| Stolen...And Other Moments | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | 1997 | |||
| Recorded | 1972-1991 | |||
| Genre | Vocal jazz | |||
| Length | 2:28:53 | |||
| Label | 32 Jazz | |||
| Producer | Michael Bourne | |||
| Mark Murphy chronology | ||||
| ||||
Stolen...And Other Moments is a compilation album of American jazz vocalist Mark Murphy's Muse Records recordings. It was released by the 32 Jazz label in the United States in 1997. This album is collection of songs from his Muse years from 1972 to 1991.
Muse Records was founded by Joe Fields. Fields sold the label to Joel Dorn who released four compilation albums from Mark Murphy's Muse catalogue on the 32 Jazz label, Stolen...And Other Moments, Jazz Standards, Songbook, and Mark Murphy Sings Nat King Cole & More. [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide |   [2] |
| The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [3] |
| AllMusic | [4] |
| Stereo Review | [5] |
John Bush assigns 4.5 stars to the album at AllMusic. [2] He said, "Murphy never stopped growing as a singer -- he always challenged himself in his material, his projects, and his performances throughout the 20-year span covered on this 1972-1991 compilation, the best document of him as a jazz singer". [2] He singles out "I'm Glad There Is You" as an excellent example of a straight reading of a standard, "Red Clay" as an example of his ability to write his own vocalese lyrics, "Ding Walls" as an example of his abilities as a composer, and calls his interpretation of "Waters of March (Aguas de Março)" definitive.
Scott Yanow says, "Stolen...And Other Moments" (32 Jazz) is a definitive retrospective of his 1972-91 recordings and Jazz Standards". [6]
The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide assigns the release 4.5 stars. [4] (This means between 5 stars which is "Classic: Albums in this category are essential listening for anyone interested in the artist under discussion or the style of music that artist's work represents", and 4 stars, "excellent: Four-star albums represent peak performances in an artist's career. Generally speaking, albums that are granted four or more stars constitute the best introductions to an artist's work for listeners who are curious"). [4]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music assigns the album 4 stars. [3] (This means, "Excellent. A high standard album from this artist and therefore highly recommended)." [3]
Assessing Murphy's recorded legacy from Muse Records in his book A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers, Will Friedwald writes that one point the four Muse anthologies issued by Joel Dorn make "immediately is the astonishing range and scope, not to mention sheer size, of the singer's seventies and eighties output. Other than Helen Merrill and Sheila Jordan (neither of whom is quite as consistently interesting as Murphy), no other pure jazz singer was so prolific in these years". [7] Friedwald goes on to say the releases reveal, "his output has been so consistently excellent—that so many of these records deserve to be regarded, in retrospect, as classics of the jazz vocal genre—and that even his occasional missteps are instructive". [7] Regarding his performances of the Great American Songbook, Friedwald says he re-infuses "them with swing, energy and feeling". He points out that Murphy also covers numerous songs that originated with jazz composers, vocalese songs, bossa nova, and even contributes his own lyrics and original compositions. [7]
Will Friedwald assigns the release 5 stars in Stereo Review [5] and says the release "summarizes the nineteen albums and twenty two years Murphy spent with Muse records; it's a gloriously varied program with sources of inspiration ranging from Antonio Carlos Jobim to Nat King Cole to Jack Kerouac. As colleague Sheila Jordan observes in the liner notes, 'What's not to like? What singers do what Mark Murphy does'?" [5]
