Search - Mark Murphy :: Once to Every Heart

An instant classic

S. Weeks | 12/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mr. Murphy is an artist who challenges you....He is an interpretor of lyric and melody. And with this latest effort (Once To Every Heart), Murphy brings his art to all who will listen. There are no drums, no percussion.....just the lyric, melody and harmonies...wonderful arrangements and the amazing flugelhorn playing of Til Bronner. It's about love, about loss, about being green....about life and how he has lived it. It's a touching, triumphant and wonderful musical statement....it's accessable to all just for the listening. So, late one night...when you're alone.... or with a lover, turn down the lights, light the candles and throw a log on the fireplace.....this is the place to be."

"In the Area" of 5 Stars

Rick Cornell | Reno, Nv USA | 02/23/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I used to have this "rule"--any c.d. with nothing but slow ballads gets 4 stars from me, no matter what. But then I heard John Coltrane-Johnny Hartman's album, Sinatra's "Sings for Only the Lonely" and Shirley Horn's "Here's To Life." How can anyone with ears not give each of those 5 stars? And I was reminded of Bill Murray's classic linefrom "Ghostbusters": "As a rule, I never get intimate with possessed women"; and then, as the haunted Sigourney Weaver sends out obvious signals of her intentions, adds, "Well, it's not really a rule; it's an 'area'".



This is an album of nothing but slow ballads; even Duke's "Do Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me" is done at an adagio tempo. Rarely will you hear a more gorgeous album, from an instrumental standpoint. Til Bronner's fluegehorn and trumpet echo Murphy's singing with the same type of breathless flourishes, and sound tremendous. Frank Chastenier's piano is brilliantly spacious, giving the master singing innovator plenty of room to wiggle around each song's melody. And the string orchestra sounds great in these arrangements: romantic swoops aplenty, but not overdone at all a la Mantovani.



And what of Mark Murphy himself? Does the inveterate hipster, the master of bending melody and lyric, belong in a setting like this? In the liner notes, he says he does: he thinks it's his best album. I don't quite agree with him, respectfully. I remember, the light, clear, strong voice he had back in 1962 with "Rah". His voice has become coarser over time, and this album would have worked better with the "1962 Murphy." And, unlike last year's "Bop for Miles", sometimes he reinvents the lyrics lines here to where he is emphasizing the wrong words.



Nevertheless, I've struggled back and forth with a 4-star vs. 5-star rating, and I've finally settled on "the area" of 5, for one basic reason: Even with the quibbles, this album moves me. This album is compelling, and every selection is memorable. And ultimately, I think that is a better standard for determining a 5-star album. RC"

Superb

Vicki J. Horne | Australia | 07/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mark Murphy is the greatest living jazz vocalist and he sounds better than ever on this beautiful recording. This CD of ballads is exquisite. The arrangements sublime, the strings are beautifully understated, in fact all the musicianship on this recording is first rate. Mark's ability to paint a picture with his voice is unique. He tells a story like no one else. Listening to this CD is a wonderful experience - expect goosebumps! Aspiring jazz musicians and particularly vocalists have much to learn from him. Mark Murphy should get a Grammy for this one, he deserves it."