by Brian Olewnick Originally issued on two LPs and reissued in 1991 on a single disc by India Navigation, this live recording captures David Murray in his early twenties, just beginning to make a name for himself on the New York scene. He's already playing with an all-star quartet of trumpeter Lester Bowie, bassist Fred Hopkins, and drummer Phillip Wilson, all of whom, unfortunately, have since passed away. At this stage in his career, there was far more of Albert Ayler's influence in his playing than Ben Webster's, which would subsequently become dominant. Here, the session is languid and loose, the quartet feeling comfortable with bluesy thematic material, taking their time to investigate and comment on it in their solos. Bowie, in fact, is often the strongest voice, playing less in the avant style he was known for with the Art Ensemble of Chicago and more clearly looking forward to his later bands like Brass Fantasy. Unlike later in his career, Murray tends to explore the lower ranges of his tenor rather than immediately vaulting into the higher register. On the other hand, he had yet to inject the gripping passion into his solos that would become almost routine later on. Additionally, the compositions performed here lack the deep melodicism and groove of many of his later works, allowing the band, stellar though it may be, a few too many opportunities for noodling around (particularly during the lengthy "For Walter Norris"). The disc is worth hearing for Murray aficionados interested in checking out some of his earliest works, but it doesn't compare to many of the albums he would issue in the ensuing ten or 15 years.