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James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray (September 21, 1936 – December 7, 2017) was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the
free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians duri ...
style of drumming.


Biography

Murray was born in
Idabel, Oklahoma Idabel is a city in and county seat of McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 7,010 at the 2010 census. It is located in the southeast corner of Oklahoma, a tourist area known as Choctaw Country. History Idabel was estab ...
, where he was raised by an uncle who later died after being refused treatment at a hospital because of his race. He began playing drums at the age of nine. As a teen, he lived in a rough part of Philadelphia, and spent two years in a reformatory. In 1956, he moved to New York City, where he worked in a car wash and as a building superintendent. During this time, he played with musicians such as trumpeters Red Allen and Ted Curson, pianist
Willie "The Lion" Smith William Henry Joseph Bonaparte Bertholf Smith (November 23, 1893 – April 18, 1973), nicknamed "The Lion", was an American jazz and stride pianist. Early life William Henry Joseph Bonaparte Bertholf, known as Willie, was born in 1893 in Goshen ...
, and saxophonists Rocky Boyd and
Jackie McLean John Lenwood "Jackie" McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their deat ...
. In 1959, he played for the first time with pianist
Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...
and, according to Murray, " r six years all the other things were wiped from my mind..." "With Cecil, I had to originate a complete new direction on drums." Murray stated: "We played for about a year, just practicing, studying — we went to workshops with Varèse, did a lot of creative things, just experimenting, without a job." In 1961, Murray made a recording with Taylor's group that was released under the auspices of
Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role i ...
as one side of '' Into the Hot''. In 1962, Murray went to Europe for the first time with Taylor and saxophonist
Jimmy Lyons Jimmy Lyons (December 1, 1931 – May 19, 1986) was an American alto saxophone player. He is best known for his long tenure in the Cecil Taylor Unit. Lyons was the only constant member of the band from the mid-1960s until his death. Taylor never ...
. (Bassist
Henry Grimes Henry Grimes (November 3, 1935 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz double bassist and violinist. After more than a decade of activity and performance, notably as a leading bassist in free jazz, Grimes completely disappeared from the music s ...
was supposed to join them, but fell ill at the last moment.) During that time, the group made a stylistic breakthrough; Murray stated: "We were in Sweden and we had finally decided to be free... The way Cecil and Jimmy and I were playing, we could absorb any different thing at that period, because we were so fresh!" While in
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
later that year, the trio recorded the influential concerts released as '' Nefertiti the Beautiful One Has Come''. That same year, while in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
with Taylor, Murray met saxophonist
Albert Ayler Albert Ayler (; July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer. After early experience playing R&B and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. Howev ...
. (According to Murray, after hearing Taylor's group perform, Ayler approached them and said "I've been waiting for you, man. ''You're'' the guys I've been waiting for." He also recalled that Taylor "jumped half out of his chair" the first time Ayler played with the group.) With Ayler, the group recorded together for Danish television as the Cecil Taylor Unit (the track "Four," featured on the Ayler box set ''
Holy Ghost For the majority of Christian denominations, the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is believed to be the third person of the Trinity, a Triune God manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each entity itself being God.Gru ...
'', was recorded during this time), and, upon returning to the United States, the group (with Ayler) performed at the Take Three club in
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
and at Philharmonic Hall,
Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...
in New York City on December 31, 1963, as the Cecil Taylor Jazz Unit, with Grimes back on bass. (The concert also featured
Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the ...
and The Jazz Messengers and the
John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...
Quintet featuring
Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to ga ...
.) Murray stated that Ayler "didn't know New York from a can of beans. So, he came over to my house, and I took him to meet Archie (Shepp) and all the cats." Murray continued to play with Ayler, and went on to join Ayler's trio with bassist
Gary Peacock Gary George Peacock (May 12, 1935September 4, 2020) was an American jazz double bassist. He recorded a dozen albums under his own name, and also performed and recorded with major jazz figures such as avant garde saxophonist Albert Ayler, pianis ...
. Murray recorded a number of albums with Ayler, including the historic ''
Spiritual Unity ''Spiritual Unity'' is a studio album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler. It was recorded on July 10, 1964 in New York City, and features bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray. It was the first album recorded for Bernard Stollm ...
''. Val Wilmer wrote that Murray was "one of those crucial figures in jazz who appear just at the time they are needed. His unchained approach to percussion gave Ayler the freedom to travel his own road that had hitherto been lacking." Murray also stated that he played with
John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...
in 1964, and was offered a spot in Coltrane's band, but turned it down. Murray went on to record his own compositions under his own name, beginning in 1965 with ''
Sonny's Time Now ''Sonny's Time Now'' is an album by American free jazz drummer Sunny Murray, his first as a leader. It was recorded in New York City on November 17, 1965 and first released on LeRoi Jones' Jihad label. It was later reissued on the DIW and Skoki ...
,'' which was released on
Leroi Jones Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays and music criticism. He was the author of numerous bo ...
's Jihad label. The album features
Ayler Ayler is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Albert Ayler (1936–1970), American jazz saxophonist, singer, and composer * Donald Ayler (1942–2007), American jazz trumpeter, brother of Albert * Ethel Ayler Ethyl Spraggins ...
,
Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...
,
Henry Grimes Henry Grimes (November 3, 1935 – April 15, 2020) was an American jazz double bassist and violinist. After more than a decade of activity and performance, notably as a leading bassist in free jazz, Grimes completely disappeared from the music s ...
, and
Lewis Worrell Lewis Worrell (born November 7, 1934) is a jazz double bassist best known for his work during the 1960s with Albert Ayler, the New York Art Quartet, Roswell Rudd, and Archie Shepp. Biography Worrell was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and ...
, as well as Jones, who recites his poem "Black Art". (Murray stated "It’s a strange record because Albert and Don herryare playing like this akes screeching sound") Later, when he moved to Europe, he released three recordings on
BYG Actuel BYG Records was a French record label known for the Actuel series specializing in free jazz. However, the label released a handful of non-jazz recordings by artists such as Musica Elettronica Viva, Freedom and Gong. History BYG Records was foun ...
. In addition, he continued to play and record as a sideman for a variety of musicians. In 1980, he reunited with Cecil Taylor for the recording of '' It Is in the Brewing Luminous'', and in 1996, he recorded with Taylor again, resulting in the album ''Corona'', released in 2018. He died on December 7, 2017, from multiple organ failure at the age of 81. A documentary on Murray, entitle
''Sunny's Time Now: A Portrait of Jazz Drummer Sunny Murray''
was released on DVD in 2008 by director Antoine Prum.


