David Murray Impulse! Records Debut Announced For April 25th Release
PRESENTED BY THE BIRDSONG PROJECT, 'BIRDLY SERENADE" INCLUDES A COLLECTION OF EIGHT ORIGINAL COMPOSITIONS
MARCH 14, 2025 — Today, the fantastically prolific and endlessly ambitious Berkeley-born jazz star David Murray announces his new album. Nearly five decades into his storied career in jazz and improvised music, the saxophonist, bass clarinetist, composer and bandleader is making his Impulse! Records debut with Birdly Serenade, a collection of new compositions inspired by the original improvisors: birds. If the outdoorsy inspiration is new for the veteran player, the sound is in keeping with his massive, diverse body of recorded work, bold and innovative while remaining steeped in tradition. While he has appeared on hundreds of records as a leader and sideman, Birdly Serenade proves Murray is overdue for his moment of acclaim as an influential composer and saxophonist, and belongs in the pantheon of truly bold masters of jazz.
Birdly Serenade will be available on April 25, 2025 on all formats and, to celebrate the announcement, Murray shares “Birdly Serenade,” the title track featuring vocalist Ekep Nkwelle. Listen here, watch the video here, & pre-order the album here.
The album marks Murray’s first time recording at the storied Van Gelder Studio and his second recording alongside the all-star trio of pianist Marta Sánchez, bassist Luke Stewart and drummer Russell Carter, following Francesca, an homage to Murray's wife that was named one of the New York Times' best jazz albums of 2024. The album is also the latest installment in the GRAMMY award-winning Birdsong Project, produced by Randall Poster (Wolf Of Wall Street, Grand Budapest Hotel, School of Rock) & Stewart Lerman (Elvis Costello, Sharon Van Etten, Loudon Wainwright), and already featuring work by everyone from Yo Yo Ma, Mark Ronson, to The Flaming Lips. The Birdsong Project has emerged as one of the most active and influential cultural forces in the world of bird conservation, collaborating with the National Audubon Society and other partners including the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, Obey Giant / Shepard Fairey, The Aspen Center For Environmental Studies, and Two Thirds For The Birds.
Speaking on the partnership and Murray’s Birdsong Project, GRAMMY Award-winning producer and music supervisor Randall Poster says, “The Birdsong Project is honored to present this birdly serenade by David Murray and his genius quartet. Inspired by a world of birds, the music on these recordings are overflowing with Murray magnificence. David’s writing and playing is incomparable. He and the band take flight again and again, like the birds we love.”
Jamie Krents, CEO & President of Verve Label Group, adds, “David Murray absolutely belongs on the Mount Rushmore of the great Jazz saxophonists and composers of the last 50 years. It’s beyond an honor to welcome him to the Impulse! family and we are thrilled to be part of the team behind this recording of his incredible quartet.”
Many of the album's tracks were workshopped on the road, as Murray toured alongside his new quartet, made up of a younger generation of musicians, over the past few years. The process has been an invigorating one for Murray, who calls them all "top-flight musicians" that contribute their distinct musical perspectives to the work as they inspire him to reexamine his own. "The music has a way of shaping itself live," he says. "The band has come to have its own personality, based on both my leadership and their dexterity as musicians. Whatever knowledge that was imparted to me during my learning period, I'm imparting to them." Murray says he never uses a set list, so the ensemble is truly playing completely differently every night — and growing together as a result, as evidenced by this vibrant, dynamic recording.
Fantastically prolific and endlessly ambitious, the Berkeley-born Murray carved his idiosyncratic jazz legacy over hundreds of recordings and countless gigs all over the world, playing alongside everyone from McCoy Tyner and James Blood Ulmer to the renowned World Saxophone Quartet, which he co-founded. He's received the Guggenheim Award, a GRAMMY Award and numerous other honors, but most impactful is his versatility — his willingness to play in different traditions and generations, connecting the avant-garde to the classic and improvising virtuosically all the while. Now, as he claims the mantle of jazz elder statesman, Murray shows no signs of slowing, continuing to create and teach as he builds on an already impressive legacy.
Additional information is available in Birdly Serenade’s liner notes, written by Derek Schilling, and available here.
