember a fantastic concert with Mark Marphy and one of the best italian jazz guitar player, Gigi Cifarelli, at the Tangram club in Milan, early '90.
Mark Murphy had a wonderful voice, fantastic timing and he was a great story-teller. A real Jazz innovator.
I think that the only singer that can be compared to MM is the great Kurt Elling.....same musical approach......a great respect for tradition with the ability and courage to do new things.
Ettore
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He'd be perfect for a lounge in Las Vegas!
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some the comments here amusing,,Annoying,Stache,Tan ..lol reminds me of my brother just out of bible college..they threw him out..took him to a jazz club `why are they clapping`,,`why is the horn player smoking a pipe`...total newbie...
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In the book I mentioned, Kurt Elling acknowledges that MM was his greatest influence. MM taught at music schools all over the world, giving one day seminars in between club gigs. He got a steady gig teaching in some school in Germany, and spent one lesson getting his students to paint the wall in the classroom brown. He got in trouble with the head of the school for that... Originally Posted by equenda
In The end, he gave up teaching, concluding that jazz singing couldn't be taught.
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Genius or annoying?
Not necessarily mutually exclusive :-)
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Yeah, he wasn't afraid to sing songs that were very hip and obscure by writers like Tommy Wolfe and Fran Landesman, Raksin and others, but some of those songs are so well written, that it detracts from them when he tries to go too far out on them. Originally Posted by gitman
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Nah! Mark was an uncompromising artist. Not some goofy entertainer for a Vegas crowd. Originally Posted by Doug B
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Genius or annoying? I find the premise rather suspect. Geniuses can be annoying so what's your point? MM was an uncompromising artist. Whether some listeners find him annoying or not is besides the point. I happen to appreciate and enjoy his artistry. To my ears he's the real thing and I love his music.
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