Lightning can be caught in a bottle just about any time when great music can be found roaming the streets. Like during Tuesday night’s show (3/26) at the Jazz Showcase. Throwing a CD release party in what might as well be considered his home town, jazz pianist Greg Murphy served up fine ear candy all through his first set. Murphy, now a Jersey boy, has the sound of a master and strong fan bases both here and on the east coast.
WDCB, Chicago’s high functioning jazz beacon, promoted the gig with uncommon persistence throughout the week leading up to the show and even had Murphy himself in for a visit and on-air interview Tuesday morning. Plugging the release of Bright Idea, he and radio host Paul ABella talked about the project’s inspiration while playing and listening to a few of its tracks.
A reliable stalwart on the jazz scene for the past couple of decades, Murphy originally came to Chicago from Newfoundland with his parents when he was eight months old where he eventually became a devout hockey fan as well as an exceptionally talented musician.
Late last summer he slipped into town for a show at the Promontory and then swung over to the Englewood Jazz fest to sit in on a killer set with Edwin Dawkins and the dazzling Collier brothers. This visit had him checking in on friends and family while rolling out the new album.
Landing at #3 on jazz charts, Bright Idea found a discerning crowd filling the Showcase waiting hear how Murphy and his trio would show it off in front of a live audience. Jazz royalty in the form of Harrison Bankhead stroked the bass while a youthful Marcus Edwards demonstrated how deftly he could flash from sizzle to subtle on drums.
Renditions of both Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise and Happy celebrated Murphy’s exquisite sense of mood and radically insightful arranging. Happy swept in radiant with Latin sunshine and sambaed on a melody loaded with joy. The album’s title track, Bright Idea, retained the same buoyant optimism sans cultural crossover while slipping in notes of breathless rush.
All three musicians proved themselves “top flight cats” that night with each of them taking a turn at dazzling. Bankhead uniquely demonstrated what years of honing your craft can bring to a performance and all but mesmerized with his delicate knowledge of sound. He could bring homicidal tyrants to tears when he took bow to bass and delicately extracted beauty at its purest.
The Greg Murphy Trio
March 26, 2019
The Jazz Showcase
806 S. Plymouth Ct.
Chicago, IL 60605
