Don Murray (June 7, 1904 – June 2, 1929) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

and

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

player.

Early life

Murray was born in

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the cit ...

, and attended high school in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. In his teens, he made a name for himself as one of the best young jazz clarinetists and saxophonists in the city.

Career

In 1923, Murray recorded with the

New Orleans Rhythm Kings The New Orleans Rhythm Kings (NORK) were one of the most influential jazz bands of the early to mid-1920s. The band included New Orleans and Chicago musicians who helped shape Chicago jazz and influenced many younger jazz musicians. History The ...

; according to Rhythm Kings leader

Paul Mares Paul Mares (June 15, 1900 – August 18, 1949), was an American early dixieland jazz cornet and trumpet player, and leader of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. Mares established himself as a respected bandleader over a group of wild and strong ...

, Murray was not a regular member of the band, but was a friend who sometimes sat in with them. Murray also made early recordings with

Muggsy Spanier Francis Joseph "Muggsy" Spanier (November 9, 1901 – February 12, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist based in Chicago. He was a member of the Bucktown Five, pioneers of the "Chicago style" that straddled traditional Dixieland jazz and swin ...

. He then joined the

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

based band of

Jean Goldkette John Jean Goldkette (March 18, 1893 – March 24, 1962) was a jazz pianist and bandleader. Life Goldkette was reportedly born on March 18, 1893 in Valenciennes, France,Russel B. Nye (1976). Music in the Twenties: The Jean Goldkette Orchestra ...

, with whom he remained until 1927. It was here that he mentored the young Jimmy Dorsey. After a brief stint with Adrian Rollini's band, during which he contributed to several highly regarded recordings by Bix Beiderbecke, Murray was hired by Ted Lewis. Ted Lewis said that Murray was the greatest clarinetist he ever had in his band. Murray can be heard on the soundtrack of the Ted Lewis film '' Is Everybody Happy?'' (1929), which is considered a "lost film." In 2021, the Bix Beiderbecke Museum and World Archives in Davenport, Iowa, announced that it would raise $12,000 to renovate its permanent exhibit, including Murray's saxophone.

Death

Murray died in 1929 at a Los Angeles hospital after injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Apparently, he was standing on the running board of a moving roadster and fell; he struck the back of his head on the pavement and was then hospitalized with serious head injury. Murray is buried at the Memorial Park Cemetery in

Skokie, Illinois Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, neighboring the City of Chicago's northern border. Its population, according to the 2020 census, was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately north of Chicago's do ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Don American jazz clarinetists American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Musicians from Joliet, Illinois Musicians from Chicago 1904 births 1929 deaths Dixieland clarinetists Dixieland saxophonists 20th-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Illinois 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians New Orleans Rhythm Kings members