David Murray, a maverick figure blessed with the ability to produce one of the most definitive tenor saxophone sounds on the planet: to wit the Paul Gonsalves-like style on his latest album Be My Monster Love (Motéma) on a song such as ‘Stressology’. Yet the innovations of the New Thing and beyond are always a factor in his music added to the strong Ellingtonian dimension deep within Murray’s music. On the new album the funky and gospellised ‘Army of the Faithful (Joyful Noise)’ with Gregory Porter stretching out against soulful organ sets up Murray to blow his heart out before the old school sophistication of ‘Sorrow Song’ takes the record into a new fulfilling direction. Murray brings an old friend, cornetist Bobby Bradford, out to join him on ‘The Graduate’ for some effective testifying but ‘Hope is a Thing with Feathers’ a Murray/Ishmael Reed song about immigration and freedom, with Porter at his best is the ultimate standout of a very fine socially conscious, involved and appealing album. Dates for the Infinity Quartet tour, where Murray is joined by pianist Rod Williams (in for Thornton Hudson Jr), bassist Jaribu Shahid, and Bandwagon drummer Nasheet Waits, are: tonight and tomorrow Ronnie Scott’s, London (14-15 October); then St George’s, Bristol on Wednesday; Turner Sims, Southampton (Thursday); CBSO Centre, Birmingham (Friday); and Howard Assembly Room, Leeds, this Saturday. David Murray pictured