When he died at the age of 83 in October 2015, local newspapers were restrained in their obituaries. For many jazz fans and connoisseurs, singer Mark Murphy was vastly underrated; they are right, as his prolific six-decade artistic career attests: throughout that career, Murphy presented an inventive stylistic range from blues to bebop to modern jazz. His 1967 MPS recording lands in the middle of his European decade, and it is one of the most beautiful and striking documents of his skills. 'Midnight Mood' is characterized by the sophisticated dialogue between the voice and eight musicians from the Kenny Clarke Francy Boland Big band, but it begins a cappella: Murphy welcomes us with Duke Ellington's "Jump For Joy" as he walks the vocal tightrope without a net, while offering us a taste of his unorthodox scat singing. With "I Don't Want Nothin'", the ensemble offers us a swinging, bluesy, and mischievous miniature, while Murphy's voice on "Why And How" shifts to a noticeably darker hue, surrounded by short, penetrating solo interludes from the band. "Alone Together" reveals a masterpiece of phrasing over syncopated piano playing; "You Fascinate Me So" underscores Murphy's romantic ardor. "Hopeless" unfolds with overwhelming Sinatra-like intensity, and "Sconsolato" is served with a relaxed Hispanic touch. With subtly nuanced tenderness on "My Ship" and "I Get Along...", Murphy evokes an atmosphere of nocturnal depths in dialogue with the keyboards, while "Just Give Me Time" reflects a dark sensuality that struts between Swing and Bossa.
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