Style

Murray was among the first to forgo the drummer's traditional role as timekeeper in favor of purely textural playing. Val Wilmer wrote:
Murray's aim was to free the soloist completely from the restrictions of time, and to do this he set up a continual hailstorm of percussion. His concept relied heavily on continuous ringing stick-work on the edge of the cymbals, an irregular staccato barrage on the snare, spasmodic bass drum punctuation and constant, but not metronomic, use of the sock-cymbal (hi-hat). He played with his mouth open, emitting an incessant wailing which blended into the overall percussion backdrop of shifting pulses... s playing often seems to bear little relation to what the soloist is doing. What he did do, though, was to lay down a shimmering tapestry behind the soloist, enabling him to move wherever he wanted."
Concerning Murray's tenure with
Albert Ayler Albert Ayler (; July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer. After early experience playing R&B and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. Howev ...
, John Litweiler wrote: "Sunny Murray and Albert Ayler did not merely break through bar lines, they abolished them altogether."
Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays and music criticism. He was the author of numerous bo ...
described Murray's playing as follows:
Watching Sonny play, as he swoops and floats, hovers, lunges, above and into the drums, it is immediate... his body-ness, his physicality in the music. Not just as a drum beater but as a conductor of energies, directing them this way and that way. Just scraping a cymbal this time, smashing it the next. Both feet straight out with the bass drums. His rolls and bombs the result of body-mined spirit feel. He wants "natural sounds," natural rhythms. The drum as a reactor and manifestor of energies coursing through and pouring out of his body. Rhythm as occurrence. As natural emphasis... You hear him moaning behind his instrument, with his other beautiful instrument. His voice. The sound of feeling. The moan, a ragged body-spasm sound, like some kind of heavy stringed instrument, lifting all the other sounds into prayers.
Author Norman C. Weinstein wrote:
urray Urray ( gd, Urrath) is a scattered village and coastal parish, consisting of Easter, Old and Wester Urray and is located in the county of Ross in the Scottish council area of the Highland. Urray is also a parish in the district of Wester Ross ...
radically rethinks the role of the drum kit, sees the kit as a kinetic sculpture... The drums are a sculpture he dances around, giving the drum kit a numinosity like African drums utilized for ritual purposes. By dancing about the drums, not merely alertly sitting before them, he maximizes the force of his contact with all surfaces, not just skins but metal and wood as well. The sheer physicality of his approach assures a broader spectrum of timbres than those usually achieved by players utilizing conventional posture. Murray's dance in fast motion... creates the illusion of several drummers performing simultaneously, a stuttering strobe effect akin to how Duchamp caused his nude to trip the light fantastic down a staircase... The richness of Murray's cymbal crashes and vocals is beautifully reinforced by his drum attacks, particularly his sonorous tattoos on the bass drum. He has an astute gift for playing off extreme tonal contrasts, high-pitched cymbals ringing in counterpoint to earth-moaning bass drum tones... He... creates a sense of time which might be appreciated by a tradition-minded African, not time measured by Timex, not shaped by a cymbal's metronomic insistences, but time as the poet Blake understood it, found in the pulsation of an artery.
Murray acknowledged the influence of
Hermann Helmholtz Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (31 August 1821 – 8 September 1894) was a German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields, particularly hydrodynamic stability. The Helmholtz Association, ...
in developing his unique approach to the drum kit, stating that "Helmholtz gave me the technique I needed." Referring to Murray's rapid fluttering of the bass drum and washes and waves of cymbal noise, bassist
Alan Silva Alan Silva (born Alan Lee da Silva; January 22, 1939 in Bermuda) is an United States of America, American free jazz double bassist and Keyboard instrument, keyboard player. Biography Silva was born a British subject to an Azores, Azorean/Portug ...
stated "...it was the end of swing as we know it. It became so fast it became slow. Sunny Murray is the first drummer who ever played the theory of relativity." Murray described his own musical goals as follows: "I work for natural sounds rather than trying to sound like drums. Sometimes I try to sound like car motors or the continuous crackling of glass... not just the sound of drums but the sound of the crashing of cars and the upheaval of a volcano and the thunder of the skies." At one point he attempted to design a different kind of drum set that would be "more in touch with the human voice in terms of humming and screaming and laughing and crying."


