David Murray 3D Family

A major early release by tenorist Murray, 3D Family appeared originally on Hat Hut records as a double LP before eventually being re-released on disc by hat ART. Murray performs here in a live context with one of his very strongest rhythm sections: the intensely musical South African bassist Johnny Dyani and veteran master drummer Andrew Cyrille. The program consists of all Murray compositions, weaving between burners, funky dances, and soulful ballads…

Saxophonist David Murray continues his cross genre initiatives on this undeniably exciting, 2003 release Now Is Another Time. With this effort, the artist enlists his longtime running mates, trumpeter Hugh Ragin and baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett to complement a huge cast of Cuban musicians. This large ensemble Latin jazz extravaganza packs a mighty blow, from beginning to end. Here, the band churns out radiant, multi-layered horn arrangements atop the Cuban masters' sweltering percussion grooves and the soloists' blaring exchanges.

Prolific saxophonist, composer, and arranger David Murray has made a number of tribute recordings during his career to jazz luminaries such as Albert Ayler and Don Pullen, among others. Nat King Cole may seem an unlikely choice initially, and it might never have happened if Murray had not been recording at Cuba's Studio Egrem and saw a photograph of Cole with Armando Romeu from a pre-revolution session. Cole recorded a pair of Latin-inspired records, Cole Español and More Cole Español, in 1958 and 1962 respectively - one in Spanish and one in Portuguese (the singer spoke neither but learned standards and folk songs phonetically). The audiences these albums were directed at were already Cole fans, and while they weren't very good, they thought them amusing and flattering. Murray draws from these records here…