Tribute To Mark Murphy Feat. Ian Shaw, Anita Wardell, Gill Manly, Peter Churchill & Guests

Tonight we are paying tribute not only to one of the finest jazz vocalists of all time, but at the same time remembering a very old friend and wonderful colleague. Six-time Grammy nominee and multi-award winning vocalist Mark Murphy was born in Syracuse, New York in 1932. He started singing as a teenager and on graduating from University turned professional in 1953. Encouraged by Sammy Davis Jr he moved to New York City and in 1956 signed to Decca Records, releasing the first of more than four-dozen albums he would eventually release throughout his long and influential career. In the late 50's he relocated to LA and in the early 60's made his way to London where he would stay, off and on, for over 8 years. Moving back to San Francisco in the early 70's he continued to tour and record, moving to upstate New York in the late 90's, where he finally passed away in October last year. It's fair to say that, although he never really achieved lasting commercial success, Mark's singing was a unique and powerful influence on more than one generation of jazz vocalists. His fabulous voice, impeccable timing, unfailing ear for a great song and inimitable, be-bop influenced daring vocal style led to him regularly being referred to as one of the "hippest" singers on the scene. This was characterised by his 1981 album Bop for Kerouac, in which he adapted the prose of the late "On the Road" author Jack Kerouac to song. His influence was immense among jazz vocalists and despite his penchant for experimentation, Mark could also sing the Great American Songbook with ease, and was so audaciously accomplished that he included the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee and Sammy Davis Jr amongst his many admirers. He regularly wrote the lyrics to famous jazz standards, most notably Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments" and Miles Davis's "Milestones". It was the latter track that brought him to the notice of the DJ's of the up and coming Acid Jazz scene in the UK in the 1980's, which in turn helped re-invigorate his career. Which is where we came in. I first met Mark at the old 606 Club when, in the mid 80's, acclaimed Acid Jazz DJ Giles Peterson first brought him down to "hang out". He joined in one of the regular jam sessions we had then, and from that time became a staunch and loyal supporter and friend of the Club. When we moved to our current, much larger, premises at Lots Road, Mark was one of the first visitors. He was a regular attendee whenever he was in town and eventually we managed to find a way to actually book him to perform in an official capacity, and between 1991 and his final, memorable, gig here in 2005 he played more than half a dozen shows here. As well as a consummate performer in the latter part of his career he also became a noted educationalist, teaching not only in London but all over Europe. He led a number of seminars here in the Club and was without question one of the finest teachers I ever saw. From the 1980's onwards he was a regular performer around the UK jazz scene, including regular appearances at the likes of Ronnie Scott’s and the Pizza Dean Street. In that time he built up a powerful rapport with a selection of the finest UK based jazz musicians and singers, a number of whom are appearing in the Tribute this evening, including his long standing UK rhythm section of Peter Churchill on piano, Andy Hamill-bass and Mark Fletcher-drums. Amongst the singers performing tonight will be his good friends and stalwarts of the British jazz scene Gill Manly, Ian Shaw and Anita Wardell as well as Peter Churchill himself, who as well as a wonderful pianist is also a great singer. And if all that wasn't enough the brilliant 16-voice jazz choir that Peter directs, The London Jazz Vocal Project, will also be performing some of Mark's classic songs in tribute. And look out for some Special Guests who have promised to drop by, to make the evening just that little bit more "special" (if that was possible!). As some