Discography


As leader

* ''
Sonny's Time Now ''Sonny's Time Now'' is an album by American free jazz drummer Sunny Murray, his first as a leader. It was recorded in New York City on November 17, 1965 and first released on LeRoi Jones' Jihad label. It was later reissued on the DIW and Skoki ...
'' (Jihad, 1965) * '' Sunny Murray'' (ESP Disk, 1966) * '' Sunshine'' (BYG, 1969) * ''
Big Chief "Big Chief" is a song composed by Earl King in the early 1960s. It became a hit in New Orleans for Professor Longhair in 1964,Berry/Foose/Jones, ''Up from the Cradle of Jazz''. University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press, 2009, p. 148. featuring a ...
'' (Pathe, 1969) * ''
Homage to Africa ''Homage to Africa'' (also released as ''Hommage to Africa'') is an album by American free jazz drummer Sunny Murray. It was recorded in Paris in August 1969, and released on the BYG Records, BYG Actuel label in 1970. On the album, Murray is joined ...
'' (BYG, 1970) * ''
An Even Break (Never Give a Sucker) ''An Even Break (Never Give a Sucker)'' is an album by American free jazz drummer Sunny Murray. It was recorded in Paris in November 1969, and released on the BYG Records, BYG Actuel label in 1970. On the album, Murray is joined by saxophonists Bya ...
'' (BYG, 1970) * ''
Charred Earth ''Charred Earth'' is a live album by drummer Sunny Murray. It was recorded in January 1977, and was released later that year by Kharma Records. On the album, Murray is joined by members of the group known as The Untouchable Factor: reed player By ...
'' (Kharma, 1977) * ''Apple Cores'' (Philly Jazz, 1978) * '' Live at Moers Festival'' (Moers Music, 1979) * ''Aigu-Grave'' (Marge, 1980) * ''13# Steps On Glass'' (Enja, 1995) * ''Illumination'' (InRespect, 1995) * '' Illuminators'' (Audible Hiss, 1996) * ''
Homework Homework is a set of tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed outside the classroom. Common homework assignments may include required reading, a writing or typing project, mathematical exercises to be completed, informatio ...
'' (Super Secret Sound, 1997) * ''
We Are Not at the Opera ''We Are Not at the Opera'' is a live album by drummer Sunny Murray. It was recorded in June 1998 at the Unitarian Meetinghouse in Amherst, Massachusetts, and was released later that year by Eremite Records. On the album, Murray is joined by saxop ...
'' (Eremite, 1998) * ''
Home Cooking in the UK ''Home Cooking in the UK'' is a live album by drummer Sunny Murray. It was recorded in April 2003 during a tour of England, and was released in 2004 by Foghorn Records. On the album, Murray is joined by saxophonist Tony Bevan and bassist John Edwar ...
'' (Foghorn, 2004) * ''
Perles Noires ''Perles Noires'', Volumes 1 and 2, is a pair of live albums by the drummer Sunny Murray. The albums were recorded during 2002–2004 at various locations, and were released by Eremite Records in 2005. On Volume 1, Murray is joined by the saxophon ...
'' (Eremite, 2005) * '' The Gearbox Explodes!'' (Foghorn, 2008) * '' Sonic Liberation Front Meets Sunny Murray'' (High Two, 2010) * ''I Stepped Onto a Bee'' (Foghorn, 2011) * '' Boom Boom Cat'' (Foghorn, 2011)


