Hi, my name is
Greg Murphy and I’m a pianist and composer. I’m working on a new album and I
need your help in order to record, mix and master it. I’ve been speaking with
Neal Weiss of Whaling City Sound and am hopeful that he will release it on his
record label.
Your contribution
is vital to achieving my initial goals:
1)
Produce the album
2)
Get it in the top ten on the JazzWeek
jazz radio chart
3)
Get the album promoted and distributed nationally
and internationally
These are
definitely achievable goals as I’ve gotten my most recent album “Blues for
Miles” on the JazzWeek charts for six weeks, peaking at number thirty-six
(#36).
I’m trying to
raise $6,500. Here’s a breakdown of the budget:
Production costs
- $4,000
· Studio
fees - $2,000 for recording, mixing and mastering
· Musician
fees - $2,000
Post-production
costs - $2,500
·
Radio promotion
Post-production
costs hopefully provided by Whaling City Sound - $7,000
·
Graphic design and duplication
·
Printing, mailing, promotion and distribution
When you
contribute, some of the perks you’ll receive are:
· CDs
and Mp3 downloads
· Private
piano lessons
· Name
a composition
· Private
performances in the NYC metro area and beyond
Your contribution
is extremely valuable - 100% of which will go directly toward the completion of
this project. If we don’t reach our funding goals during this campaign, we will
raise the funds through other methods.
My last two
albums have been very successful; with your help, this one will be even more
so.
Also, there are
other ways that you can help besides contributing financially:
· Get
the word out and make some noise about this campaign
· Use
the Indiegogo share tools!
I promise to keep
you updated on the progress of our project throughout the campaign.
Thanks and have a
great week!
Greg
BIOGRAPHY
An experienced improviser, composer, arranger and
teacher, Greg Murphy has led, directed and performed with various groups
around the world for the past three decades. In a 2015 review referencing “Brother,
Can You Spare a Dime?” from Greg’s CD, Blues
for Miles, Maxwell Chandler writes: “… not every musician can play the
blues. Greg displays an authenticity not in any specific blues-based structure
but in an organic soulfulness. There is a power to the performance deriving
from simplicity …. Tinged with melancholy but bearable on account of its
beauty, it is a rainy day with all the leaves of the trees dripping silvered
jewels.” He goes on: “‘Hat Trick’ is another original. It is free jazz not in
the genre sense but in the band allowing different components from several
genres to meld without concern of adhering to any specific formula …. A
dramatic cohesiveness is created not because all the musicians play in unison
but because each of the smaller patterns executed within the piece bolster the
others.” In another 2015 review of Blues
for Miles, Bob Rusch of Cadence Magazine writes “… a strong ensemble [with]
some very effective free playing on ‘Free Ur Mind’ and ‘Free Han Solo.’”
Greg began his musical adventures in 1971 when he
joined the Ray-Fisk Grammar School Band in Chicago. His classical studies began later
that year with Lucia Santini at Roosevelt
University. Between 1980 and 1984, he played with the
jazz/funk band Lightning Flash Thunder Roar, The University of Illinois at
Chicago Big Band, The Northern Illinois University Big Band, and other local Chicago bands.
A jazz study grant from the National Endowment for
the Arts in 1984 gave Greg the opportunity to go to New Orleans and study with the eminent
pianist and jazz educator, Ellis Marsalis.
He remained there and began recording and performing with The New
Orleans Jazz Couriers, Percussion Incorporated, and his own group, The
Fusicians. The Percussion Incorporated
album, Drum Talk, (Greg’s first recording) was recorded and released in
1987. While living in the crescent city, Greg performed with Donald Harrison,
Wynton Marsalis, and countless other great musicians.
Greg moved to New York in 1987 and began what had become a
long association with multi-directional drummer, Rashied Ali. Greg performed and recorded with Ali and his
various groups throughout Europe, Canada,
the United States
and beyond, from 1987 until Rashied passed away in 2009.
Throughout his career, Greg has performed in Japan, China and The Philippines with his
own trio and other groups. He’s also worked in New York
with Ornette Coleman and in France
with Carlos Santana and Archie Shepp. In 2012, Greg recorded the theme song
“Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” for the HBO documentary Redemption, which was produced and directed by Jon Alpert and
Matthew O’Neill. Redemption received
a 2013 Academy Award nomination for best documentary short.
Greg also performed with Arthur Taylor, Branford
Marsalis, Joe Lovano, Grachan Moncur, III, Christian McBride, Flava Flav, Cindy
Blackman, Terrence Blanchard, Harry Connick, Jr., Charles McPherson, and James
Blood Ulmer, among many others.
