Diedre Murray is an American cellist and composer specializing in

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 m ...

and musical theater. She also works as a record producer and curator. As a performer she has worked with Leroy Jenkins, Marvin "Hannibal" Peterson,

Henry Threadgill Henry Threadgill (born February 15, 1944) is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. He came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles rooted in jazz but with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating other genres of music. He h ...

Muhal Richard Abrams Muhal Richard Abrams (born Richard Lewis Abrams; September 19, 1930 – October 29, 2017) was an American educator, administrator, composer, arranger, clarinetist, cellist, and jazz pianist in the free jazz medium. He recorded and toured the Uni ...

, James Brown, Julius Hemphill,

Fred Hopkins Fred Hopkins (October 11, 1947 – January 7, 1999) was an American double bassist who played a major role in the development of the avant-garde jazz movement. He was best known for his association with the trio Air with Henry Threadgill and S ...

, Jason Kao Hwang, and

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 ...

, in addition to leading her ensembles, and has appeared on over 50 recordings as a cellist, composer, arranger and/or producer. A native of New York, Murray received a B.S. degree from Hunter College in ethnomusicology,and studied at the Manhattan School of Music.

Career

Early composing for theater or music productions: a score for the inaugural concert at the Danny Kaye/Sylvia Fine Playhouse entitled "Five Minute Tango", performed by the Manhattan Brass Quintet; ''The Conversation'' for the Seattle-based New Performance Group at the

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in the United States and, to ...

in Minnesota for the Music in Motion program; ''Flashes'', a structured improvised collaboration with choreographer Blondell Cummings and musicians Jeanne Lee and

Pauline Oliveros Pauline Oliveros (May 30, 1932 – November 24, 2016) was an American composer, accordionist and a central figure in the development of post-war experimental and electronic music. She was a founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Cente ...

for the Firewall Festival 1993; and music for Helen Thorington's radio piece ''Dracula's Wives'' for broadcast: a tour of ''Flashes'' to the Taklos Festival in Switzerland; and, a dramatized version of ''Unending Pain'', with text by

Laurie Carlos Laurie Dorothea Carlos (née Smith; January 25, 1949 – December 29, 2016) was an American actress and avant-garde performance artist, playwright and theater director. She was also known for her work mentoring emerging artists in the theater. ...

, at P.S. 122 in New York City. Her work as a composer was intermixed with an extensive concert schedule as a band leader and concert soloist. Ms. Murray was also a curator of music programs in the 1990's and early 2000's. She curated programing for the Jamaica Arts Center, Jazz at St. Mary's, P.S. 122 and the 53rd Street Y. She is the co-creator (along with Craig Harris) of the Firewall Festival, produced by P.S. 122, which played in New York City and Philadelphia. In 1996 her composing projects included: ''You Don't Miss Your Water'', a music-theater piece, in collaboration with poet Cornelius Eady produced by the Music Theatre Group; the premiere of ''Women in the Dunes'', a dance piece created by Blondell Cummings for the Japan Society and Mu Lan-Pi, her dance theatrescape commissioned by District Curators and performed in Washington, D.C. by the Ajax Moving Dance Company. In 1998 Murray developed the jazz opera ''The Running Man'', for which she wrote the original story, score, and book with collaborators Cornelius Eady and

Diane Paulus Diane Marie Paulus (born 1966) is an American theater and opera director who is currently the Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University.Colleen Walsh"Paulus reaches beyond boards" ''Harvar ...

. Murray also conceived ''Songbird: The Life and Times of

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

'', for which she wrote the original music. She received a grant from the Commissioning Project to write ''Eleven Elements of Joy'' for orchestra, which debuted in June 1999. In 2000 she wrote a chamber and choral piece for the Commissioning Project. In 2001 she wrote arrangements for the musical ''Eli's Coming'', for which she won her second Obie. In 2002 she composed the score for ''Brutal Imagination'', a verse play by Cornelius Eady. Other works include ''Strings Attached'', a dance piece by choreographer Risa Jaroslow; ''Best of Both Worlds'' created by Randy Weiner and Diane Paulus; and a collaboration with Sonoko Kawahara on ''Name of the Flower'', a music-theater piece; ''The Iliad'' and ''The Odyssey'' produced by Music Theater Group and

Kathryn Walker Kathryn Walker is an American theater, television and film actress. Biography Walker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wells College in Aurora, New York, and was a Fulbright Scholar in music and dra ...

