| Jazz |
Let us embark on this delightful, unmistakably groovy jazz-funk journey offered to us by saxophonist Dave McMurray, which is a follow-up to his previous album paying homage to the Grateful Dead. Let Dave tell us about this project: “My most recent journey into the Grateful Dead universe began when my Detroit-based band and I traveled to Clubhouse Studios in New York State,” McMurray says. “It’s a beautiful place, surrounded by vast open spaces and filled with vintage equipment. With master engineer Elliot Scheiner by our side, and four days and nights dedicated solely to musical creation, the atmosphere was perfect. The result is a dark, refined, and emotional journey in the spirit of Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, and the Grateful Dead… Detroit-style. The long structures, odd time signatures, and complex chords of their music immediately hooked me. I noticed that their songs had beautiful melodies while still retaining the openness of Miles Davis’ electric period. Their music was catchy, psychedelic, raw, with this idea of no one soloing/everyone soloing, in the style of Weather Report. The more I listened, the more I knew these songs would eventually become a vehicle for my jazz expression.”
To understand the source of the beautiful energy that Dave McMurray carries within him, one must undoubtedly look to his past and examine the artists he has played with (B.B. King, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Hallyday, Gladys Knight, Albert King, Nancy Wilson, KEM, Bootsy Collins, Herbie Hancock, Geri Allen, and Bob James). It goes without saying that his artistic range is as vast as a dream-inducing summer sun, and the fact that so many talented and diverse personalities have sought his collaboration is undoubtedly out of respect for his immense talent. Finding him on the Blue Note label is therefore not surprising, and this album holds many surprises. In fact, the master himself, Bob James, is featured on the track “If I Had The World To Give.”
This album is as fun as it is impressive, and unless one despises the saxophone, there is no reason not to rejoice at the arrival of this album that has managed to captivate the attention of Bayou Blue Radio and Paris-Move, who have placed it in the category of “Essentials.”
Thierry De Clemensat
Correspondent in USA
Bayou Blue News – Bayou Blue Radio – Paris-Move
PARIS-MOVE, May 16th 2023
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