Mark Murphy | |
|---|---|
 Murphy sings atBach Dancing & Dynamite Society in Half Moon Bay, California on August 3, 1980 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Mark Howe Murphy (1932-03-14)March 14, 1932 Syracuse, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 22, 2015(2015-10-22) (aged 83) Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | Vocal jazz |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 1956–2013 |
| Labels | Decca,Capitol,Riverside,Fontana,Muse,HighNote,Verve |
Mark Howe Murphy (March 14, 1932 – October 22, 2015) was an American jazz singer based at various times in New York City, Los Angeles, London, and San Francisco. He recorded 51 albums under his own name during his lifetime and was principally known for his innovative vocal improvisations. He was the recipient of the 1996, 1997, 2000, and 2001Down Beat magazine readers' jazz poll for Best Male Vocalist and was also nominated five times for theGrammy Award for Best Vocal Jazz Performance.[1] He wrote lyrics to the jazz tunes "Stolen Moments" and "Red Clay".
Born inSyracuse, New York, in 1932, Murphy was raised in a musical family,[2] his parents having met when his father was appointed director of the local Methodist Church choir. He grew up in the nearby small town ofFulton, New York,[3] where his grandmother and then his aunt were the church organists. Opera was also a presence in the Murphy home. He started piano lessons at the age of seven.[4]
In his teens, Murphy joined his brother Dwight's jazz dance band as the singer (and occasional pianist), influenced byPeggy Lee,Nat "King" Cole,June Christy,Anita O'Day, andElla Fitzgerald. The Jazz pianistArt Tatum was another early influence.
Murphy graduated fromSyracuse University in 1953, having majored in Music and Drama. While there he was spotted singing at the Embassy Club bySammy Davis Jr, who invited him to perform a guest spot at his own gig shortly afterwards, and put him in touch with TV hostSteve Allen.
The following year Murphy moved to New York City, taking part-time jobs as he looked for work as an actor and singer. He appeared in productions for theGilbert and Sullivan Light Opera Company and a musical version for television ofCasey at the Bat. He also twice took second place atApollo Theatre amateur singing contests.
Murphy was eventually introduced to record producerMilt Gabler, who was an artist and repertoire director (A&R) forDecca. His resulting debut recording wasMeet Mark Murphy (1956),[3] followed closely byLet Yourself Go (1957).
After disappointing album sales, Murphy moved to Los Angeles in 1958. While in the city, he recorded three albums forCapitol Records, and had a minor hit single with "This Could Be the Start of Something". This was not enough for him to be retained by Capitol, however, so he returned to New York in the early '60s. Here he recorded two albums forRiverside Records: the albumRah (1961) included "Angel Eyes", a version ofHorace Silver's "Doodlin'", and "Green Dolphin Street", featuringBill Evans,Clark Terry,Urbie Green,Blue Mitchell andWynton Kelly as accompanists. His favorite recording to date,That's How I Love the Blues, soon followed. In 1963, Murphy hit the charts across the country with his single of "Fly Me to the Moon" and was voted New Star of the Year inDown Beat Magazine's Reader's Poll.[5] Around this time he fell under the spell ofMiles Davis; for the rest of his career, Murphy maintained that he tried as far as possible to sing like Miles played.
In 1963, Murphy moved to London, England, where he quickly found acceptance and played frequently atRonnie Scott's Club, as well as making regular appearances on BBC Radio. He recorded three more albums in London, and one in Germany that is among his best -Midnight Mood (1968). From London he made frequent trips to Holland, where he worked on Dutch radio, mainly with producer Joop de Roo. Between 1964 and 1972, he acted in a number of drama productions for TV and radio,[1] and appeared as a singer in the 1967 British comedy filmJust Like a Woman. Meanwhile, he continued to cultivate his jazz audiences in Europe, singing in clubs and on radio. It was in London that Murphy, who was gay, met his long-time partner Eddie O'Sullivan.[1]
He returned to the States in 1972 and began recording an average of an album per year for more than 14 years on theMuse label.[2] These included the Grammy-nominated albumsSatisfaction Guaranteed, Bop for Kerouac andNat's Choice: Nat King Cole Songbook Vol. II. Murphy's other highly regarded Muse recordings includeBridging a Gap (featuringRon Carter,Jimmy Madison,Randy Brecker andMichael Brecker),Mark Murphy Sings (again featuring the Brecker Brothers along withDavid Sanborn),Living Room,Beauty And the Beast andStolen Moments. Bop for Kerouac (1981), withRichie Cole andBill Mays, was a result of Murphy's enthusiasm for the writing ofJack Kerouac, whom Murphy regarded as a soul-mate. It included readings from the author's booksOn the Road andThe Subterraneans. Murphy followed it up withKerouac Then And Now, released in 1989. Having been a fan of Brazilian music since the late 1950s, in 1984 together with the band Viva Brasil he recorded the albumBrazil Song (Cancões do Brasil), which featured work byAntonio Carlos Jobim andMilton Nascimento. He wrote lyrics for the title track, byOliver Nelson, of hisStolen Moments album, and it quickly became a radio favourite, remaining one of his most popular recordings.