. Murray collaborated with Paulus on the musical '' The Best of Both Worlds''. Other projects include a collaboration with

Carl Hancock Rux Carl Hancock Rux () is an American poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, recording artist, journalist, curator and conceptual installation artist working in text, dance, ritualized performance, audio, video, and photography. Described in the NY T ...

on ''The Blackamoor Angel'', a full-length opera, a collaboration with Lynn Nottage on the musical ''Sweet Billy and the Zooloos''; ''The Voice Within'', an a cappella theater piece for ten voices with text by Marcus Gardley, at

Aaron Davis Hall Aaron Davis Hall is a performing arts center in Manhattan, New York City in the neighborhood of Harlem. Aaron Davis Hall was founded in 1979 and is located on the campus of the City College of New York, between West 133rd and 135th Streets on Con ...

during a yearlong residency at Harlem Stages. She adapted the music for Tony Award winning production of The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, directed by Diane Paulus in 2012 which played at the Richard Rodgers Theater. In 2019 she collaborated with Regina Taylor on two productions, "Crowns", produced by The Long Wharf and McCarter Theaters, and "Oo Bla Dee" produced by Three Rivers Theater. Recent projects include working with Deborah Brevoort on "Loving", a musical based on the ground breaking relationship of Richard and Mildred Loving; scoring Chesney Snow's The Soil Beneath, a streamed choreopoem produced by Primary Stages; writing the score for Patient Zero, an opera, libretto by Cornelius Eady and Ms. Murray for Music Theater Group; composing music for an Opera on Tap production slated for December 2021; new music for a dance production by choreographer Dianne McIntyre, a retrospective of Ms. McIntyre's career; composing the soundtrack for "An Apology", based on the book written by V, formerly known as Eve Ensler.

Awards

* Obie Award, ''The Running Man'', 1999 * Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Drama, ''The Running Man'', 1999 * Obie Award, ''Eli's Comin, 2002 * The Lilly's Composer Award, 2015

Partial Discography

As leader or co-leader

*1992 ''

Firestorm A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been used ...

'' (Victo) *1994 ''Stringology'' with

(

Black Saint Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

) *1998 ''

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 pr ...

'' with Fred Hopkins (About Time)

As sidewoman

With Leroy Jenkins and The Jazz Composer's Orchestra * '' For Players Only'' (1975) With

* '' The Hearinga Suite'' (1989) With Marvin "Hannibal" Peterson * ''Children of the Fire'' (1973) * ''Hannibal'' (1975) * ''Hannibal in Berlin'' (1976) * ''Hannibal Live in Antibes'' (1977) * ''Hannibal Live in Berlin'' (1977 * ''Hannibal in Lausanne'' (1978) * ''The Light'' (1978) * ''Naima'' (1978) * ''Tribute'' (1979) * ''Children of Atlanta'' (1981) * ''Visions of a New World'' (1989) With

* '' Just the Facts and Pass the Bucket'' (1983) * '' Subject to Change'' (1985) * '' You Know the Number'' (1986) * '' Easily Slip Into Another World'' (1987) * ''

Rag, Bush and All ''Rag, Bush and All'' is an album by Henry Threadgill released on the RCA Novus label in 1989. The album and features four of Threadgill's compositions performed by Threadgill's Sextett with Bill Lowe, Ted Daniel, Fred Hopkins, Diedre Murray, ...

'' (1988)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Diedre 1951 births African-American classical composers American classical composers African-American women classical composers African-American jazz composers American jazz composers African-American opera composers American classical cellists American women classical composers American jazz cellists American musical theatre composers Classical musicians from New York (state) Women musical theatre composers Women opera composers Jazz musicians from New York (state) Living people Musicians from Brooklyn Obie Award recipients People from Queens, New York African-American women musicians 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women