Body & Soul

Rate It! Avg: 4.0 (9 ratings)
Body & Soul album cover
Album Information
EDITOR'S PICK

Total Tracks: 7   Total Length: 51:53

eMusic Features

0

Muhal Richard Abrams Updates the Big Band

By Kevin Whitehead, eMusic Contributor

Muhal Richard Abrams is likely best known as a driving force behind the hugely influential Chicago co-op the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), but he's also an underappreciated composer. Not unknown by any means — he won Denmark's first Jazzpar Prize in 1990, before the international jury got around to David Murray, Lee Konitz, Tommy Flanagan and Roy Haynes. But Abrams 'orchestra rarely got the attention it deserved in its '80s and… more »

They Say All Music Guide

No matter how many albums Murray issues, he never coasts or goes through the motions. This is mainly a quartet date, although Murray shows on the title track his ability to back a singer as Taana Running gives a moving vocal, complete with her original lyrics. Otherwise, these are either spirited uptempo numbers or equally energized ballads. Murray’s sweeping tenor sound remains a marvel, and few can match him in controlling drive, pitch and volume. Drummer Rashied Ali has not lost the rippling intensity from his days with John Coltrane; he and Murray conclude things in a dazzling duo performance on “Cuttin’ Corners” deliberately intended to evoke memories of the Coltrane/Ali album Interstellar Space. – Ron Wynn

more »