In 1987, Murphy continued his explorations of Brazilian music by recordingNight Mood, an album of songs by composerIvan Lins, followed by the Grammy-nominatedSeptember Ballads - both onMilestone Records.
In the UK, Murphy's recorded output gained a new lease of life in the mid-Eighties during theacid jazz dance craze. DJ's, principallyGilles Peterson, played his bop and latin recordings at club nights, creating a new generation of Mark Murphy fans. He continued to work extensively in Europe, recording in Germany, Holland, Austria, England, Italy, France, Sweden, Denmark and Slovenia, often as a guest artist. Murphy also appeared onUFO's last two releases (forPolydor Records), in which he wrote and rapped lyrics on songs composed with the group. This collaboration opened up further new audiences in the acid-jazz and hip-hop genres, demonstrating jazz's timelessness while transcending generations and styles.
In August 1997, BMG/RCA Victor releasedSong for the Geese, for which he received his fifth and final Grammy nomination. In that same month, the32 Records label released a double CD anthologyStolen and Other Moments, which features some of his recordings for the now defunct Muse label. The CD features material from the two "Kerouac" albums and a selection of "the best of Mark Murphy". It was followed by three further anthologies.
After Muse bossJoe Fields sold the label and set upHighNote Records in its place, Murphy recorded five more albums for the new label, includingSome Time Ago (2000),Links (2001) andMemories of You (2003).
Murphy's releaseOnce to Every Heart (2005) onVerve, features sensuous ballads, where the listener can hear him singing at the top of his form, with an orchestra arranged by Nan Schwartz. It was one of the best-selling albums of Murphy's career. In 2007 Verve releasedLove is What Stays. Both albums were produced by German trumpeterTill Brönner.
Murphy also collaborated with Tenth & Parker, a modern UK electronica/acid jazz group on theirTwenty:Twelve (2001) album; plus the Five Corners Quintet, a modern Finnish jazz band, appearing on their albumsChasin' the Jazz Gone By (2005) andHot Corner (2008).
In 2010, he released the independently produced CD,Never Let Me Go, accompanied by pianist Misha Piatigorsky, bassist Danton Boller and drummer Chris Wabich. The CD contains all songs he selected, mostly ballads, and was the first time he recorded Bill Evans' "Turn Out The Stars".
Murphy also participated as a guest onThe Royal Bopsters Project by Amy London, Darmon Meader, Dylan Pramuk, and Holli Ross, recorded in 2012 and released in 2015 byMotema Music. His final recording was a limited edition EP/MP3,A Beautiful Friendship: Remembering Shirley Horn onGearbox Records, released in 2013.
Murphy continued to tour internationally into his 80s, appearing at festivals and concerts, in jazz clubs and on television programs, throughout the U.S., Europe, Australia and Japan and elsewhere. John Bush atAllMusic.com described Murphy as "a major name in vocal jazz."[2] A longtime resident of theLillian Booth Actors Home inEnglewood, New Jersey, he died there on October 22, 2015.[6][7]
Mark Murphy was the first recipient of the "Words and Music Award" presented by theJazz Foundation of America with theJazz Journalists Association at the 2009 Jazz Awards, at the Jazz Standard (NYC) on June 16, 2009.[8]
WithCandoli Brothers
WithAl Cohn
WithHerb Geller
With College of the Siskiyous Choir
With Jeff Hamilton Quintet
WithBlossom Dearie
WithAnn Burton
WithMadeline Eastman
With Balcony Big Band
With MHS Big Band
WithGeorge Gruntz
With Guido Di Leone
WithFred Hersch
WithUnited Future Organization
With The Baker Boys
WithEdouard Ferlet
With Rinaldo Donati
With Fernando Correa
With Ellen Hoffman
With Barbra Sfraga
With Tenth and Parker
With4hero
WithUnited Future Organization
WithJan Lundgren
WithTill Brönner
With Lindberg Hemmer Foundation
With Andy Hamill
WithIan Shaw
With Brother K
With The Five Corners Quintet
With Gill Manly
With Guillaume de Chassy andDaniel Yvinec
With London, Meader, Pramuk & Ross
With Various Artists:
