Search - Sunny Murray :: Perles Noires 1

Black pearls

John C. Graham | toronto, ontario Canada | 09/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After spending the last month or so with this recording, two things really stand out. First-Sunny Murray is a master drummer. Second-he's gotta have a great sense of humour. We'll get back to that in a minute.



From a listeners perspective, here's what you get: over 75 minutes of music, Sabir Mateen on every cut, Dave Burrell on four cuts, Louis Belogenis and Alan Silva on two cuts, taken from three different recitals, two from 2004 and one from 2002.



I'm trying to listen to Sunny all the way through. Every track is different. So much is going on with the drumming ....and it all seems so effortless.... the years of playing, the countless hours of practice, the dedication to one's art, all of it front and centre on this recording. Nobody plays drums like this. And it's not all up in your face. There is a sensitive and lighter touch to much of this music; a grace and majesty that must have permeated the recital halls as well...for all those lucky enough to have been be in attendance. The more I play this one, the better it gets and I've played it a lot.



Which leads me back to the humour thing. I think Sunny must get a big kick out of guiding the music through its ebbs and flows with his magic touch. He's been around. He knows the score. He's smiling that mischievous smile and laughing inside because he knows it takes us mortals some time to catch up. I sure hope Sunny's time is NOW.



By the way, this isn't just a recording for drummers...Sabir Mateen is appropriately extrovert on reeds. Dave Burrell's piano playing is always astounding. Louis Belogenis joins Mateen on saxophones along with Alan Silva on bass for a beautiful rendition of Lonely Women. The music is wonderful and all of it is punctuated by the phenomenal spark of Sunny Murray.



Warning: if you get vol.1, you'll be back for vol.2.









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