As sideman

With
Albert Ayler Albert Ayler (; July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer. After early experience playing R&B and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. Howev ...
* ''
Spirits Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
'' (Debut, 1964) * ''
Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to re ...
'' (Debut, 1965) * '' Spirits Rejoice'' (ESP Disk, 1965) * ''
Spiritual Unity ''Spiritual Unity'' is a studio album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler. It was recorded on July 10, 1964 in New York City, and features bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray. It was the first album recorded for Bernard Stollm ...
'' (ESP Disk, 1965) * ''
Bells Bells may refer to: * Bell, a musical instrument Places * Bells, North Carolina * Bells, Tennessee * Bells, Texas * Bells Beach, Victoria, an internationally famous surf beach in Australia * Bells Corners, Ontario Music * Bells, directly st ...
'' (ESP Disk, 1965) * ''
The New Wave in Jazz ''The New Wave in Jazz'' is a live album recorded on March 28, 1965 at the Village Gate in New York City. It features groups led by major avant-garde jazz artists performing at a concert for the benefit of The Black Arts Repertory Theater/School ...
'' (Impulse!, 1965) * ''
New York Eye and Ear Control ''New York Eye and Ear Control'' is an album of group improvisations recorded in July 1964 by an augmented version of Albert Ayler's group to provide the soundtrack for Michael Snow's film of the same name. Background ''New York Eye and Ear Cont ...
'' (ESP Disk, 1966) * ''
Swing Low Sweet Spiritual ''Swing Low Sweet Spiritual'' is an album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded in New York City at the same session that produced ''Spirits'' in 1964 and intended for release on the Danish Debut label but first released in 1981 ...
'' (Osmosis, 1971) * ''
Prophecy In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or p ...
'' (ESP Disk, 1975) * '' The Hilversum Session'' (Osmosis, 1980) * ''Albert Ayler'' (Philology, 1990) * ''Albert Smiles with Sunny'' (InRespect, 1996) * ''Bells Prophecy'' (ESP Disk, 1997) * '' Live in Greenwich Village'' (Impulse!, 1998) * ''
The Copenhagen Tapes ''The Copenhagen Tapes'' is an album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler consisting of six tracks recorded live at the Club Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark on September 3, 1964 plus three tracks recorded in a studio by Danish Radio ...
'' (Ayler 2002) * '' Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962–70)'' (
Revenant In folklore, a revenant is an animated corpse that is believed to have been revived from death to haunt the living. The word ''revenant'' is derived from the Old French word, ''revenant'', the "returning" (see also the related French verb ''reve ...
, 2004) * ''The Impulse Story'' (Impulse!, 2006) * ''Copenhagen Live 1964'' (hatOLOGY, 2017) With Louie Belogenis * ''Tiresias'' (Porter, 2011) With
Dave Burrell Herman Davis "Dave" Burrell (born September 10, 1940) is an American jazz pianist. He has played with many jazz musicians including Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown and David Murray. Biography Born in Middletown, Ohio, United ...
* ''
Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...
'' (BYG, 1969) * ''High'' (Douglas, 1969) * ''
High Won-High Two ''High Won-High Two'' is the second studio album released by jazz pianist Dave Burrell. It was recorded on February 9, 1968 and was first released as an LP record later that year by Black Lion Records. Track listing #"West Side Story Medley" — 1 ...
'' (Arista/Freedom, 1976) With
Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...
* ''
Black Gipsy ''Black Gipsy'' is an album by jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp recorded in Europe in 1969 for the America label. The album was also issued by the Prestige label under the title ''Black Gypsy''. Reception The Allmusic review by Sean Westergaard s ...
