David Murray Cuban Ensemble Live: NPR Music at Winter Jazzfest

‘Black Nat’ recorded Jan. 7, 2012 at Le Poisson Rouge in New York, N.Y.

Saxophonist David Murray is a musical omnivore, and a particularly ravenous one: He can improvise his way through any conceivable setting, often with a full-bodied, ursine strength. Lately, he’s directed his energies toward Nat King Cole’s Spanish-language albums, as collected on the recent album David Murray Cuban Ensemble Plays Nat King Cole En Español. It’s a way of investigating his and his wife’s cultural histories — Afro-American and Spanish-Cuban, respectively — but it’s also a communion with like-minded Cuban musicians.

At the 2012 NYC Winter Jazzfest, Murray called together nine New York-based players, some of Cuban descent, to perform this repertoire at Le Poisson Rouge. All are crack soloists or rhythmatists, though none more so than their leader, who does his best to embody Cole’s voice with all due regal authority.

Personnel:
David Murray, tenor saxophone
Antonio Zamora, alto saxophone
Jay Rodriguez, tenor saxophone
Dennis Yuri Hernandez, trumpet
Shareef Clayton, trumpet
Terry Greene II, trombone
Edgar Pantoja Aleman, piano
Jaribu Shahid, bass
Eddy Mauricio Herrera Tamayo, drums
Yusnier Sanchez Bustamante, percussion

Producers: Mito Habe-Evans, Patrick Jarenwattananon
Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait
Executive Producers: Anya Grundmann, Keith Jenkins