In the Washington Post Mike Joyce said, "The affinity he's developed over the years for Brazilian music is documented here, along with his penchant for the writings of Jack Kerouac and his gift for taking a jazz instrumental, such as Freddie Hubbard's "Red Clay," and equipping it with his own wonderfully compatible vocalese lyrics". [8]
Disc one: Murphy Muses
Disc two: Mark, Jack, Jazz
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Moody's Mood" | Jimmy McHugh, James Moody, Eddie Jefferson | The Artistry Of Mark Murphy | 3:45 |
| 2. | "On the Red Clay" | Murphy, Freddie Hubbard | Mark Murphy Sings | 4:35 |
| 3. | "Stolen Moments" | Murphy, Oliver Nelson | Stolen Moments | 5:46 |
| 4. | "Beauty and the Beast" | Wayne Shorter, Murphy | Beauty and the Beast | 8:29 |
| 5. | "Cantaloupe Island" | Murphy, Herbie Hancock | Mark Murphy Sings | 5:35 |
| 6. | "The Odd Child" | George Wallington, Murphy | The Artistry Of Mark Murphy | 2:58 |
| 7. | "Be-Bop Lives (Boplicity)" | Ray Passman, Holli Ross, Miles Davis | Bop for Kerouac | 6:35 |
| 8. | "You've Proven Your Point (Bongo Beep)" | David Lahm, Charlie Parker | Bop For Kerouac | 3:41 |
| 9. | "Parker's Mood" | King Pleasure, Parker | Bop for Kerouac | 4:29 |
| 10. | "Ballad of the Sad Young Men" | Fran Landesman, Tommy Wolf | Bop for Kerouac | 7:33 |
| 11. | "San Francisco" | Mays, Jack Kerouac, Murphy | Kerouac, Then and Now | 2:10 |
| 12. | "November in the Snow" | Mays, Kerouac, Murphy | Kerouac, Then and Now | 5:00 |
| 13. | "Blood Count" | M.B. Stillman, Billy Strayhorn | Kerouac, Then and Now | 4:53 |
| 14. | "Medley: Eddie Jefferson / Take the "A" Train" | Richie Cole / Joya Sherrill, Strayhorn | Kerouac, Then and Now | 8:20 |
| Total length: | 2:28:53 | |||
Production
Mark Howe Murphy was an American jazz singer based at various times in New York City, Los Angeles, London, and San Francisco. He recorded 51 albums under his own name during his lifetime and was principally known for his innovative vocal improvisations. He was the recipient of the 1996, 1997, 2000, and 2001 Down Beat magazine readers' jazz poll for Best Male Vocalist and was also nominated five times for the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Jazz Performance. He wrote lyrics to the jazz tunes "Stolen Moments" and "Red Clay".
Song for the Geese is a 1997 studio album by Mark Murphy.
Bop for Kerouac is a 1981 studio album by Mark Murphy.
Kerouac, Then and Now is a 1989 studio album by Mark Murphy.
Wild and Free: Live at the Keystone Korner is a 1980 live album by Mark Murphy.
Satisfaction Guaranteed is a 1979 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.
What a Way to Go is a studio album by Mark Murphy.
Mark Murphy Sings Nat's Choice The Complete Nat "King" Cole Songbook Volumes 1 and 2 is a 1986 studio compilation album by Mark Murphy.
Mark Murphy Sings Nat's Choice: The Nat "King" Cole Songbook, Volume Two is a studio album by Mark Murphy.
Brazil Song is the 20th album by American jazz vocalist Mark Murphy. It was recorded when Murphy was 51 years old in 1983 and released by the Muse label in the United States in 1984. This album is collection of Brazilian jazz songs.
One for Junior is a 1991 studio album by Mark Murphy.
Night Mood: The Music of Ivan Lins is a 1986 studio album by Mark Murphy.
The Artistry of Mark Murphy is a 1982 studio album by Mark Murphy.
Mark II is a 1973 studio album by Mark Murphy.
Just Jazz is a live album by Mark Murphy.
The Latin Porter is a live album by Mark Murphy.
Some Time Ago is the 37th album by American jazz vocalist Mark Murphy. It was recorded in 1999 when Murphy was 68 years old and released by the HighNote Records label in the United States in 2000. The album is a collection of jazz bebop tunes and standards with Murphy backed by a jazz quintet.
Jazz Standards is a compilation album of American jazz vocalist Mark Murphy's Muse Records recordings. It was released by the 32 Jazz label in the United States in 1998. This album is a collection of jazz songs from his Muse years 1972-1991.