'' (America, 1970) * '' Live at the Pan-African Festival'' (BYG, 1971) * '' Pitchin Can'' (America, 1970) * ''
Yasmina, a Black Woman ''Yasmina, a Black Woman'' is a jazz album by Archie Shepp, recorded in 1969 in Paris for BYG Actuel. It features musicians from the Art Ensemble of Chicago. The first track, giving its title to the album, is a long free jazz piece by an 11-piec ...
'' (BYG, 1969) With
Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...
* ''Live at the Cafe Montmartre'' (Debut, 1963) * '' Nefertiti, the Beautiful One Has Come'' (Debut, 1965) * ''Innovations'' (Freedom, 1972) * '' Into the Hot'' (Impulse!,1962) * ''The New Breed'' (ABC Impulse!, 1978) (reissue of tracks from ''Into the Hot'') * '' It Is in the Brewing Luminous'' (Hat Hut, 1981) * ''
Air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...
'' (Candid, 1990) * ''
Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...
'' (FMP, 2018) With others *
Billy Bang Billy Bang (September 20, 1947 – April 11, 2011), born William Vincent Walker, was an American free jazz violinist and composer. Biography Bang's family moved to New York City's Bronx neighborhood while he was still an infant, and as a ...
, ''Outline No. 12'' (Celluloid, 1982) * Borah Bergman, ''Monks'' (Somerealmusic, 2019) * John Blum, ''In the Shade of Sun'' (Ecstatic Peace!, 2009) *
Jacques Coursil Jacques Coursil (March 31, 1938 – June 26, 2020) was a composer, jazz trumpeter, scholar, and professor of literature, linguistics, and philosophy. Early life Coursil was born in Paris, France, of Martinique, Martinican parents. At age nine, he ...
, '' Trails of Tears'' (Sunnyside, 2010) *
Bill Dixon William Robert “Bill” Dixon (October 5, 1925 – June 16, 2010) was an American composer, improviser, visual artist, activist, and educator. Dixon was one of the seminal figures in free jazz and late twentieth-century contemporary music. Hi ...
, ''
Bill Dixon 7-tette/Archie Shepp and the New York Contemporary 5 ''Bill Dixon 7-tette/Archie Shepp and the New York Contemporary 5'' is an album released on the Savoy label originally featuring one LP side by Bill Dixon's septet and one LP side by the New York Contemporary Five featuring saxophonist Archie Shepp ...
'' (Savoy, 1964]) *
Arthur Doyle Arthur Doyle (June 26, 1944 – January 25, 2014) was an American jazz saxophonist, bass clarinettist, flutist, and vocalist who was best known for playing what he called "free jazz soul music". Writer Phil Freeman described him as having "one o ...
, ''Dawn of a New Vibration'' (Fractal, 2000) * Arthur Doyle, '' Live at Glenn Miller Café'' (Ayler, 2001) * Arthur Doyle, ''Live at the Tunnel'' (Sinner Lady Gloria, 2017) *
David Eyges David MacAulay Eyges (born November 6, 1950) is an American jazz cellist, composer, and record producer. Early life Eyges was born in San Francisco on November 6, 1950.Arwulf Arwul"David Eyges" AllMusic. His family settled in Belmont, Massachuse ...
, ''Crossroads'' (Music Unlimited 1982) *
Charles Gayle Charles Gayle (born February 28, 1939) is an American free jazz musician. Initially known as a saxophonist who came to prominence in the 1990s after decades of obscurity, Gayle also performs as pianist, bass clarinetist, bassist, and percussioni ...
, ''Kingdom Come'' (Knitting Factory, 1994) *
Burton Greene Burton Greene (June 14, 1937 – June 28, 2021) was an American free jazz pianist born in Chicago, Illinois, though most known for his work in New York City. He explored multiple genres, including avant-garde jazz and the Klezmer medium. Biogra ...
, ''Firmanence'' (Fore, 1980) * Gunter Hampel, ''Journey to the Song'' (Within Birth 1974) *
Khan Jamal Khan Jamal (July 23, 1946 – January 10, 2022), born Warren Robert Cheeseboro, was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. He founded the band Sounds of Liberation in 1970. He was described by Ron Wynn as "a proficient soloist when p ...
, ''Infinity'' (Jambrio 1984) * Khan Jamal, ''Speak Easy'' (Gazell, 1989) *
