Rachel Bade-McMurphy Quartet
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Rachel Bade-McMurphy Quartet

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"AAJ review"

Twice selected as the “outstanding College Vocal Soloist� at the annual Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, vocalist/composer/saxophonist Rachel Bade-McMurphy has put out The Unspoken, an excellent compliment to her outstanding debut. Her 2004 self-titled original focused more on standards, while The Unspoken, with the trumpet support of her musical soulmate and husband Brendan McMurphy, showcases her penchant for compositions. Bade-McMurphy’s style, with graspable melodies paired with pulsing rhythms gives a nod to the pop/jazz dialect of Steely Dan. Her voice, as on the gently driving “No More Tears,� is earnest, sweet and flexible, seasoned with some gliding piano accompaniment and brass punctuation. Her range and flexibility is quite endearing, as on the ethereal “night Train,� while “Prodigal Son� spotlights her ability to get sassy and bluesy. For his part, Brendan M Murphy’s trumpet is particularly golden on this piece, as he provides excellent counterpoint throughout this clever and fresh release. The Unspoken is a welcome return for a great jazz couple. My advice for any significant promoter is to bring the wonderful pair in for a week of spoken truth.
By George Harris 2008
- All About Jazz Print Edition L.A.


Discography

Rachel Bade-McMurphy "The Unspoken" 2008 RBMC JAZZ release. Various tracks receiving radio-airplay internationally on college stations and jazz stations.

Rachel Bade (self titled) 2005 self released. Various tracks received radio airplay at local and regional college and jazz stations.

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Bio

With a nostalgic vocal sound reminiscent of Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald and a harmonic and rhythmic concept firmly rooted in the instrumental post-bop music of Wayne Shorter and Bobby Hutcherson, vocalist and saxophonist Rachel Bade-McMurphy takes audiences on a twisting and turning journey that invites them into a world of individual experience. Focusing on the lyric and melody her songs paint vivid pictures and stark expressions that cross genre boundaries into folk, rock, R&B, funk, and other popular forms appropriate for her poetic delivery.

Because of her highly improvisational nature one performance is rarely like another and each day an open canvas waiting to be engaged by her large color palate of tone and expression.

Rachel Bade-McMurphy’s 2008 RBMC JAZZ CD release “The Unspoken� contains 11 original compositions recorded with some of the leading musicians of the Seattle and Pacific Northwest Jazz scene is receiving both national and international radio airplay.

In 2003 and 2004 Rachel received the “Outstanding College Vocal Soprano Soloist� designation at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Moscow, Idaho receiving the honor of performing on the main stage with members of the Lionel Hampton Big Band’s rhythm section. Including Wally “Gator� Watson, Kuni Mikami and Christian Fabian. As a college student at Washington State University she was also chosen to participate in the IAJE Sisters in Jazz mentor program, a designation for up and coming female jazz artists.