Paul Murphy (musician)

Paul Florence Murphy, (Worcester, Massachusetts, 25 Jan 1949) is an avant-garde jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer.

He began playing drums as a child, was befriended by Gene Krupa at age six, and later studied with Louis Bellson. He also worked under the tutelage of Joseph Leavitt, the director of the Peabody Conservatory and the principal percussionist of the National Symphony Orchestra. By age 16 he was performing regularly with Duke Ellington's bass player Billy Taylor.

In 1970 he moved to San Francisco and established himself as a bandleader in such jazz venues as Keystone Korner. After meeting Cecil Taylor and alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons in San Francisco, Murphy moved to New York. There he managed Rashied Ali's club Ali's Alley, and became Lyon's first-choice drummer until the saxophonist's death in 1986.

During the 1980s Murphy led recording dates at CBS Records and RCA Records with a band that included Mary Anne Driscoll, Karen Borca, Jimmy Lyons and Dewey Johnson. He has collaborated with pianist Larry Willis and poet Jere Carroll, performing works that link the worlds of bebop and the avant garde.

...
Wikipedia