B. Nat King Cole in Mexico and Cuba
The first direction taken by the Cuban manager was Cuba. As he hired the music
producer Armando Romeu while privileging cuban composers such as Farres, he also
chose to record in the Egren studios in the old town of Havana. But the course of
history and the Cuban Revolution changed the line of this musical saga and the first
spanish album of Nat King Cole was to be finished in Los Angeles in the Tower
Record studios.
As Gastel intended to give these albums the most hispanic dimension as possible by
hiring latin musicians and recording in studios on the spot, he hence decided in 1962
during one of Cole’s tour in Latin America to register « Cole en Espagnol » Vol.2 in
Mexico.
He took the opportunity during a concert in Mexico to engage the Mexico City Studio
orchestra and gave the direction to Ralph Carmichael who wrote the arrangements of
the 12 songs of the abum wherein a great part was given to mexican composers such
as Augustin Lara with his outstanding compositions like « Noche Ronda » and
« Solamente ». Nevertheless traditional and folk songs such as « Chipanecas » or
« Guadalajora », known by every mexican as they are sung in weddings, were also to
be part of the album.
The album was recorded in Mexico with the Mexico City Studio orchestra and the Nat
King Cole’s trio. This collaboration was a successful chemistry for titles like « Piel
Canela » or « Aqui se habla de Amor » because of the violins strings of the
philharmonic orchestra of Mexico.
C. Why a new project ?
As he stands by the idea of Gastel - with Cole appropriating a latin repertoire while
collaborating with latin musicians and recording in Latin America, Murray hires an
orchestra of 9 Cuban s
The repertoire will not only honour mexican composers such as Augustin Lara and
Farres with the absolute must like « Quizas, Quizas, Quizas » and « Tres Palabras »
but also composers of mexican serenade like Garrido with « No me platiques ».
Lighter songs as « Chipanecas » will also be a part of the performances.
The main purpose of such a project is to enlighten the origins of a remarkable
concept in order to re-create a new inspiration without betraying the original
arrangements. David Murray’s saxophone will bring an original tone to this ambitious
project which does not only intend to bring back the magic of the original albums but
also to re-interpret while creating a new work that would pay a greater homage to the
legacy left by Nat King Cole.
D. The instrumental project in few words…
The idea of the instrumental project « Murray plays Cole en Espagnol » is to reorchestrate
the original arrangements of the parts sung by Nat King Cole. While
history tells us of the success of this album of Cole which particularity was an
adaptation of the hispanic culture, David Murray and his tentet undertook the iniciative
to adapt the work of Cole to their musical formation. The challenge of this new project
is to replace the vocals of Cole and Omara Portuondo, who participated to the
previous project, with brass solos.
Considered as a mix of different musical trends, Murray’s jazz has perfectly integrated
latin music within a style wich remains ‘open’ to impovisation as well as to the
interaction within a group and he manages once more to prove the weath and
complexity of his music.
Indeed the orchestral arrangement will be composed of different instruments and
based on brasses : trombones, trumpet and baritone saxophone. It will be an atypical
orchestral structure in which the use of the toning down will be the trademark.
Inspired by Ellington’s arrangements for a grand-orchestra, this type of orchestration
will bring a kind of majesty to lighter songs such as « El Bodeguero » by adding a
more jazzistic melody.
Hence as he takes reference to this type of musical practice, David Murray as the
conductor puts on emphasis, beyond the repertoire, the real essence of jazz : an
evolving and open music. It is in fact an interpretation of Cole mixed with his own
freedom of improvisation
E. Repertoire
TRES PALABRES ( Farres) - QUIZAS, QUIZAS, QUIZAS (Farres/Davis)
An authentic cuban song written by Osvaldo Farres. This title was recorded in Havana
under the direction of Armando Romeu, but Nat King Cole supposedly recorded his
vocals at Capitol Tower. The mystery behind this song brought forth the myth that
Cole had it recorded in Havana. The proof of that legend lays on the fact that his
picture is still hung at the entrance of the EGREM studio among others artists who
have been recording there. The ending line of this story would probably never be
known as this happened in 1958, the year of the Cuban Revolution, and when the
political relations between Cuba and the United States were more than tensed…
CHIAPENACAS (Decampo)
A very popular title containing melodies which are recognized by many as they are
used in the mexican « hat dance » during most of weddings.
ADIOS MARIQUITA (Jimenez) - NO ME PLATIQUES (Garrido)
A magnificent ballade also arranged by Carmichael, which will be part of today’s
version and accompanied by a stringed-orchestra. Indeed, this title is a love song, a
break-up song where jealousy is verging eternal love, feelings that a great stringedorchestra
knows how to appropriate.
NOCHE DE RONDA - SOLAMENTE UNA VEZ (Lara)
These titles were chosen in order to pay homage to Augustin Lara, one of the greatest
mexican composers. He had composed more than 500 melodies which were
performed by Frank Sinatra, Julio Iglesias or Placido Domingo. « Noche de ronda »
was composed for his wife, the actress Maria Felix. The lyrical beauty of his
compositions are still up to date, as we can hear the revival of his song « Piensa en
Mi » by Luz Casal in Pedro Almodovar’s film « Tacones Lejanos ».
PIEL CANELA (Capo) - AQUI SE HABLA DE AMOR (Keller)
Title recorded in Mexico city in the Volume 2 project « Cole en Espagnol ». The
recording was directed by Ralph Carmichael who had also written all the
arrangements. This title ‘up tempo’ was recorded without strings with Cole’s trio and
some extra musicians. Today’s version will keep the artistic line and will be recorded
by the trio that would accompany the all album. The sound of guitar like on the original
version will be replaced by a piano and an atypical brass ensemble.
