Murphy, Mark
Murphy, Mark
Murphy, Mark, American singer; b. Syracuse, N.Y., March 14, 1932. He started singing as a teenager in his brother’s dance band, and landed his first major gig in 1954 opening for Anita O’Day in San Francisco. He made his first recordings for Milt Gabler on Decca in the mid-1950s, His two classic albums for Riverside in the early 1960s didn’t lead to more work, and he ended up spending a decade in Europe, eventually settling in London, working as an actor in TV and stage productions. He returned to the U.S. in the mid-1970s and began recording a series of fine albums for Muse. A true student of Brazilian music, he recorded a beautiful album of Ivan Lins tunes for Milestone, Night Mood. He has also turned his love of Beat-generation writer Jack Kerouac’s novels into highly effective jazz/literature projects, such as his Muse album Bop for Kerouac. He spends part of each year teaching jazz singing at the Univ. of Graz in Austria and has developed a following on the acid jazz scene in Europe. He has recorded for Audiophile, Milestone, Fontana, Saba, and Muse.
Discography
Rah! (1961); That’s How I Love the Blues! (1962); Mark Murphy Sings (1976); Satisfaction Guaranteed (1979); Beauty and the Beast (1986); September Ballads (1988); Night Mood (1992); I’ll Close My Eyes (1994); Song for the Geese (1997).
—Andrew Gilbert