Hope Scope

vivid, bright, energetic, confident, creative... are words that would describe what happens in this octet performance. the charts are great and the soloing is phenomenal. it is modern, hip and highly charged; with artists who are brilliant masters of their instruments. some wildly creative and delightful piano performed here as well. i share with you chris sheridan's writing from the lp's liner notes: "in this music you can hear the tone poems of ellington, the expressionism of mingus and and the sharply focused musical judgements of david murray". if you love horns... this is a happening event. in essence... this music is 'alive', from start to finish. incredibly beautiful eight piece performance art.hugh ragin-1st trumpet. rasul siddik-2nd trumpet. craig harris-trombone. james spaulding-alto saxophone {remember james spaulding's alto performance on wayne shorter's blue not release 'schizophrenia'; that was some awesome dynamic alto and flute playing by spaulding}. david murray-tenor saxophone, bass clarinet. dave burrell-piano. wilbur morris-bass. ralph peterson, jr-drums. recorded in 1987. 5 tracks. 43 min:33 sec length.

I'll start this review with a small anecdote about the David Murray Octet. While I ran the Entertainment Committee at Bard College, a tiny liberal arts school in Hudson Valley, New York, I booked this group. Even though the students were used to seeing alt-rock acts like Buffalo Tom, Superchunk, Helmet and Sebadoh, they loved Murray's performance. On "Hope Scope" it's easy to see why. Murray, himself one of the 80s great jazz artists, has assembled an all-star band here, including three players with outstanding solo careers in their own right, James Spaulding, Dave Burrell and Ralph Peterson Jr. Of the album's five tunes, the title track and the two tributes to the great saxophonists of the past, "Ben" and "Lester," are the best. "Hope Scope" doesn't quite measure up to his classic octet recording, "Ming," but it comes in a close second.