F. The Solo artists
Roman FILIU (Cuba), Alto Saxophone :
Graduated from the Superior Institute of Arts in Havana, this talented
saxophonist was part of the Group IRAKEKE before being noticed from the
cuban music scene while playing with a variety of cuban musicians and
international artists such as David Murray, Michael Mosssman or Steve
Colman.
Yasek MANZANO (Cuba), Trumpet :
This young prodigy has started to improvise from the age of 12 and
throughout the years he has been given projects in which he was the
conductor. Composer and arranger, Manzano manages to share through
his music his knowledge, personal experience and his cuban heritage while
collaborating with many vocal and instrumental artists.
Denis CUNI (Cuba), Trombon :
Graduated from the National School of Music in Havana and the
Superior Institute of Arts in Havana, Cuni has also thought in these
educational establishments while participating on great musical
projects. His collaborations with different musicians such as David
Murray have allowed his talents to be recognized on the international
music scene.
Pepe RIVERO (Cuba), Piano :
Pianist and « Latin Jazz» composer, Rivero belongs to this
new generation of cuban musicians who exploded on the
international jazz scene. After having studied classical
piano, he decided to devote himself to jazz music. His
collaboration with several cuban jazz bands has allowed him
to participate to many festivals such as the Montreal
festival, Tokyo or New york jazz festival.
G. The Conductor
David Murray
"Be Bop and shut up! An impossible task for the young David, at the time of the free
jazz and civil rights movements, the last adventure of the end of century jazzman.
Impossible, too, for the son of Holly Roller parents, discovering the Negro spiritual
style in the time of Coltrane and during Ayler's best period, not to be political right
down to his tenor-playing fingertips. David Murray, now in his fifties, has 130
albums to his name and contributions to around a hundred other recordings as a guest
artist behind him.
At the end of the 1990's, David Murray was referred to in terms of fusion, of world
music, and even of Pan-Africanism, ever since he took on a backwards tour through the
Caribbean and the 'little' Americas, via South Africa and Senegal. Before setting
off on this journey, David Murray jumped the gun somewhat for a jazz musician.
Born in Oakland, he grew up in Berkeley and studied with Catherine Murray (his
mother, an organist), Bobby Bradford, Arthur Blythe, Stanley Crouch and many
others until the 2nd March 1975 when he left Ponoma College in Southern California
for New York, which he made his base.
In New York, he met many new musicians and musical styles: Anthony Braxton, Don
Cherry, Julius Hemphill ... Within Ted Daniels' Energy Band, he also met Hamiett
Bluiett, Olu Dara, Lester Bowie and Frank Lowe. In 1976, after a first European tour,
David Murray set up one of his mythical groups, the World Saxophone Quartet with
Oliver Lake, Hamiett Bluiett and Julius Hemphill. From Jerry Garcia to Max Roach,
via Randy Weston and Elvin Jones, David Murray continued working with ever more
artists and making ever more recordings. From 1978 onwards, he entered into a period
of intense creativity, one flexible grouping of musicians following on from another.
At the same time, he was writing film music ('W Dubois', 1989, 'Dernier Stade', 1996
and 'Karmen Gaye' in 2000), working with the 'Urban Bush Women' dance company
('Crossing Into Our Promise Land' in 1998) and regularly working with Joseph Papp of
the New York Public Theatre ('Photograph', 1978 and 'Spell Number' in 1979) and
with Bob Thiele, founder of Impulse and Red Baron, who became his producer in 1988
and signed him with Columbia. Thiele produced six of his albums on Red Baron up
until his death in 1997.
David Murray also likes rearranging the works of great composers, as in his project
'The Obscure Works of Duke Ellington' in 1997 (arranged for a big band and a 25-piece
string orchestra) or his orchestration of a Paul Gonzales solo 'Tribute to Paul Gonzales'
in 1990 (with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra). More recently, using an octet and
12 strings, he updated the classics of Nat King Cole's Hispanic songbook with 'Cole in
Spanish' in 2009.
In addition to this, he has written two operas: 'The Blackamoor of Peter the Great' in 2
004 for strings and voices, based on a selection of twenty poems by Pushkin, and 'The
Sysiphus Revue', his 2008 bop opera sung by a gospel choir on an Amiri Baraka
libretto.
In 2006, his Black Saint Quartet was reborn with 'Sacred Ground', on which Cassandra
Wilson can notably be heard. The compositions on this album pay tribute to one of
his most auspicious periods with the mythical Italian label Black Saint, and to the
republishing of this entire catalogue in digital format on the major digital download
sites. This work was moreover followed by the rediscovery of 26 rare tracks recorded
on the DIW label, which are now available exclusively for downloading on Emusic, and
are a good way for fans to get the measure of the scale of a career which already is
dizzying.
In 2010 he will be back out on tour with the Gwo Ka Masters. After giving 200
concerts all around the world during their last tour (2005), the group will set off again
to promote their fourth album, 'The Devil Tried to Kill Me', recorded in 2007 at the
mythical Deb's Studio in Pointe-à-Pitre with the great Taj Mahal.
At 54 years of age, David Murray has a rosy future ahead of him, and a successful
past behind him and, since a glimpse of this exceptional career with a very promising future was felt to be essential, several directors have brought his musical career to the
screen, in 'Speaking in Tongues', a saga which follows him for ten years from 1978 to
1988 or in 'Jazzman', in 1997. In 2007, Arte produced 'Saxophone Man', in a reference
to the title of the Stanley Croutch play written at the time of Pomona College: a year's
filming from New York to Pointe-à-Pitre, via Oakland and Paris, a year of images
which reflect the David Murray of today, a citizen of the world.