Label: Impulse! Records, 2025

Personnel - David Murray: tenor saxophone; Marta Sanchez: piano; Luke Stewart: bass; Russell Carter: drums; Ekep Nkwelle: vocals (#1,3); Francesca Cinelli: spoken word (#8).

The quartet of iconic saxophonist David Murray returns with Birdly Serenade, an eight-track album inspired by birds—the original improvisers—and their songs. Part of producer Randall Poster’s ongoing Birdsong Project, the record marks Murray’s debut on Impulse! Records and was captured at the legendary Van Gelder Studio.

The album opens with the enthrallingly vivid title track, “Birdly Serenade”, featuring Cameroonian-American vocalist Ekep Nkwelle, singing lyrics adapted from a poem by Murray’s wife and manager, Francesca Cinelli. Driven by a lilting waltz pulse, the piece radiates spiritual power, with solos from Murray on tenor saxophone and Spanish pianist Marta Sánchez. Nkwelle also graces “Song of the World”, an exquisite Latin-tinged ballad, melodically driven by bass clarinet and featuring an engrossing bass solo from Luke Stewart. The piece was written for Mixashawn Rozie, an Indigenous musician and activist.

Composed in the studio during the recording session, “Black Bird’s Gonna Lite Up the Night” bursts with fierce avant-garde energy, amplified by spiraling piano figures, a mix of bowed and pizzicato bass textures, and thunderous tom-tom resonance from drummer Russell Carter. The music builds into a vortex of sound before Stewart grounds it with steady bass steps. “Capristano Swallow”, which evokes memories of Murray’s youth of the Springtime Swarm at the Mission San Juan Capristano in California, is another avant-garde foray, reinforcing Murray’s outside playing proclivities and including a spellbinding solo piano interlude before the quartet returns with wind-like force.

“Bald Ego” channels Charlie Parker through blues and bop grandeur, featuring bar trades between the quartet and the drummer, while “Nonna’s Last Flight”, with Murray revealing borderline chromatic mechanisms on bass clarinet, is delivered with a hip posture that drowns itself in groovy funk and hip-hop vibes. Sanchez supplies rich harmonic layers beneath her elegantly intricate phrasing. The album closes with “Oiseau de Paradis”, a cascade of playful ideas paired with a French poem written and recited by Cinelli.

Murray is more interested in playing his own songs at this phase of his career, and this project, structurally disciplined but wide open to improvisation, allowed him to do just that.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Birdly Serenade ► 04 - Black Bird’s Gonna Lite Up the Night ► 05 - Nonna’s Last Flight

Label: Intakt Records, 2024

Personnel - David Murray: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet; Marta Sanchez: piano; Luke Stewart: bass; Russell Carter: drums.

David Murray, a veteran saxophonist and key figure in free jazz and avant-garde circles since the 1970s, showcases his prowess with a new quartet on the album Francesca. Featuring talented younger musicians Marta Sanchez on piano, Luke Stewart on bass, and Russell Carter on drums, the ensemble delivers a captivating blend of jazz tradition and fiery soloing across eight tracks.

The album kicks off with the title track, a joyful and expressive piece dedicated to Murray’s wife. Maintaining a straightforward 3/4 time signature, the tune, harmonically transparent, never loses composure even when Murray gets out of orbit with his improvisational extravagance and fervency. “Ninno”, originally recorded for Murray’s 2023 trio album Plumb (with Questlove and Roy Angry), reappears here with crossover potential and immersed in groove. With a catchy four-note riff at the center, this cut blends funk, Latin, and swinging jazz elements in different proportions.

Murray’s pronounced hooks, all quirky but uplifting, are not reserved to the tenor saxophone. We can hear him playing the bass clarinet on “Shenzhen”, where he mixes oriental and bolero flavors with sumptuous moves and great piano work by Sanchez, and Don Pullen’s mid-tempo waltz “Richard’s Tune” (penned for Muhal Richard Abrams), introduced by a nice rubato preamble crafted by him and the pianist.

“Come and Go”, flowing at 5/4 time with some moments of romanticism, puts together a sequence of avant-garde and post-bop ingredients, displaying saxophone obliques that traverse the rhythmic tapestries with cyclonic fury. “Am Gone Get Some” exudes humor and cool bluesy deliberation with some Monk’s mood, while “Free Mingus”, underpinned by a rock-steady backbeat, infuses gospel and R&B tinges, showcasing Stewart’s loosened groove and soloing skills.

Exhibiting a variety of tempos and tones, Francesca finds Murray living up to his potential in stark, charming, and dynamic ways.