Jimmy Lyons Jimmy Lyons (December 1, 1931 – May 19, 1986) was an American alto saxophone player. He is best known for his long tenure in the Cecil Taylor Unit. Lyons was the only constant member of the band from the mid-1960s until his death. Taylor never ...
, '' Jump Up / What to Do About'' (Hat Hut, 1981) *
Keshavan Maslak Kenneth Keshavan Maslak, who also performs under the stage name Kenny Millions (born February 26, 1950), is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, avant-garde performance artist, poet and restaurateur. Biography Kenneth Keshavan Maslak was bo ...
, ''Mayhem in Our Streets'' (Waterland 1980) * Keshavan Maslak, ''Loved by Millions'' (Leo 1981) * David Murray, '' Recording N.Y.C. 1986'' (DIW, 1986) * David Murray, '' A Sanctuary Within'' (Black Saint, 1992) *
Itaru Oki was a Japanese jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist. Oki was born in Kobe. He began studying koto as a child, under instruction from his mother, who was a professional kotoist. He took up trumpet from 1955 and played in high school bands, then enr ...
, ''Paris Ohrai'' (Ohrai 2001) *
Odean Pope Odean Pope (born October 24, 1938) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography Pope was raised in Philadelphia, where he learned from Ray Bryant while young. Early in his career, at Philadelphia's Uptown Theater, Pope played behind a numbe ...
, ''Plant Life'' (Porter, 2008) *
Aki Takase (born January 26, 1948) is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer. Biography Takase was born in Osaka and started to play piano at age 3. Raised in Tokyo, she studied classical piano at Toho Gakuen School of Music.Ankeny, Jaso"Artist Biography".A ...
, ''Clapping Music'' (Enja, 1995) *
Telectu Telectu is a Portuguese experimental, avant-garde music duo formed in 1982 by Vítor Rua (former member of GNR) and Jorge Lima Barreto, a jazz musician and musical essayist. Their music incorporates a variety of elements from free jazz, rock, el ...
, ''
Quartetos ''Quartetos'' is a three-disc album released on Clean Feed Records in 2002 by Telectu. It was recorded live between May and December 2001 featuring different collaborators at different jazz festivals.{{cite web, url=http://www.discogs.com/Telectu- ...
'' (Clean Feed, 2002) *
Clifford Thornton Clifford Edward Thornton III (September 6, 1936 – November 25, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, trombonist, activist, and educator. He played free jazz and avant-garde jazz in the 1960s and '70s. Career Clifford was born in Philadelphia. ...
, '' Ketchaoua'' (BYG, 1969) *
Assif Tsahar Assif Tsahar (born Israel, June 11, 1969) is an Israeli tenor saxophonist and bass clarinetist. He has lived in New York City since 1990. He has performed with Cecil Taylor, Butch Morris, William Parker, Mat Maneri, Hamid Drake, Peter Kowald, Su ...
, ''Ma'' (Hopscotch, 2003) * Francois Tusques, ''Intercommunal Music'' (Shandar, 1971) *
Alexander von Schlippenbach Alexander von Schlippenbach (born 7 April 1938) is a German jazz pianist and composer. He came to prominence in the 1960s playing free jazz in a trio with saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer Paul Lovens, and as a member of the Globe Unity Orchest ...
, ''Smoke'' (FMP, 1990) * Alexander von Schlippenbach, ''Light Blue'' (Enja, 1997) * Mark O'Leary, ''Ode to Albert Ayler'' (Ayler Records, 2009)


References


External links


Audio Recordings of WCUW Jazz Festivals, Jazz History Database.

Clifford Allen, "Sunny Murray," ''All About Jazz'', October 14, 2003 (interview).

Robert Levin, "Sunny Murray: On Taking the Leap from One Reality to Another," ''All About Jazz'', July 18, 2010 (interview).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Sunny 1936 births 2017 deaths Avant-garde jazz musicians American jazz drummers African-American drummers Musicians from Philadelphia BYG Actuel artists DIW Records artists ESP-Disk artists Enja Records artists People from Idabel, Oklahoma Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania Jazz musicians from Oklahoma New York Contemporary Five members 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people