Blues for Memo

Saxophonist David Murray\'s tribute to the late music promoter Mehmet “Memo” Uluğ also happens to be poet Saul Williams\' first foray into jazz. His urgent, spoken-word delivery becomes part of the improvisational churn generated by pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Jaribu Shahid, and drummer Nasheet Waits. Murray\'s thick tenor tone is the constant; trombonist Craig Harris, Aytaç Doğan on kanun (Turkish zither), and others keep the group texture in a state of flux. Don\'t miss the bright swing rendering of Sun Ra\'s \"Enlightenment.\"

Jazz innovator David Murray and acclaimed actor/poet Saul Williams craft a powerful, political expression of the blues, paying homage to a pioneer of Istanbul's jazz scene, Mehmet "Memo" Uluğ. Inspired further by the legendary conductor/cornetist Butch Morris and poet Amiri Baraka, 'Blues for Memo' is a cutting-edge collaboration of jazz and poetry.