Rah + Hip Parade (2 LP on 1 CD)

Although 'Rah' wasnt the first LP by vocal jazz giant Mark Murphy, it was the album that set him apart as one of the finest post-bop male jazz singers. In the book Jazz Covers, legendary DJ Giles Peterson listed 'Rah' as one of his favorite jazz albums. In addition to the complete album 'Rah,' this CD release also contains Murphys LP Hip Parade in its entirety. On these early efforts, Murphy is accompanied by such outstanding musicians as Blue Mitchell, Clark Terry, Bill Holman, Melba Liston, Urbie Green, Wynton Kelly, Bill Evans, Barry Galbraith, George Duvivier and Jimmy Cobb, to name but a few.


Tracklisting:
01. Angel Eye
02. On Green Dolphin Street
03. Stoppin The Clock
04. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
05. No Tears For Me
06. Out Of This World
07. Milestones
08. My Favorite Things
09. Doodlin
10. Lil Darlin
11. Twisted
12. Its Not For Me To Say
13. Send For Me
14. All The Way
15. Kansas City
16. Personality
17. Venus
18. I Only Have Eyes For You
19. Lonesome Town
20. Firefly
21. Catch A Falling Star
22. Come To Me
23. Witchcraft
24 . Day In Day Out*

Total time: 75:14 min.

Sources:
Tracks #1-11, from the album "Rah" (Riverside RLP9395)
Tracks #12-23, from the album "Hip Parade" (Capitol ST-1299)

(*) Bonus Track not on the original album

Mark Murphy, sings in all tracks accompanied by

Tracks #1-11:
Clark Terry, Blue Mitchell, Ernie Royal (tp), Jimmy Cleveland, Melba Liston, Urbie Green (tb), Wynton Kelly or Bill Evans (p), Barry Galbraith or Sam Herman (g), George Duvivier (b), Jimmy Cobb (d), Ernie Wilkins (arr, cond).
Recorded and mastered at Plaza Sound Studios in New York, September & October, 1961

Tracks #12-23:
The Bill Holman Orchestra, featuring Conte Candoli, Pete Candoli, Lee Katzman (tp), Bill Holman (ts, bar, arr, cond), Jimmy Rowles (p), Bobby Gibbons (g), Joe Mondragon (b), Stan Levey, Mel Lewis (d), Gloria Wood & the Jud Conlon Singers (vcl) . Bill Holman (arr, cond).
Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, August 1959

Track #24:
Same personnel and location as above.
Recorded in 1958

Riverside sessions produced by Orrin Keepnews
Engineered by Ray Fowler
Original cover design by Ken Deardoff

Capitol sessions produced by Tom Morgan

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Review:

-Rah

"This early-'60s effort, not Murphy's first but still pretty early in his discographical canon, has worn well over the years. Credit of course can be lavished on the vocalist himself, who didn't sound like this 20 years later, although every stage of his developing vocal chops has been interesting to be sure. On tracks such as "Green Dolphin Street," he dives into the rhythm with the relaxed calm of an expert. And when the result can be the harebrained complexity of "Twisted" or the funky timing of "Doodlin'," the wisdom of letting the experts handle the hard work has never been more apparent. But this is not just Murphy's display. The undersung Ernie Wilkins was working behind the scenes on combo and orchestra arrangements and came up with some effective and fun charts, expertly matching horn soloists such as the contrasting trumpeters Clark Terry and Blue Mitchell or embellishing the medium tones of Murphy's voice with the striking tone of Melba Liston's trombone. And what a rhythm section! This is really all Murphy has ever needed to get off, or at least that's what he wants his fans to believe, and in this case listeners have either Wynton Kelly or Bill Evans on piano. Either one is fine; both have been road-tested by maestro Miles Davis. Likewise for drummer Jimmy Cobb, whose cymbal flair keeps the time going on "Stopping the Clock" and whose tom-tom caresses and snare drum flutter literally do launch "Out of This World." This fine album is the result of several different recording sessions that clicked perfectly, produced and edited with taste by Orrin Keepnews."

Eugene Chadbourne -All Music Guide