Black Light Collective

Detroit multi-instrumentalist Dave McMurray, a Blue Note recording artist who also works as producer, composer, and bandleader, created the cross-generational spiritual soul-jazz and funk ensemble Black Light Collective. Through both live appearances and studio work the group presents its own material while honoring the groove-centered jazz and spiritual soul of the 1960s and 1970s. The lineup features younger Detroit players from McMurray’s circle: trombonist Kenneth Gill and trumpeter Allen Dennard, each an established Motor City bandleader; lead vocalist Isis Damil, who draws from the modern jazz vocal lineage of Betty Carter and Abbey Lincoln; pianist and singer Malik Alston; and the rhythm section of McMurray’s longstanding band D3—bassist Ibrahim Jones, drummer Jeff Canady, and keyboardist Maurice O’Neal.

McMurray formed the ensemble in 2019 to perform live, yet soon recognized its wider creative scope. He placed the project with Ropeadope and recorded at The Feeder Loft studio in Detroit with engineer Salar Ansari plus several notable guests drawn from his career, among them trumpeter and flugelhornist Rayse Biggs (Was (Not Was), Geri Allen, Kem), keyboardist Luis Resto (Eminem, Rolling Stones, Was (Not Was), Patti Smith, Anita Baker), percussionist Larry Fratangelo (Was (Not Was), Bootsy, Parliament/Funkadelic, David Ruffin), djembe player Sowande Keita, and longtime guitarist Adell “Showboat” Shavers. Black Light Collective issued its self-titled debut album in the summer of 2020.