September Ballads is the 27th recorded album by American jazz vocalist Mark Murphy. It was recorded when Murphy was 55 years old and released by Milestone Records in the United States in 1989. The release is an all-ballad session featuring the work of then contemporary composers.
Mark Murphy recorded September Ballads in three days in September and two days in November 1987 with producer and arranger Larry Dunlap. Murphy is accompanied by guests Larry Coryell on electric guitar and Art Farmer on flugelhorn.
The release includes Murphy's own lyrics to Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays's "September Fifteenth" and his original composition "Sausalito".
Background
In the biography This Is Hip: The Life of Mark Murphy by Peter Jones, Murphy is quoted as saying, "It's a truism that ballads are a singer's biggest challenge. In fact, it's like you're doing a small movie on the fly – you're in it, you're telling the story, creating the mood and sustaining it. You've got nothing to hide behind."[1] Murphy calls the songs on the release "new standards".
Murphy explains, "Some of these songs are newish and some have been unjustly neglected. Most have been with me a long time. 'When This Love Affair Is Over,' for instance, I heard 20 years ago in New York. It was a track on a Peter Allen album, and it just stuck in my mind. And Gary McFarland's 'Sack Full of Dreams' – I've almost recorded it many times, and finally decided now was the time to do it."[2]
Murphy, discussing the songs says, "The Michael Franks tune 'When She Is Mine,' I'm amazed no one else has picked up on it, it's a fantastic song. And Steve Allen's 'Spring Is Where You Are' – I used to go on his old show and sing his songs, and that was always my favorite of all the stuff he'd written".[2]
Murphy contributes lyrics to Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays's "September Fifteenth" and an original composition "Sausalito", which was originally written in the 50s, rewritten and recorded in the 60s and released on Bridging a Gap in 1973, and now re-recorded in a new arrangement by Larry Dunlap.
Speaking to Dan Ouellette, in a feature in DownBeat in 1997 Murphy is quoted as saying, "I love doing ballads. That's when I feel I can communicate one-to-one with listeners. People tell me that it's as if I'm singing directly to them. I've been a part of marriages and divorce settlements, child conceptions and wakes, my fans keep my albums for years. They come up to me at my live shows with these scratchy LPs and ask me to sign them. I never sold a million albums, but those I did sell are still out there. Shirley [Horn], Sheila [Jordan] and I seem to be the last of our generation. But the gold is that when you reach maturity as vocalists, you begin to sing your life. You're not just performing. You're putting your life into your songs."[3]
In his book, This is Hip: The Life of Mark Murphy, author Peter Jones writes that "The liner notes pointed out that he [Murphy] was now hitting his stride as a revered elder statesman of jazz: "Mark Murphy is an international jazz figure who tours Europe several times a year, appearing in clubs, concerts, festivals, and television programs. He was the subject of a TV special in Yugoslavia, Denmark, Sweden, and Britain, and has been seen on PBS stations in this country. Murphy has also played to enthusiastic audiences in Japan and Australia".[1]
Speaking about his favorite personal recordings with Ted Pankin years later, Murphy said, "I loved a ballad album I did for Fantasy called September Ballads, which includes that "Goodbye" song to Bill Evans and some beautiful pieces by writers of the '70s, which I'm very surprised that people who sing my type of songs don't pick up on. So there you are".[4]
Recording
Mark Murphy recorded September Ballads in three days in September and two days in November 1987 with producer and arranger Larry Dunlap. Murphy is accompanied by guests Larry Coryell on electric guitar and Art Farmer on flugelhorn.
Peter Jones says, "It's a soft, gentle album, richly melodic, played straight, with no unorthodox arrangements or challenging scat experiments".[1] The recordings include "September Fifteenth" by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays which refers to the day in 1980 when Bill Evans died; Gary McFarland's "haunting"[1] "Sack Full of Dreams"; Richard Rodney Bennett's "I Never Went Away"; "Para Nada" ("For Nothing") by Brazilian singer and pianist Eliane Elias; and "a gentle, lilting new version" of Murphy's own Sausalito.[1] An additional five tunes were recorded but weren't included in the final release. "For me it was a very expensive album. We ran up huge mixing bills, the sessions were long... but the album was wonderful. I expected some promotion from the company [ Fantasy], but they didn't give any" complained Murphy.[1]
Murphy was nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male for September Ballads at the 31st annual Grammy Awards in 1988. Peter Jones writes, "In February he [Murphy] had been briefly elated by the news that September Ballads had received a Grammy nomination - his fourth in the category Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male. This time he was beaten by Bobby McFerrin with "Brothers", a duet with Rob Wasserman".[1]
Published reviews and discussions include the following:
Andre Gilbert assigns the album 4.5 bones in MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide calling it "an album only Mark Murphy could pull off",[7] featuring "more range than most singers cover in a career",[7] turning each tune "into an effective jazz vehicle"[7] and calling Dunlap's arrangements and the flugelhorn accompaniment by Art Farmer, the electric guitar by Larry Coryell and the acoustic guitar by Oscar Castro-Neve's "gorgeous".[7]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz assigns 3 stars (meaning a good if middleweight set; one that lacks the stature or consistency of the finest records, but which is certainly rewarding on its own terms) and the review says. "Nothing really stands out on the pleasing but muted September Ballads".[8]
John Swenson, in The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide, assigns the album 4 stars (excellent) and writes, "Murphy's Milestone recordings are magnificent vocal sets: September Ballads collects what Murphy calls 'contemporary standards' that showcase his rich baritone and shrewd harmonic sense".[9]
Chris Albertson, writing a 1988 review of the album in Stereo Review, calls the album "very good" finding Murphy to be "at his best when he sings simply. That's what he does in September Ballads, a quiet, tasteful album with superb accompaniments by a group that includes guitarist Larry Coryell and Art Farmer on flugelhorn. There's not a smidgen of the pretentiousness that sometimes mars Murphy's work, just a set of ballads sung in a delightful, relaxing style. The program is not the usual collection of evergreens but is nicely varied and includes Murphy's own Sausalito."[13]
Patrick Bruce Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.
