Sunny Murray, also known as Sunny Murray Quintet, is an album by American free jazz drummer Sunny Murray, his second as a leader. It was recorded in New York City in January, 1966, and released on the ESP-Disk label.[1] The album features Murray on drums along with alto saxophonists Byard Lancaster and Jack Graham, trumpeter Jacques Coursil, and bassist Alan Silva. A remastered version, which includes an interview between Murray and ESP founder Bernard Stollman, was issued by ESP-Disk in 2007.[2][3]
According to Murray, he used a thirty-six-inch bass drum on the album "because there's something about that instrument that homogenizes the group."[4] Murray recalled that he met Coursil at a restaurant after saxophonist Clarence Sharpe recommended that he speak with the dishwasher: "There's a cat works in the kitchen. He's pretty good, Murray. You ought to check him out."[4]
Following the release of the album, Murray was awarded DownBeat magazine's "New Star" award in the drum category.[5] When he learned that the award did not involve a cash component, Murray went to DownBeat offices and "revolted": "I took some paper from the secretary's trash can, and I made a bonfire on the floor and I started to burn my Downbeat award. The secretary called the police. There was smoke everywhere, and Don [DeMichael, Editor] came out of the office throwing water on the fire..."[6]
In a review for AllMusic, Scott Yanow awarded Sunny Murray 4.5 stars, and wrote: "the band is fairly coherent but also full of fire and chance-taking solos. In ways, this is a typical ESP free-form blowing session, and certainly will be most enjoyed by open-eared listeners."[7] The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded the album 3 stars, calling it Murray's "real coming-out as a leader" and "pretty uncompromising fare."[8] Writing for All About Jazz, Jerry D'Souza commented: "The music is intense, but it is also passionate... [it] ferments, roils, and fascinates."[9]
Track listing
Tracks 1, 2, and 4 by Sunny Murray. Track 3 by Jacques Coursil.
^ abWeiss, Jason (2012). Always in Trouble: An Oral History of ESP-Disk, the Most Outrageous Record Label in America. Wesleyan University Press. p. 257.
