Posted by Joe S. on March 10, 2001 at 04:21:02:
Joe Murphy (very, VERY proudly for me: a former student of mine, but when he was but a 'tuba-tike') of "CONVERSATION" fame has done it again: a fabulous new tubajazz c.d. entitled *******"MTJ Project - live at The Bottom Line"*******. This one, another BIG winner like "CONVERSATION", is a bit different in that it is steeped in the tradition of the Matteson-Phillips TubaJazz Consort. Indeed, Mrs. Matteson loaned the book (with her blessing) for these sessions, and included are three "classic" Matteson tuba-euph-rhythm arrangements: "Cherokee", "Skylark", and "Oleo". You will hear screamin' virtuoso euph playing by Billy Huber and Barry Green of Nashville (who also "double" [hee-hee] on trombone) and Marcus Dickman of Jacksonville, Florida. There is some mighty tricky tuba-ing by Joe Murphy of Nashville, Richard Perry of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and (Joe's REAL teacher) Winston Morris. Rounding out the MJT Project with some rhythm are Marty Crum - guitar, Tony Nagy - bass, Steve Willets - keyboards, and Jeff Lloyd - drums, all Nashvillians. This "confederation" (yep, as you've noticed, this is a NO YANKEES swinging and rippin' band) of virtuoso musicians comes together for 10 cuts of everything from "swing" to "salsa" to "bop" to "cool" to "ballad" to just great ol' "straight ahead" jazz. An original tune, "I-95" is offered up by composer/arranger David Esleck who also puts together a VERY cute arrangement of Dave Brubeck's "Blue Rondo ala Turk" for the band. Speaking of Joe, his jazz chops have REALLY come together as his F tuba solos dominate on tune after tune. We've all noted those cute-I-guess "quasi" jazz c.d.'s by some more well-known tuba guys. Joe is layin' down some REAL jazz on the MJT Project. Not to ignore the supah-screamin' euph section, Billy Huber makes some pretty powerful statements right off the bat, and Barry and Marcus do NOT have to "scuffle" to keep up. A poignant arrangement of the Summer of '42 theme called "Summer Knows" is offered forth in a very touching way by first Barry and later Billy. Richard can be heard soloing on "Sandu", which is a very "cool" tune , and Tony offers an impressive electric bass outing including some pretty cute polyrhythms on a salsa-ish tune called "Rene's Song" (arranged by Joe). "Cookin' at the Continental", a Horace Silver bop chart, was arranged by Richard for the ensemble. To round out the hour long tubajazz fest would be another original composition, "Valvin' on a Riff", a Glenn Martin creation.
Hey guys, this is top drawer stuff. This is perfect stuff to put you in a great mood, to spin for your friends, and this stuff is way, w-a-y beyond the "Hey listen to this." level. This is M-U-S-I-C (tuba or otherwise) that can set the perfect mood for an evening and makes its own statement (without any "introductions" necessary).
Hey, I am EXTRA lucky. Joe sent me a promotional/complimentary copy. You are ALMOST as lucky. I'd BET that he would sell you a copy - CHEEEP! (well, maybe "reasonable".) While you're at it, you might ask him if he has any "CONVERSATION" c.d.'s left over, too (??).
From Joe Murphy's nice note to me, I gleaned the following way to possibly obtain a copy of "The MJT [Modern Jazz Tuba] Project - live at The Bottom Line":
Joe Murphy's email: joemurphy(AT)mac.com
I suppose I shouldn't plaster his physical address, home phone, nor fax phone up here without his express permission.
Sorry for the bad photo reproduction quality of the c.d. insert. I've no scanner.
I'm not sure if the MJT Project website is "up" yet, but the address below is printed on the c.d.: