Mike Allen - Bob's Piano (2017)

Bob Murphy loved his piano, he called it his racehorse. Its lush and powerful tone captivated his imagination and fuelled his drive to excel as a performer, composer, and private piano teacher over the last 20+ years of his life. Bob and his partner Monique understood the potential that their piano and loft space presented for hosting intimate jazz concerts and informal playing sessions with friends. They did their share of hosting. Like many other local musicians who counted Bob as a mentor and an inspiration, I was fortunate to share in a number of beautiful occasions of music-making at his home with him saddled up to his racehorse. He usually had his recording setup running during our informal sessions. Listening back together to the recordings as I was packing up my sax was a memorable part of those get-togethers. We spoke excitedly about doing a proper album recording at some point in the future. Unfortunately life doesn't wait, and we missed that opportunity. A couple of months after Bob passed away in the fall of 2015, Monique got in touch to remind me of those recordings we had done, that they were on a computer hard-drive and could be obtained should I want them. I listened to them with a fresh perspective and was floored anew by Bob's playing. There was such a relaxed vibe about it all, sprinkled with some truly inspired musical moments. I felt that the music deserved to be heard, the only concern was the recording quality. But thanks to the encouragement and technical expertise of mixing engineer Miles Hill (also a close musical friend of Bob’s), key parts of those recordings were able to be rendered album-worthy. Meanwhile, Miles Black and I had arranged with Monique to come into her home and record one final time on Bob's piano. It was an emotional day of recording throughout which we constantly sensed the presence of Bob's playful musical spirit. We recorded some of his last creations, a few of his favourite standards, plus a mournful dedication to the love of Bob's life, Monique, composed on-the-spot by Miles Black. That session produced six good tracks, and with the addition of four tracks Bob and I had recorded earlier, what started out as simply a loving tribute to Bob, grew into a project that would showcase some of Bob's last recorded work and latest compositions. Everyone involved in this shares a deep respect and love for Bob and his music, so to Monique, Miles Black, Miles Hill and to Bob's legion of admirers, this is for you. And to Bob himself, I'm grateful for every musical journey we shared, each was a pleasure and an honour.