Search - Mark Murphy :: Kerouac Then & Now

Reissue Bop for Kerouac

04/19/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a solid introduction to the bop brilliance of Mark Murphy. If you want to hear the origins of folks like Kurt Elling (especially his take on the John Coltrane song on the album Man In The Air), check this out.However, it's a shame that we have to make do with this CD instead of the Bop For Kerouac first take of a few years before this. The combination/interaction/integration of poetry and music are wonderful. And no one has demonstrated a better understanding of the two together than Mark Murphy.I have the LP version of Bop for Kerouac that is almost worn through due to frequent playings. Here's hoping for recognition of the better of these two discs and a reissue."

Then and Now and Forever

Sundance30 | Sundance, USA | 08/11/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is what Mark Murphy was meant to sing. He is the only living hipster that can do justice to Kerouac. Makes me want to get on the road to San Francisco."

Can You Really Go Back?

John D. Dooley | Southern California United States | 07/20/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"20 years ago my musical taste use to changed every 2 years. Back in the late 1980's I was into the late 1950's to early 1960's Jazz via Post Bop floating in & out of the Beat-Nik scene. One evening while in this phase I had a Beat-Nik Coffee Cafe Performance Art Piece at my apartment complete with Kerouac music & poems. This was before Starbucks, or at least before I saw any stores in California. Somehow around that time by reading several Jazz articles I learned about Mark Murphy's "Kerouac, Then And Now", bought it on a whim & was very pleased. Mark Murphy scats, sings, & recites poetry in many musical styles around the Kerouac era. Included are 2 Kerouac poems: "Big Sur" & "On The Road" with either rhythm or musical accompaniment, a Lord Buckley comedic routine, & music from Strayhorn & Monk. On the CD back cover is an interesting comment:



"Here we are looking in a mirror. Songs mirror a time past. We are changed, the songs, the rendition of them, have changed. Ominous ingredients have been folded into our life mix. Things were so simple then."



So go get yourself a cup of coffee, sit back, "Be Cool", & listen to this interesting CD to capture those magic moments of being "Hip".



Note: Amazon.com shows an original release date of 1986 & 1994 but my Cd was made in 1989."