Bill Murphy

After nearly forty years of musical and personal camaraderie, drummer and producer Bob Christina began studio work with Matt "Guitar" Murphy on what would become Murphy's final project. After he passed in June of 2018, the fate of the unfinished project was placed in Christina's hands. He began outreach to musicians who were friends of Murphy, played with him, or were otherwise influenced by him. The response was overwhelming.

After nearly forty years of musical and personal camaraderie, drummer and producer Bob Christina began studio work with Matt "Guitar" Murphy on what would become Murphy's final project. After he passed in June of 2018, the fate of the unfinished project was placed in Christina's hands. He began outreach to musicians who were friends of Murphy, played with him, or were otherwise influenced by him. The response was overwhelming.

After nearly forty years of musical and personal camaraderie, drummer and producer Bob Christina began studio work with Matt "Guitar" Murphy on what would become Murphy's final project. After he passed in June of 2018, the fate of the unfinished project was placed in Christina's hands. He began outreach to musicians who were friends of Murphy, played with him, or were otherwise influenced by him. The response was overwhelming.

Mark Murphy - Rah! (1961) {Riverside OJCCD-141-2 rel 1994} (featuring Bill Evans)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 223 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 91 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 11 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1961, 1994 Riverside / Fantasy | OJCCD-141-2
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Post Bop / Standards

This early-'60s effort, not Murphy's first but still pretty early in his discographical canon, has worn well over the years. Credit of course can be lavished on the vocalist himself, who didn't sound like this 20 years later, although every stage of his developing vocal chops has been interesting to be sure. On tracks such as "Green Dolphin Street," he dives into the rhythm with the relaxed calm of an expert. And when the result can be the harebrained complexity of "Twisted" or the funky timing of "Doodlin'," the wisdom of letting the experts handle the hard work has never been more apparent. But this is not just Murphy's display.