Murphy, Paul
Murphy, Paul
Murphy, Paul, jazz drummer; b. Worcester, Mass., Jan. 25, 1949; d. Sao Paulo, Brazil, Aug. 17, 1994. He studied music, percussion, and timpani for nine years with Joseph Leavitt, the principle percussionist with the National Symphony, at Peabody Cons, in Baltimore. He had additional drum and musical studies with Dawson Bugg, Gene Krupa, Louis Bellson, Buddy Rich, Rashied Ali, and Jimmy Lyons. He led clinics at Berklee, and taught at San Francisco Cons, of Music. In 1972, he led his own band in San Francisco with Mary Ann Driscoll and Steve D’Amico, then led another group in N.Y. that included Driscoll, Dewey Johnson, Karen Borea, and Jay Oliver (1974–79). He played with the Jimmy Lyons Quartet and ensembles (1974–86), touring throughout Europe and the U.S. Murphy led an ensemble with Glen Spearman and Kash Killion at the Concord Jazz Festival (1988) and another with India Cooke, Kash Killion, and Glenn Spearman, at Concepts, Oakland, Calif. He was also a session drummer in Las Vegas and the principle session drummer for Mapleshade Studios (1990–94), playing with Clifford Jordan, Ran Blake, and others. He performed, often with William Parker, at various festivals, primarily in the N.Y. area.
Discography
Suite of Winds (1986).
—Lewis Porter