A good contact goes a long way. Don Was being the boss at Blue Note, he didn’t have to think long before signing Dave McMurray who had been his saxophonist in the band Was (Not Was)… Despite their bond and this new hierarchical link, the label’s president left his recruit completely free for this delightful Music Is Life. “I know Dave plays extremely well, Don Was explained. There’s no bullshit with him! He’s not the kind of musician who just drops his plans gratuitously to impress everyone. It’s only sincerity with him.” To construct his album’s repertoire, Dave McMurray decided to combine original compositions with a few well-chosen, at times surprising covers like George Clinton’s Atomic Dog, the White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army and even Johnny Hallyday’s Que je t’aime! With bassist Ibrahim Jones and drummers Ron Otis and Jeff Canady on his sides, he mixes frontal and percussive jazz with corrosive soul and gritty blues music. His saxophone starts from the guts, and aims right back for them! A proper chameleon (he played with B.B. King, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Hallyday, Gladys Knight, Albert King, Nancy Wilson, Bootsy Collins, Herbie Hancock, Geri Allen, Bob James and countless others), he manages to retain his own voice, no matter the partition he tackles. © Clotilde Maréchal/Qobuz