The Pat Metheny Group was an American jazz band founded in 1977 by guitarist and composer Pat Metheny, along with his core collaborating member, keyboardist and composer Lyle Mays. Other long-standing members included bassist and producer Steve Rodby, from 1981 to 2010, and drummer Paul Wertico, from 1983 to 2001, after which Antonio Sanchez became the percussionist from 2002 to 2010. Vocalist Pedro Aznar was also a long-time member, performing with the group from 1984 to 1993. In addition to a core quartet, the group was often joined by a variety of other instrumentalists expanding the size to six or eight musicians.
Offramp is the third studio album by the Pat Metheny Group, recorded in October 1981 and released on ECM May the following year. The performers are Pat Metheny; Lyle Mays, Steve Rodby and Danny Gottlieb in the rhythm section; and percussionist and singer Naná Vasconcelos.
Watercolors is the second album by American jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, recorded in February 1977 and released on ECM in June 1977. Metheny's quartet features rhythm section Lyle Mays, Eberhard Weber and Danny Gottlieb.
Pat Metheny Group is the debut album by the Pat Metheny Group, recorded in January 1978 and released on ECM in March that same year. The quartet features rhythm section Lyle Mays, Mark Egan, and Danny Gottlieb.
American Garage is the second studio album by the Pat Metheny Group, recorded in June 1979 and released on ECM in November 1979. The quartet features rhythm section Lyle Mays, Mark Egan and Dan Gottlieb.
As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls is an album by jazz guitarist Pat Metheny and jazz pianist Lyle Mays recorded in September 1980 and released on ECM April the following year. The trio features percussionist Naná Vasconcelos.
Travels is a live double album by the Pat Metheny Group recorded in July, October, and November 1982 and released on ECM the following year. The quintet features pianist Lyle Mays and rhythm section Steve Rodby and Dan Gottlieb, with guest Nana Vasconcelos.
First Circle is the fourth studio album by the Pat Metheny Group recorded over four day in February 1984 and released on ECM later that year. Metheny is joined by Lyle Mays on keyboards, Steve Rodby on bass, Paul Wertico on drums, and Pedro Aznar on vocals, percussion, and guitar. First Circle won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance.
We Live Here is the seventh studio album by the Pat Metheny Group. It won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album in 1996.
Imaginary Day is the ninth studio album by the Pat Metheny Group. It was released in 1997 by Warner Bros. Records. The album was strongly inspired by world music from Iran and Indonesia, and won the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. The song "The Roots of Coincidence" won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance; critic Richard Ginnell of AllMusic described the song as a dramatic departure for the group: "[an] out-and-out rock piece with thrash metal and techno-pop episodes joined by abrupt jump cuts."
Song X is a collaborative studio album by American jazz guitarist Pat Metheny and saxophonist Ornette Coleman. It is a free jazz record that was produced in a three-day recording session in 1985. The album was released in 1985 by Geffen Records.
Metheny Mehldau is a jazz album released in 2006 by Nonesuch Records. Most of the album is a duet between guitarist Pat Metheny and pianist Brad Mehldau. On two songs, they are accompanied by drummer Jeff Ballard and bassist Larry Grenadier.
Secret Story is an album by Pat Metheny released in 1992 that won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album in 1993. All of the music is composed by Metheny, and it is one of his most ambitious studio ventures, integrating elements of jazz, rock, and world music. On the performing side, it includes collaborations with the Pinpeat Orchestra of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, the London Orchestra and its conductor Jeremy Lubbock, the Choir of the Cambodian Royal Palace, legendary harmonica player Toots Thielemans, and keyboardist Lyle Mays from Pat Metheny Group.
Quartet (1996) is the eighth studio album by the Pat Metheny Group. The album features Pat Metheny on guitar, Lyle Mays on keyboards, Steve Rodby on bass, and Paul Wertico on drums. The approach for the album was to not write lengthy compositions before recording but instead use merely sketches and rely mostly on improvisation in a setting with just acoustic instruments. A departure from the usual thoroughly orchestrated sound using synthesizers and sequencing the Group is usually known for. The result is experimental, moody, and loose, even dark in some moments. The instrumentation relies mostly on acoustic instruments including various keyboard instruments such as the spinet piano, Harmonium, Fender Rhodes, autoharp and various guitars including the 42-string Pikasso guitar. The Roland GR-303 makes appearances on "Oceania" and "Language of Time".
Living Room is a 1984 studio album by Mark Murphy.
Stories to Tell is the fourth solo studio album by Brazilian jazz singer Flora Purim that was released in 1974 on Milestone Records.
Song for the Geese is a 1997 studio album by Mark Murphy.
Beauty and the Beast is a 1986 studio album by Mark Murphy.
Stolen Moments is a 1978 studio album by Mark Murphy.
References
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Jones, Peter (2018). This is Hip: The Life of Mark Murphy. Popular music history. Sheffield, UK; Bristol, CT: Equinox Publishing. pp.100–115. ISBN978-1-78179-473-9.
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