I’m listening to Last Of The Hipmen on the Blues For Coltrane record as I write. I’ve always been fascinated by this record, because Murray refrained from exploring Coltrane for so long. In early interviews he emphasises his determination to find another sound. Here he explores the Coltrane legacy without being a copyist. Like all his best this leaves me gulping for air, exhilarated by the emotional heights. This band, and especially Tyner, seem to push him hard.

I suppose it’s not strange that some of his best solos are to be found on the tracks dedicated to other sax players, and I notice you picked some of those. I’ve always loved his ballads as well.

I thought I’d go for some of his less obvious ones, so my picks for today are:
Chelsea Bridge on The Hill (1986) for its evolving gorgeousness;
The Hill on Sweet Lovely (1980) for sheer inventiveness;
Mbizo on Deep River (1988) for shout-out loud magnificence;
Have You Seen Sideman? on Death Of A Sideman (1992) for lament;
Freedom Jazz Dance on James Carter’s Live At Baker’s Keyboard Lounge (2004) for what happens when Murray gets into a blowing competition, on a riff, in front of an audience. All wonderful!

Glad to hear you are almost there — bagging all of DM’s recordings. I’m still a few behind you, but pleased to know there’s another DM obsessive in existence.

Which leads me to this:

I’d love to see you instigate an online colloquy asking the simple question:

What is David Murray’s BEST solo?

For almost as long as I can remember, my absolute fave has been Last Of The Hipmen on the Blues For Coltrane disk. I never tire of listening to this track, though, obviously, many others compete.

So . . . to get this ball rolling, hopefully, let me simply list the 18 tracks presently in my select DM iPod mix (including the aforementioned Last Of The Hipmen):

Calle Estrella Murray / Hicks / Marsalis / Drummond / Muhammad 100 7:08 Fast Life (1991)
Intuitively Murray / Hicks / Marsalis / Drummond / Muhammad 100 8:57 Fast Life (1991)
Doni’s Song Murray / Ali / Smith / Morris / Running 100 7:01 Body And Soul (1993)
Off Season Murray / Hicks / Workman / Blackwell 100 10:56 Morning Song (1983)
Last Of The Hipmen Murray / Tyner / McBee / Haynes 100 8:20 Blues For Coltrane (1987)
Lester (For Lester Young) David Murray Octet 100 8:28 Hope Scope (1987)
Song From The Old Country Murray / Pullen / Cyrille / Franks 100 7:02 Shakill’s Warrior (1991)
Paul Gonzalves David Murray Big Band / cond. “Butch” Morris 100 17:38 David Murray Big Band (1991)
At The Cafe Central Murray / Pullen / Cyrille / Franks 100 10:53 Shakill’s Warrior (1991)
Hurray for Herbie Murray / Waldron 100 7:57 Silence (1991)
The Ebullient Duke Murray / El’Zabar / Hopkins 100 9:36 Love Outside Of Dreams (1997)
Spooning Murray / Hicks / Blackwell / Drummond 100 7:33 Ming’s Samba (1998)
Flor Na Paul Murray / Jackson / Newton / Drummond / Hart / Kiavue / Lockel Landreseau 100 8:44 Creole (1998)
Tonte Vontarde Murray / Jackson / Newton / Drummond / Hart / Kiavue / Lockel Landreseau 100 7:28 Creole (1998)
Aerol’s Change David Murray Latin Big Band 100 7:19 Now Is Another Time (2003)
Mambo Dominica David Murray Latin Big Band 100 9:31 Now Is Another Time (2003)
Sparkle Murray / Gilchrist / Drake / Shahid 100 6:42 Waltz Again (2006)
Pierce City Murray / Gilchrist / Drummond / Cyrille 100 9:05 Sacred Ground (2007)

Admittedly, this mix changes frequently. It’s just a snapshot for today.

Would love to know your — and others’ — faves.

So many choices, so little time.

Hope your summer’s going well.

All best,
Ron (Naveen)