Turk Murphy

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Melvin Edward Alton "Turk" Murphy (born December 16, 1915 in Palermo (California) , † May 30, 1987 in San Francisco ) was an American trombonist and composer of Dixieland jazz . With Lu Watters and Bob Scobey he was the central figure at the Dixieland Revival in San Francisco.

Live and act

Murphy began playing with dance bands in San Francisco as early as 1930 and was with Will Osborne and Mal Hallett's orchestras in the mid-1930s. Since it was founded in 1939, he was a member of Lu Watters' Yerba Buena Jazz Band in San Francisco. He served in the United States Navy during World War II , but also recorded with Watters and Bunk Johnson in 1941 and with Bunk Johnson in 1944. Until its dissolution in 1950 he was a member of the Yerba Buena Jazz Band , played with Marty Marsala in 1951 and founded his own band, Turk Murphy's Jazz Band in 1952 , with the pianist Wally Rose , the banjo player Dick Lammi, the clarinetist Bob Helm (all formerly in the Yerba Buena Jazz Band ) and the tuba player Bob Short. They played in North Beach in the "Italian Village" of Columbus and Lombard. The band played in New Orleans in 1955 , with George Lewis at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957 and was twice on the Ed Sullivan Show (1959, 1965). 1960 to 1984 he had his own nightclub "Earthquake McGoon's" (named after a cartoon character by Al Capp ), in which he played with his band. Then they played in the "New Orleans Room" of the Fairmont Hotel until Murphy's death. In the 1970s he toured Europe and Australia (1973 in Germany). In 1987 he even performed at Carnegie Hall . After his death, a street in San Francisco was named after him.

Discographic notes

  • Turk Murphy's Jazz Band Favorites, Vol. 1 & 2 (Good Time Jazz, 1949–1951)

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Web links