Detroit saxophonist Dave McMurray will release his fourth Blue Note album, “I LOVE LIFE even when I’m hurting,” on Friday, Nov. 14. The project serves as a testament to his resilience and a tribute to his beloved hometown of Detroit and the many artists he’s worked with over the years and will culminate with a live performance that same day at Detroit’s Third Man Records.
The album also features a guest appearance from another of Detroit’s favorite musical sons, beloved R&B balladeer Kem, singing a cover of the late Al Jarreau’s “We Got By.”
“I knew I wanted to do an original music album, after two Grateful Dead cover records, so I was excited about that,” McMurray said. “Once I set that title, I said, ‘Let me do something that’s personal.’ I had lost a few close friends over the last couple of years, and I learned that one of them might have … ‘given up.’ It shocked me, because this was a positive person. I was thinking about it, and I said, ‘Man, I don’t know … I love life, even when I’m hurting.’ Then I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a good title – remember that.’ And I started writing from there, in a positive way.
“There’s something to live for.”
Kem and McMurray have a long musical relationship — in fact, McMurray has played on all of Kem’s albums, including the classic “Love Calls” and his holiday album that’s popular this time each year.
“I’ve known Kem a long time,” McMurray said, “since he was about 19 years old. All of a sudden, we went through a few years where I didn’t see him, and then when I saw him again, he said, ‘Hey, would you play on my new record?’ He let me know he had been through something, but I hadn’t known about that. When we went into the studio to record the album with ‘Love Calls’ on it, I was shocked because his voice had matured so much, and it was influenced by Al Jarreau.
“That was more than 20 years ago, and even back then, we talked about recording ‘We Got By.’ All this time, I’ve been wanting to do that song with Kem because I knew it was an important song for him. And I went way back with Al Jarreau – I was on his first record, so it felt like a special connection, because I knew him before a lot of people, before he got really popular. And when this new record came up, I thought, ‘I’m gonna see if I can get Kem to do it.’ He stepped up to the plate big time and delivered a great performance.”
Musician and Detroit native Don Was, president of Blue Note, had nothing but praise for McMurray and his new joint.
“Dave has a way of pushing the stylistic and harmonic boundaries of music without losing his connection to the listener’s soul,” said Was. “It’s a fine line to walk, but he navigates the tightrope with grace, ease and spirit. Having played with him for almost half a century, I can testify to the fact that he gets better and better with age − this newest recording is his finest work to date.”
McMurray said he’s “really, really looking forward” to the Third Man concert.
“I’m going to be selling vinyl,” he said. “This is my first record on vinyl in a while, so I’m excited about that. And it’s the band that recorded on the album. We kind of did it old-school; I went in two days and recorded with one set of guys, then I went in two days and recorded with some other guys, and we finished. Not a lot of overdubs; we went in and recorded live. But the best part about the record is, everybody on the record is someone I’ve played with for the last 15 or 20 years, or longer. Don Was, and people like that. It was a great situation, a good vibe, because we had played together so long.
“We’re just going to play all the songs on the record, and then I’ll be signing vinyl and selling CDs and merch and stuff. It should be fun. And it’s free, wonderful for the public – we want to get as many people in there as possible. We played there a few years back, and it was such a cool vibe and the sound was great. We’re rehearsing and putting the music together, so we’re really looking forward to it.”
When: Friday, Nov. 14
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Third Man Records, 441 W. Canfield St., Detroit
Admission: Free with pre-registration
thirdmanrecords.com
Detroit saxophonist Dave McMurray celebrates life, loss in new album featuring Kem – Detroit Free Press
