A prodigious talent whose keyboard pyrotechnics have ignited the band- stands of such shamanistic figures as Rashied Ali and Tisziji Muñoz, vet- eran pianist-composer Greg Murphy has been a firebrand on the scene since moving to New York in 1987. On his fourth outing as a leader, the Chicago native showcases a myriad of musical expressions besides the heightened, McCoy-inspired ap- proach that has been his calling card for decades. With a core group con- sisting of fiery trumpeter Josh Ev- ans, Dee Dee Bridgewater bassist Eric Wheeler and sensational young drummer Kush Abadey – augmented on different tracks by stellar impro- visers Jay Rodriguez on soprano sax, Eric Wyatt and Scott Robert Avidon on tenor saxes, Corey Wilcox on trombone, Raphael Cruz on percus- sion and Malou Beauvoir on vocals – Murphy explores some appealing pop material on his “A Reason to Smile” and a cover of Seals & Crofts’ ‘70s hit “Summer Breeze” while also digging into Afro-Cuban grooves (“Suspend- ed Time”), burning hard bop (“Cedar Salad”), free (“Tsk”) and a swing- ing blues (Sonny Rollins’ “Solid”) on his Whaling City Sound debut. A prodigious talent whose keyboard pyrotechnics have ignited the bandstands of such shaman- istic figures as Rashied Ali and Tisziji Muñoz, veteran pianist-composer Greg Murphy has been a firebrand on the scene since moving to New York in 1987. On his fourth outing as a leader, the Chicago native showcases a myriad of musical expressions besides the heightened, McCoy- inspired approach that has been his calling card for decades.

With a core group consisting of fiery trumpeter Josh Evans, Dee Dee Bridgewater bassist Eric “I was playing in pop bands Wheeler and sensational young drummer Kush Abadey – augmented on different tracks by stellar improvisers Jay Rodriguez on soprano sax, Eric Wyatt and Scott Robert Avidon on tenor saxes, when I got started in Chicago, Corey Wilcox on trombone, Raphael Cruz on percussion and Malou Beauvoir on vocals – Murphy before I started getting deeply explores some appealing pop material on his “A Reason to Smile” and a cover of Seals & Crofts’ ‘70s hit “Summer Breeze” while also digging into Afro-Cuban grooves (“Suspended Time”), burn- into jazz. In fact, I wrote ing hard bop (“Cedar Salad”), free jazz (“Tsk”) and a swinging blues (Sonny Rollins’ “Solid”) on his Whaling City Sound debut. ‘A Reason to Smile’ “I was playing in pop bands when I got started in Chicago, before I started getting deeply into 30 years ago when I was jazz,” says the pianist-composer, who got a grant to study with Ellis Marsalis in New Orleans dur- in this group called ing the mid ‘80s. “In fact, I wrote ‘A Reason to Smile’ 30 years ago when I was in this group called Lightning Flash Thunder Roar. And I got Malou to help me with the lyrics on this new version of Lightning Flash Thunder Roar. that tune.”

And I got Malou to help me Beauvoir delivers supremely soulful vocals on that mellow offering as well as on a re-imaging- ing of Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady,” which morphs into a 6/4 Afro-Cuban feel midway with the lyrics on this through. Evans shades Malou’s alluring vocals on muted trumpet throughout their inventive take new version of that tune.” on this classic bit of Ellingtonia while Cruz provides the appropriate percussive colors to give it that Latin tinge.

“Cedar Salad” is Murphy’s homage to the late, great pianist-composer . “I actually ~ Greg Murphy ran into Cedar in the Village one day and gave him a copy of this piece I had written for him,” the pianist recalls. “My thinking behind this was to emulate the way that Cedar went into the half-step harmonic movement, from major to minor, on his classic tunes ‘Bolivia’ and ‘Ugetsu.’ In this case, it goes from the Bflat minor to the Bmajor to the F#.” Trumpeter Evans and saxophonist Wyatt provide a Messengers-like feel on the front line of this jaunty swinger while Murphy reveals his fluent hard bop chops on his impassioned solo here.

