DAVE MURPHY

Saxophone

I bought my first clarinet from Bill Lewington’s (then on the corner of Gerrard St. and Wardour St.) in 1957. Three free lessons came with the clarinet. Later I had lessons with a student of Reginald Kell’s and then with Jackie Bonzer, first clarinet and alto player in Sidney Lipton’s Orchestra. Soon I thought I was proficient enough to perform in public and began to play in coffee bars, clubs and pubs around the West End of London. As I recollect we enjoyed playing far more than the punters enjoyed listening.

My playing was interrupted while I took a fine arts degree and post-graduate diploma in sculpture at Camberwell School of Art from 1961-7, but kick-started again when I attended the Mike Westbrook Jazz Summer School at Dartington in 1969. Working with John Surman, Mike Osborne and Alan Skidmore was inspirational. At this time, too, I was listening attentively to John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and Albert Ayler.

In 1973 I joined the jazz workshop set up by Lewis Riley, which became the South Devon Jazz Orchestra led by Chris Benstead until Lewis’s return in 1979.

In the mid 1970s the New Sobriety Club was formed at the Seymour Hotel, Totnes, as a venue for new and experimental music. There I played several gigs with trombonist Jim Fulkerson and saxophone player Mick Green.

Throughout the late seventies and early eighties I played in the Jim Fulkerson / Nick Brace Big Band which had a regular spot at the Sea Trout, Staverton

In 1975 I joined The Lizzards, an embryonic jazz/rock group led by keyboard player Steve Lindon. Eventually as an eight piece band we enjoyed a lot of local success and produced the album ‘Out Of The Lounge’ in 1981.

In 1981 the phenomenal Devon Ambling Band was formed. This was a street band playing for carnivals, protest marches, fetes, peace events, community theatre projects, weddings, etc. The band often contributed music for the Theatre of Public works (for whom I was also a designer, maker of costumes, sculptures, installations and masks), performing in this country, Israel, France, Belgium and Luxembourg.

I joined Alkasalsa in 1989 and played regularly with them until 2001, performing in Germany, France, Channel Islands and at festivals in the United Kingdom, including one memorable New Year’s Eve in Belfast. In 1998 we recorded ‘Animense’ (CD) Daylight Recordings.

I first played with Miles Away (incidentally a title of one of Lewis Riley’s compositions) in 1992. Then something of a big band it performed regularly at the Church House Inn, Harberton. It eventually downsized to a quintet and was later joined by vocalist Suzzanne Taylor with a regular gig at the Steam Packet in Totnes. Because of poor working conditions the band became a ‘cause celebre’, prompting the formation of the Totnes Jazz Collective of which I became a founder member.

Since the early seventies I’ve had the privilege of working with Lewis Riley as a saxophone player in many of his bands including: his Nonet and Medium bands, the Totnes Jazz Collective Big Band (of which he was Musical Director) and his own big band. I am on his recording, Autobiography (Daylight 1992), and was part of his sextet which performed at St.Georges, Brandon Hill, Bristol, later broadcast on BBC Radio 3 Impressions (9 th Oct. 1993). I’ve also collaborated with Lewis on several educational projects including A4E National Lottery funded work in Devon schools and, more recently, as one of a group of four tutors taking Arts Bid funded workshops at King Edward VI Community College.

I’ve also had the good fortune to be involved in a number of Sam Richards’ projects usually as a saxophone player but sometimes required to play any number of resonating and resonant objects. I’ve played duos with Sam on several occasions (usually in jobbing situations – weddings, parties etc.), and enjoyed them immensely. There are in existence, I know not where, some tapes of free improvisation sessions, each lasting precisely 40 minutes, that we made together some time ago.

I have performed with my own quintet under the auspices of the Totnes Jazz Collective on three occasions and in December 2000 the TJC promoted ‘Ideas For Modern Living’ an avant-garde quartet featuring Aaron Standon on guitar and myself on saxophones and clarinet. This gig was enthusiastically reviewed by Steve Day in Avant magazine Issue 18, Spring 2001.

Recent highlights include: a trip to Amsterdam in October 2003 to play with trombonists Jim Fulkerson, Hilary Jeffery and laptop impresario Zack Settl at the 301 club, and another two gigs at Zaal 100 (one a group improvisation with three saxophones and three trombones, and the other a duo with Jim and myself).

Jim Fulkerson paid a return visit in August 2004 and together with saxophonist Mick Green we performed at the Kingsbridge Inn, Totnes. Both the afternoon (sans audience) and evening sessions were recorded by Richard Douglas-Green and the results have yet to be mixed down and produced as a single CD (watch this space!).

Hilary Jeffery came over to perform at Dartington in December 2004, and we arranged an informal gig with friends at the Kingsbridge Inn. The friends included Mick Green and myself on saxophones, Sam Richards on keyboard, David George on bass, Gary Evans on drums and Hilary on trombone – a great session unfortunately not recorded.

I have been teaching since the early seventies, formerly as an art college lecturer and latterly as a peripatetic woodwind teacher. I also repair woodwind and brass instruments under the name ‘West Wind’

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Contact David: 01548 550335

e-mail address: davidandjennymurphy@tiscali.co.uk