Even as a little girl, music was more than something I heard
or watched being performed—when it was of good quality, I felt it. What I feel
when Mark Murphy sings is what I felt from the first time I heard his voice as
a girl who loved listening to vocalists of every musical type and style—a voice
and a song could be completely as one. There was not a voice singing the song
well or even great; instead, with him, the voice and the song were the same
thing. It was so different an experience that I never again looked at or
listened to music in the same way I had before. It wasn’t possible; even if I’d
wanted…and I didn’t want, believe me.
After listening to his recordings it became a quest of mine
to see this voice. Luckily there were
some great clubs in my hometown of Buffalo, New York where live jazz was
performed by many of the best professionals.
Not so luckily, I was underage. After a while I was able to find a way
around that, and saw his talent in action.
He was instantly Cool Jazz personified.
There is no other place for my attention but the music when
he is making it—he is that song at that time.
Each note is right where it needs to be for the song to be realized. Performers
can be all along the spectrum of quality, but they are still discernible from
the song. My feeling has been since
first hearing and then seeing him that Mark Murphy is seamlessly a part of the
song.
It’s hard to explain this as I would like to and that is why
I have been hesitant about writing about Mark. People who know me know that he
is my favorite singer of all and probably wondered why I hadn’t done this
already—after all, he is a subject I have no trouble talking about. But, this
blog is about encouraging you to experience music by feeling it and I’ve been a
bit scared of falling down on that goal by not being able to adequately
describe the amazing talent of Mark Murphy.
It’s easy enough to say that his singing, his scatting, his improvisation,
and every type of vocal soloing he does are creative and engaging and musically
excellent. It is a communication of music from the instrument that is Mark
Murphy. He delivers lyrics with clarity and movement and they can rise on a
swinging falsetto and swoop smoothly to deep and intimate tones that you swear
are being offered to you personally. He
writes some of the jazziest lyrics too, and while all these words paint a small
picture of his great talent, experiencing his voice is the best way to share
him with you.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, as he was famously
introduced years ago, “Meet Mark Murphy”
And then hear him as he sang with the late, great Marian
McPartland
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