David Murray Quartet feat. Francesca Cinelli
Blue Note Los Angeles1492 Ivar Avenue, Los Angeles 90028
David Murray brings his current quartet to Blue Note Los Angeles, with vocalist and lyricist Francesca Cinelli featured alongside him. The group is Murray on tenor saxophone, Marta Sanchez on piano, Luke Stewart on double bass, and Russell Carter on drums, with Cinelli on vocals. Their program draws on the material and improvisational approach of Francesca, the 2024 quartet album that brings gospel, free jazz, Afro-Caribbean music, blues, soul, and classic-jazz standards into the same conversation. The quartet first premiered in New York in January 2023.
Murray has spent more than fifty years shaping modern jazz, in Blue Note's words, through music that is “bold, inventive, rooted in tradition while constantly pushing boundaries.” He has released more than 200 albums and has worked with Max Roach, Randy Weston, Pharoah Sanders, McCoy Tyner, Taj Mahal, Cassandra Wilson, Jason Moran, Vijay Iyer, and Gregory Porter. He is also a founding member of the World Saxophone Quartet, which toured and recorded for 40 years. Reviewers heard Francesca as both a meeting of styles and a band statement: All About Jazz called it “triumphant,” while JazzTrail described it as “stark, charming, and dynamic.” The Washington Post called Murray “back with the next generation of geniuses.”
A small, dimly lit basement club tucked into a Hollywood corner, Blue Note Los Angeles is a dedicated jazz and live music space with a long-standing reputation for intimate, high-quality performances. The room is modest, with a few rows of seats facing a stage where the music is the focus. It's a place to listen, not to socialize, with the audience often quiet, absorbed in the musicians. Drinks are available, but the atmosphere is centered on the music. Shows are ticketed, with multiple sets each night, and the evening unfolds with a steady rhythm of live music, not casual conversation.