Search - David Murray :: Love and Sorrow

The big sound of saxophonist David Murray is born out of his roots in the 1970s New York loft movement and his admiration for the work of Sonny Rollins, and it's abundantly large on 1993's Love and Sorrow. Murray, a founding member of the World Saxophone Quartet, created with his partners in that four-horn wrecking crew one of the most innovative jazz groups of the 1970s and '80s. Ironically, or perhaps pragmatically, Murray has toned down his own style since the mid-'80s, taking on standards with gusto and refining the rough edges that made him such an exciting player to listen to in his early years. Or perhaps Murray's as fond of a ballad as was Ben Webster, since Love and Sorrow is a ballad-heavy album long on sentimentality. Murray, pianist John Hicks, bassist Fred Hopkins, and drummer Idris Muhammad play with enough taste to keep things from becoming saccharine. Hicks, in particular, plays well, providing bouncing, tradition-rooted solos to complement Murray's more raucous but melodic work. Though he breaks no new ground, Murray makes Love and Sorrow a pleasant listen that shows him at his most refined and mature. --Tad Hendrickson