1982-Paul Murphy put together one of the greatest quintets ever assembled. This is an extremely rare look into the rehearsal for their album Red Snapper for CBS studios. Paul assembled this group to engage in freely improvised sessions for CBS. The album was originally released privately with small distribution and it would have been called legendary were it better known. The CD is now available from Cadence Jazz records with the EXCELLENT recording quality intact! Jimmy Lyons-Alto Sax, Paul Murphy-Percussion, Mary Anne Driscoll-Piano & Vocals, Dewey Johnson-Trumpet, and Karen Borca-Bassoon provide a stellar performance!
Very rare footage!
*Excerpt from Chet Williamson's Jazz History Database http://jazzhistorydatabase.com/blog-chet/
Posted on February 2, 2008
In his long and storied professional career, drummer Paul Murphy has performed and recorded with many of the most famous free-jazz musicians in world. A smattering of those in the extensive roster includes such notable outcasts as Hamiet Bluiett, Edward 'Kidd' Jordan, Karen Borca, Raphe Malik, William Parker, Ran Blake, Joel Futterman, Larry Willis and Jimmy Lyons, with whom he played as a member of his many ensembles from 1974 to 1986.
*Born in Worcester on January 25, 1949, Murphy has also studied drums and timpani with some of the greatest percussionists of the 20th century, including receiving direction from Gene Krupa, Louie Bellson, Buddy Rich and Joseph Leavitt at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. Leavitt was the principal percussionist with the National Symphony Orchestra. Murphy has taught at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and has conducted clinics at Berkley College of Music.
Murphy spent his formative years in Worcester, but grew up in Washington, DC, where at the age of 16, played bebop in a group with Ellington bassist Billy Taylor. He also played in jump blues, R&B and rock 'n' roll bands in the DC area before heading west to California, where he made connections in the so-called avant garde scenes in both L.A. and San Francisco, performing with saxophonist Arthur Baron and Mary Anne Driscoll...
*As a bandleader, Murphy has led ensembles that include such highly regarded players as Dewey Johnson, Jay Oliver, Glen Spearman, Kash Killon, India Cooke. He also has worked with such notables as Eddie Gale, Clifford Jordan, Kiani Zwadi, Frank Kimbrough, Ben Allison, Gary 'U.S. Bonds, John Lee Hooker, Jaki Byard, and Sun Ra.
*A partial list of Paul's recordings include Inside Out, The Paul Murphy Trio, In a Dream Stream, Shadows-Intersections-West, Trio Hurricane: Suite of Winds, Paul Murphy & Larry Willis:, The Powers of Two volume I and II. His latest recordings are 'Breakaway' and 'Excursions'
*In addition to his musical gigs, Murphy spent a stint as the manager of Ali's Alley, the legendary club once owned by Rashied Ali. Although his resume is deep, varied and prestigious, Murphy has flown somewhat beneath the radar over the years. Now living back in the Washington, DC-area, Murphy is still very much active and now with a series of audio and video clips surfacing on the Internet, is going through a resurgence.
