Be My Monster Love

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]

The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 3½ stars, stating: "Be My Monster Love is a diverse, travel modern creative jazz through a prismatic lens. While Murray's compositions are tighter and more song-like than ever (the presence of these excellent vocalists highlights this), he simultaneously offers a group of stellar players the opportunity (collectively and individually) to shine and push their margins. Highly recommended".[2] JazzTimes observed "For all the concepts in motion, this is one of Murray’s most relaxed albums in a while. More often than not, he’s in classic tenor mode, pouring out bruisingly melodic lines".[3] On All About Jazz, Phil Barnes said "Jazz seems to struggle to cross over these days, but gems such as these are still there to be unearthed – they may not have the media profile of the past but the musical quality and innovation remains. Lets hope that someone out there in the mainstream is listening".[4]

All compositions by David Murray except as indicated

1. "French Kiss for Valerie" – 6:55
2. "Be My Monster Love" (lyrics by Ishmael Reed) – 6:35
3. "Stressology" – 6:45
4. "Army of the Faithful (Joyful Noise)" (lyrics by Ishmael Reed) – 6:19
5. "Sorrow Song" – 8:58
6. "About the Children" (lyrics by Abiodun Oyewole) – 7:49
7. "The Graduate" – 5:41
8. "Hope Is a Thing with Feathers" (lyrics by Ishmael Reed) – 7:19

• David Murray – tenor saxophone, bass clarinet
• Marc Cary – piano, organ
• Jaribu Shahid – bass
• Nasheet Waits – drums
• Bobby Bradford – cornet (track 7)
• Macy Gray (track 2), Gregory Porter (tracks 4, 6 & 8) – vocals