After a long overdue absence, legendary tenor saxist David Murray finally returned to LA, not with vocalists or small groups from his latest recordings, but in a duet setting with multi-percussionist Kahil El’Zabar that had sparks fly in a myriad of directions during the exciting 90 minute concert at the Moss Theater.
With El’Zabar intuitively supplying swinging support, Murray used his mix of bold and bluesy declarations to wail on the bluesy and fierce “Sweet Meat” and declare field hollars on the loose freebop during the kinetic tribute to the LA Jazz Scene that he was a part of on “California Dreamin’.” El’Zabar stepped from the drums, took up the African kalimba and with his foot tambourine, created a gentle and exotic lilt for Murray t mix his agonizing vibrato with patented circular breathing for a glorious interpretation of “Summertime.” Murray’s wide range of sounds included warm breathy rolls of fog as, altissimo pleads as well as plunges into deep magma of subtones, closing out with a misty sigh.
El ‘Zabar combined hip grooves on the chora with grunts and Bill Withers-like vocals as Murray went from percussive tonguing to swirling cycles and weaving in and out of time. Switching to bass clarinet, Murray clippety-clopped through a fun read of the bop standard “Let’s Cool One” that featured glorious gurgling and Ellingtonian quotes before El’Zabar vocalized an “air bass clarinet” impression as he musically mimicked his teammate.
The evening concluded with soulful mix of Eddie Harris’ “Compared to What” with El’Zabar’s own “It’s Gonna Be All Right” which had the kalimba sounding like a swinging and bluesy keyboard as Murray’s tenor tore into the theme like a ravenous lion. The percussionist pointed out that “We play music that opens up your soul” before encored with an uplifting message of spiritual regeneration on “If We Want To Change The World.”
Both of these artists presented music that held on to the glorious history of the past, but not in a sterile and scholarly fashion, transferring into a personal voice of hope for ears listening for inspiration. These two gents showed why absence made the heart grow fonder.
Upcoming shows sponsored by The Jazz Bakery include Dwight Trible 06/30 and Bill Holman’s Big Band 07/13