Ron Murray & Vuélo: Romanza

It is often times a life long struggle to learn a style of music well enough to play with passion, conviction and honesty. Ron Murray must have lived a very long life then because not only is he a skillful jazz guitar player, he is also an exceptional Classical and Flamenco guitar player. Some people just have all the luck.

But seriously, Murray’s latest CD Romanza, is a collection of ten tunes that reflect his love for both the improvised line and the rhythmic fervor of Flamenco with the disciplined technique of Classical. Having not only taken lessons from Classical greats like John Williams and Oscar Ghiglia, and Flamenco masters Paco Pena and Mario Escudero, which would be enough study in anyone’s book, he has also studied with jazz greats Pat Martino, Joe Pass, and Barney Kessel to name a few. Very impressive indeed. But does all this study translate to the creation of good music? Thankfully the answer is Yes!

One just has to listen to the title track Romanza to hear the various elements of Murray’s style as it develops from the standard intro based on the traditional Spanish folk song to the aforementioned rhythmic fervor of Flamenco a few bars later. It is a nicely arranged piece with top-quality group support by drummer Arti Dixon and bassist Marty Ballou, allowing Murray to get in some nice improvised lines that bring into play a healthy dose of chromaticism and fingerboard dexterity. The sound of his nylon string is well recorded and there is a nice balance amongst the instruments. Not an easy feat I’m sure.

The remaining nine tunes follow the title track in terms of fine playing and creativity, although there are some unexpected exceptions. For example, on “Corcovado (Quiet Nights)” and “Vivo Sonhando (Dreamer)”, two Jobim tunes, Murray switches to electric for his improvised passages over nylon stringed changes, giving him a jazzier tone and feel. It’s a nice variation which also helps to remind the listener that he still has his Jazz Guitar roots in his heart and in his hands. These same tunes proudly feature his father, Ron F. Murray on harmonica, who plays it very well lending a very melodious element to the tunes while the vocal talents of Michael Ciulla and John Scott seem to make the songs complete.

Two other interesting tunes are the Norah Jones hit “Don’t Know Why” and George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. Murray handles these two tunes nicely utilizing chord melody and single notes to flesh out the melodies and harmonies, giving warmth to “Don’t Know Why” while burning up the fret-board with quick lines and pull-offs for “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”.

Special mention should also go to Murray’s own compositions “Tangos Del Amigos” and “Brazilian Flower”. These tunes not only showcase Murray’s writing skills which reflect his style perfectly, but also his keen technique as he navigates through the changes with ease. “Nuages”, “Besame Mucho” and the Mancini tune “Charade” also showcase Murray’s strong melodic flow and dedication to bringing the best of all musical worlds into each tune. A job well done.

Romanza is definitely an album I would recommend for those who enjoy jazz, flamenco or gypsy style guitar and would like to hear how a talented artist can combine each to make an individual musical statement. It is also an album that would do quite nicely in any intimate setting or playing gently in the background with friends. But don’t dismiss it as background music, it’s too good for that.

Go to www.ronguitar.com/ to purchase Romanza or to see what else Ron Murray has to offer.

Lyle Robinson