This is Mark Murphy's sophomore effort for Verve. The 13  tracks on Love Is What Stays reflect a wide range of composers,  collaborators, and inspirations.  On this album, he dips into the songs of  Johnny Cash, Oliver Nelson, Alan Jay Lerner, and even Coldplay; recites  some of his spacey, free-form poetry; unveils the latest of his dreamlike  lyrics; and scats as freely as John Coltrane played.Mark Murphy is perhaps the leading jazz singer of his generation.  He made  his mark on the genre with his ability to work effortlessly in a wide range  of styles and especially from his incomparable scatting technique.  Ella  Fitzgerald said, "He is my equal."  Murphy started out as a teen idol in  the 1950s, and worked with labels including Capitol, Decca, and Muse  throughout his five-decades-plus career. Now releasing his second album on  the venerable Verve label, Murphy proves he is also here to stay.