Empty Room – Fritz Pauer & Mark Murphy

Our audio excerpt starts at the beginning of the track. Immediately, you hear the magic of Mark Murphy! He starts solo voice for the first A section, captivating with his storytelling and phrasing of his lyric. Pianist and composer Fritz Pauer then sets up the second A section, starting his sensitive solo accompaniment of Mark with the chord progression over a C pedal. You'll hear why Fritz was one of the most sought-after vocal accompanists in Europe.

Dena obviously has heard Mark Murphy's classic recording of Empty Room, and has now created her own great version of Mark's lyric. Our audio excerpt starts at the beginning of the track. After her interesting strum on the strings of the piano, she starts voice alone at A, like Mark does, except in the fourth measure she starts to accompany herself on piano.

Released under the title The Sound Within An Empty Room.

Our audio clip starts at the top of the track, with Rachel Gould interpreting the melody in a rubato setting, with piano as a background. The recording continues this way for the first two A sections. Then Rachel sets up the "time" entrance for the rhythm section a bar before the bridge.

Known for her vocal phrasing and technique, Rachel Gould exquisitely molds the melody into a lyrical innovation crafting each word around the notes.

Lyric Description: Empty Room hauntingly describes an estranged narrator, left with only the sounds of emptiness. The solitude evokes memories of an old lover, memories filled with pain and regret. How to rid the room of the echoes of past love? Stay within the noisy heartache of the past, or quiet the sound for a moment with lustful fun? Anything is better than this taunting. But the only way to end the noise is with the friendly sounds of new love.

No-vocal version: The two rubato A sections of the recording will enable you, the singer, to interpret the rubato phrases of the solo piano accompaniment, making the song your own. When the rest of the rhythm section enters with "time" setting up the bridge, you'll still be free to express the song with your own inflections as you tell the story.

The piano solo that was in Rachel's recording has been eliminated for the instrumental accompaniment-only version. After the opening melody, the track modulates back to a repeat of the bridge, then continues to the final ending. This is a common format for jazz ballads.

If another key would be better for you, send the key you'd like to Don and we'll post the transposition on the website for purchase. If you're not sure which key is best, send us your range and we'll work with you to figure out the best key.