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Artist |
David Murray Power Quartet |
| Title |
Like a Kiss that Never Ends |
| Label |
Justin Time |
| Reviewer |
Richard Proplesch |
| Rating |
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Tenor master Murray has spent most of the last decade
fronting various large-scale undertakings. Along with
arrangements for the World Saxophone Quartet's
percussion-heavy Miles Davis honorarium, musical mixings
with performers from Senegal and Guadeloupe, there's
always work with his own Big Band. While Murray's work
is certainly worthy of all those grand presentations,
it's refreshing to hear him at the helm of this straight-
ahead quartet date- although nothing with Murray ever
really trails on the "straight and narrow." The real key
here is the foursome's "power" ranking.
With pianist
John Hicks, bassist Ray Drummond, and drummer Andrew
Cyrille along, just about any album by any artist would
be an easy glide with all that veteran seasoning in the
background. Yet, Murray still challenges his partners,
pacing through an off-centered, Latin-inspired love song
as the title track, reaching for a slab of fatback
during the jittery, funky "Ruben's Theme Song," breaking
out the fire extinguishers for the avant flame-
throwin' "Mo' Bass," while bending a knee in respect for
the tender working of Drummond's ballad, "Dedication."
For those listeners who've felt Murray wraps himself in
too much "outside" or "conceptual" material, this
release captures the mastery of his technique and the
faith of his phrasing in a special, snug setting.
(Justin Time, 5455 rue Pare, Suite 101, Montreal
(Quebec), Canada HP4 1P7)
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© 2001 AMZ/music-reviewer.com
Robert R. Lewis
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