Wyatt, a longtime collaborator of Murphy’s who also happens to be the godson of Sonny Rol- lins, plays some robust tenor sax on the bluesy Newk vehicle “Solid” while trumpeter Evans is prominently featured on a faithful reading of the hauntingly beautiful Wayne Shorter composi- “I actually ran into Cedar in the tion “Fall,” which also has the pianist freely exploring the harmonic fabric of that evocative piece. Village one day and gave him a The core trio of Murphy, Wheeler and Abadey turns in a straightforward reading of Miles Davis’ “Solar,” which is underscored by the young drummer’s briskly swinging touch on the kit. Abadey copy of this piece I had written also provides some gentle brushwork and tasty cymbal colorations on Avidon’s gentle “Leo’s Lul- laby” and he fires up Murphy’s modal burner “Expectations,” which features some rapid-fire ex- for him. My thinking behind changes of eights with the drummer, trumpeter Evans, soprano saxophonist Rodriguez and teno- this was to emulate the way rist Avidon at the tag. And the drummer’s keen instincts adds to the conversation on the purely improvisational “Tsk.” that Cedar went into the “Kush is a phenomenal young cat,” says Murphy. “He really plays beyond his years. He’s played half-step harmonic movement, with Wallace Roney and recently he was on the road with Ravi Coltrane. I’ve seen him down at Small’s a lot and he always sounds great. Yeah, he’s a pretty busy cat these days.” from major to minor, on his Murphy unleashes with McCoy-esque abandon on his two uptempo workouts, “Expectations” classic tunes ‘Bolivia’ and and “No One in Particular,” and he delivers a real-deal son montuno feel on his Afro-Cuban ‘Ugetsu.’ In this case, it goes from groover “Suspended Time,” which features a pulsating bass solo from Wheeler along with an ex- tended drum flurry at the end by Abadey. the Bflat minor to the All of Murphy’s experiences – his 20-year tenure in New York with Rashied Ali, his intensive study Bmajor to the F#.” in New Orleans with Ellis Marsalis, his pop-funk days in Chicago, along with his Latin jazz work in Raphael Cruz’s band – come to bear on Summer Breeze, his most fully self-realized outing to date. ~Bill Milkowski ~ Greg Murphy

Bill Milkowski is a regular contributor to Down Beat and Jazziz magazines and recipient of the 2015 Bruce Lundvall Award from the Montreal Jazz Festival. He is also the author of JACO: The Extraordinary and Tragic Life of Jaco Pastorius (Backbeat Books) PERSONNEL 1 Solar 4:59 (Miles Davis) Prestige Music, BMI Greg Murphy 2 Sophisticated Lady 6:49 piano, keyboards (Duke Ellington, Mitchell Parish, Irving Mills) Sony/Atv Harmony, Obo Duke Ellington Music, Emi Mills Music Inc. Eric Wheeler 3 No One In Particular 6:33 acoustic & electric bass (Greg Murphy) Emt, ASCAP Kush Abadey 4 A Reason To Smile 5:10 drums (Greg Murphy, Malou Beauvoir) Emt, ASCAP, Malou Beauvoir Editions, SACEM

5 Cedar Salad 8:41 with: (Greg Murphy) Emt, ASCAP 6 Fall 5:03 Josh Evans trumpet 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12 (Wayne Shorter) Kobalt Music Pub. America, Obo Miyako Music Raphael Cruz percussion 2, 4, 8, 12 7 Expectations 5:55 Malou Beauvoir vocals 2, 4, 8 (Greg Murphy) Emt, ASCAP Jay Rodriguez soprano saxophone 4, 7, 8 8 Summer Breeze 4:47 (Seals And Crofts) Duchess Music Corp., Sutjujo Music, Faizilu Publishing, BMI Eric Wyatt tenor saxophone 5, 9 9 Solid 6:44 Scott Robert Avidon tenor saxophone 7, 10 (Sonny Rollins) ASCAP Corey Wilcox trombone 4 10 Leo’s Lullaby 4:47 (Scott Robert Avidon) Mikatrax Music, BMI 11 Tsk 5:45 (Greg Murphy) Emt, ASCAP 12 Suspended Time 7:41 (Greg Murphy) Emt, ASCAP Executive Producer: Neal Weiss

Produced by Greg Murphy

Special thanks to my family – my wife, Nancy, my Mom, Recorded 1.7.16 at Marc, Kirin and Kara, my friends, students and The Samurai Hotel Indiegogo campaign contributors Karen Westman, Hank Portney, Ras Sipko, Malou Beauvoir, Astoria, NY Pierre Bastid, Fei Chen, Dan North, Tara Levy, Engineer: Katy Lyness, Jon Alpert and all of the great musicians and engineers who performed and David Stoller worked on this album. Also thanks to Neal Weiss, Ginny Shea and David Arruda at Whaling City Sound, and to Overdubs, mixing and mastering at ALL who contributed to and inspired this project! Digital Boulevard Audio This album is dedicated to the loving memory of Fairview NJ Nancy’s mom, Dorothy Ann Neal, who will always be an inspiration to us. Engineer: ~ Greg Murphy Luis Damian Guell

Photography & Package Design: David Arruda