Some Time Ago

Some Time Ago was Murphy's first of five releases on Joe Fields' label HighNote after Fields sold Muse Records to Joel Dorn. Fields. inspired by mentor Bob Weinstock's development and sale of Prestige Records to Fantasy Records for a large profit, had always intended to sell Muse. He almost immediately formed HighNote Records with his son and signed on Murphy. He says, Murphy "takes us from the wild exhilaration of bebop to a darker place that Mark knows well". == Recording ==

The album was produced by American jazz trumpeter, arranger Don Sickler, his first recording project with Murphy. Lee Musiker was hired as arranger and pianist. Bassist Steve LaSpina (on five tracks) previously recorded with Murphy on Beauty and the Beast and Kerouac, Then and Now. "They both played like angels," Mark said in the liner notes. This the first recording made by saxophonist Allen Mezquida with Murphy. But Mezquida was part of the inspiration for Murphy's "Song for the Geese" on Song for the Geese. Murphy heard Mezquida playing the melody of Sean Smith's song in a nightclub appearance with Smith's band and was inspired to write lyrics for the tune. "I never forgot the way he played," Mark said in the liner notes. Don Sickler suggested the bebop tunes on this album. "Mark's jagged scat chorus, with its yelps, trills, and leaps into falsetto, owes as much to the avant-garde of the '60s as it does to bop," writes Gavin. Jazz pianist and composer James Williams, who worked with Art Blakey, wrote "You're My Alter Ego", his best known melody, with lyrics by Pamela Watson. Gavin call the ballads on the album "painfully raw". Peter Jones, in his Murphy biography This is Hip: The Life of Mark Murphy, says of Jimmy Rowles's "The Peacocks", it is "a terrifyingly difficult tune to sing, which Murphy nailed in one take". Rowles had also been the pianist for singers Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Peggy Lee. "With Every Breath I Take" is from Cy Coleman's musical City of Angels with lyrics by David Zippel. Murphy often included the verse to standards in his recordings and in the closing ballad medley Murphy sings the rarely performed verse of "Why Was I Born?" by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II. Speaking of Frank Sinatra's "I'm a Fool to Want You" Murphy said, "I've been fantasizing about doing that tune for twenty years," it is a "fantasy world" of "an older person, who lives a lot in memory". == Reception ==

AllMusic assigns the album 2.5 stars. David R. Adler writes, "One either loves Mark Murphy's style or one does not. The veteran vocalist is at his best when scatting...On the other hand, he seems a little rough-edged and indelicate on ballads". But he singles out for praise his be-bop scat on "There's No More Blue Time", his "breakneck version" of "That Old Black Magic", the hard bop "You're My Alter Ego" and "Life's Mosaic," the ballads "Some Time Ago", and the closing standards medley, "Why Was I Born? / I'm a Fool to Want You." He highly praises each of the accompanying musicians. He says, "Hip and adventurous, yet always tasteful, the band makes these tunes come alive as much as Murphy does". Colin Larkin assigns the record 4 stars in The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Four stars means, "Excellent. A high standard album from this artist and therefore highly recommended". This means "An excellent record, with some exceptional music, only kept out of the front rank by some minor reservations". Describing Murphy's voice and performance, James Gavin says, "time has only made his reedy bass-baritone richer. His vocal trademarks remain: the Ben Webster-like slides, the flashes of off-the-wall humor, the horn-player approach combined with a stark insight into words. He's not afraid to let his voice break or drop down to a husky whisper; pretty sounds alone would not suit the story he has to tell". Joel Siegel praises the album in his JazzTimes review. He called the album one of Murphy's finest releases and found Murphy to be in excellent voice with first-rate accompanists. He wrote, "Murphy achieves an expressive breakthrough, communicating emotion with a simplicity and directness he’s never before achieved on record". He called Murphy, "arguably the most influential jazz singer of his generation, not only as an artistic inspiration for younger performers but as a teacher, cheerleader and guest artist on the recordings of emerging vocalists. In many ways, he’s an excellent role model - restlessly creative, unwilling to compromise, constantly seeking new artistic challenges". == Track listing ==

; Performance • Mark Murphy – vocals, original concept • Allan Mezquida – alto saxophone • Steve LaSpina – bass (tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 8) • Sean Smith – bass (tracks 4, 6, 7, 9) • Lee Musiker – piano, arranger • Winard Harper – drums • Dave Ballou – trumpet ; ; Production • Ira Yuspeh – engineer, recorded at M&I Recording Studios December 27–28, 1999, New York City, New York • Don Sickler – producer, mixing • Joe Fields – executive producer • James Gavin – liner notes • Annalee Valencia – art direction, design • Bill Claxton – photography == References ==