Murphy was over 15 years into his recording career when he signed for Muse in 1972, and it marked an exciting new creative phase for him. While he would stay true to his trademark swing and vocalese, as can be heard on ‘Be-Bop Lives (Boplicity)’, the singer embraced the era of electric fusion and penned lyrics to some of the funkiest pieces in the new school, namely Herbie Hancock's ‘Sly’ and Freddie Hubbard's ‘Red Clay.’ Murphy sounds simply majestic here, his commanding delivery, phrasal precision, emotional charge and well-crafted lyrics enhancing the originals and reminding us that he had lost none of the spark that illuminated his 1961 classic Rah!. Elsewhere, Murphy explores the music of Brazil with very credible interpretations of Jobim and Nascimento, and also reasserts some ‘core values’ from the earlier part of his artistic odyssey. ‘Maiden Voyage’ and ‘Naima’ are given adequately sober treatments while the bracing ‘Ding Walls’, a tribute to London's high-stepping late 1980s jazz dance scene, is also hugely enjoyable. Needless to say that without Mark Murphy there would be no Kurt Elling, and this excellent compilation is a timely reminder of as much.