MPS Records' Continues Its Summer Reissues

Albums by jazz vocalist Mark Murphy and pianist Monty Alexander dropped Aug. 13, 2021, on vinyl and CD via Edel Germany in partnership with Bob Frank Entertainment.

It’s been a special summer for jazz lovers and record collectors and another treat arrived on August 13, 2021, when MPS Records reissued jazz vocalist Mark Murphy’s “Midnight Mood” and pianist Monty Alexander’s “Montreux Alexander: The Monty Alexander Trio Live! at the Montreux Festival” on vinyl and CD. With these two releases, Germany’s first jazz label that was founded in 1968 by Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer has reissued 31 titles by legendary jazz figures, including Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Dexter Gordon, Freddie Hubbard, The Count Basie Orchestra, and George Duke, over the last two months in the US and Canada via Edel Germany in partnership with Bob Frank Entertainment.

A quintessential post-bop jazz singer, Murphy was viewed as underrated and revered as one of the finest jazz vocalists of all time by many. 1967’s “Midnight Mood” finds the inventive singer who crooned blues, scatted bebop, and emoted standards with panache paired with eight members of the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band. However, Murphy opens the collection with a mesmerizing a cappella version of Duke Ellington’s “Jump For Joy.” Murphy swings elegantly on “I Don’t Want Nothin’” and he co-wrote the cool “Why and How.” His articulate phrasing stands out on “Alone Together” while the ardent “You Fascinate Me So” is a romantic overture. The singer wrote the somber ballad “Hopeless” and “Sconsolato” cha cha’s to an exotic Latin rhythm. Murphy interprets Ira Gershwin beautifully on “My Ship.” “Just Give Me Time” swings to a bossa nova groove. The set closes with Hoagy Carmichael’s poignant and powerful “I Get Along Without You Very Well.”              

The Jamaican-born Alexander teams with bassist John Clayton and drummer Jeff Hamilton for the 1976 set “Montreux Alexander: The Monty Alexander Trio Live! at the Montreux Festival.” Blues, soul, and gospel reign on this stellar jazz trio session that rightfully earned Alexander comparisons with his MPS label mate Oscar Peterson. Alexander’s nimble piano is center stage on this six-song date anchored by the taut rhythm section with each member of the trio afforded equal time to solo.

Alexander opens with Ahmad Jamal’s “Nite Mist Blues” before going pop on “Feelings.” He swings on the Ellington, Johnny Mercer, and Billy Strayhorn standard “Satin Doll” and then shows off his remarkable speed and dexterity on “Work Song.” Blues and gospel intersect on “Drown in My Own Tears.” The disc marches to an unexpected conclusion with a note of whimsy on “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”   

Another tranche of albums from the MPS catalog will be reissued this fall. For more information and to see what else is coming soon from MPS, please visit https://www.mps-music.com.

 

Reynolds Really Racks Up Points In 'Free Guy'

 

By Darlene Donloe

Ryan Reynolds fans and gamer enthusiasts are going to be blown away by the new action-comedy, ‘Free Guy’ opening in theaters nationwide today.

It’s a nonstop action romp in none other than an open-world video game.

So here are the details.

‘Free Guy,’ a 20th Century Studios adventure-comedy, tells the story of Guy (Reynolds) a bank teller who discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game. He decides to become the hero of his own story…one he rewrites himself. Now in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way…before it is too late. Along the way, he meets Molotov Girl (Jodie Comer) the girl of his dreams – and becomes obsessed with getting to know her. She also happens to be the coder who conceived him.

Guy is a shy, brainless button-down banker who walks through his world with a daily routine that takes him nowhere. He wears the same blue shirt and khaki pants every day. In fact, he has the same routine every day of his empty life.  He has a best friend in the bank (Lil Rel Howery) who is a useless security guard who immediately drops his gun to the floor when a bank robbery is in progress.

Guy doesn’t want to be just another NPC (non-player character).

So, to gain the attention of Molotov Girl, Guy decides to rack up some points by going out into his world and performing superhero-type stuff to impress her.

His stunts get noticed and soon Guy is called Blue Shirt Guy in a video game called Free City.  The problems come when Blue Shirt Guy begins to do things he’s not programmed to do. He acquires his own mind, which doesn’t sit well with Antoine, Free City’s current owner (Taika Waititi).

In actuality, the real inventors of the Free City game are Keys (Joe Keery) and Millie (Comer again, in a blonde wig), who decide to get back the evidence from Antoine that proves they, indeed, are the true owners of the popular game.

If you’re not a true gamer, you may get a little lost with the maze of gaming-gamer lingo. But there’s plenty of computer-generated action and a little romance to get you through the film.

For what it is – ‘Free Guy’ works for the crowd it's intended for – young people and gamers who aren’t looking for something deep.

The film creates a gaming world that is an eye-popping, high-tech marvel, which seems to be the trend today in films that are full of artificial intelligence and alternate realities.

Reynolds will pull in his fans because of his good looks, impeccable delivery, and undeniable charm on screen.

 There are several cameos that are hilarious and a brief stint of a character named Dude, who is actually Guy’s head superimposed on Aaron W. Reed’s hulking body. The bit is comical.

 ‘Free Guy,’ directed by Shawn Levy, stars Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Joe Keery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Taika Waititi.

 The screenplay is by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn and a story by Lieberman.

 The film is produced by Ryan Reynolds, p.g.a., Shawn Levy, p.g.a., Sarah Schechter, Greg Berlanti, and Adam Kolbrenner with Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, George Dewey, Dan Levine, and Michael Riley McGrath serving as executive producers. 

‘Free Guy’ is Rated PG: 13; Running time: 1h 55m.

 On the DONLOE SCALE:  D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likable) O (oh, yeah), and E (excellent), ‘Free Guy’ gets an L (likable).