Click an image to enlarge.

David Murray biography

David Murray was born in Oakland, California in 1955. He grew up in Berkeley and studied with Catherine Murray (organist and David’s mother), Bobby Bradford, Arthur Blythe, Stanley Crouch, Margaret Kohn and many others before he left Pomona College (Los Angeles) for New York where he moved in 1975. In New York he met and played with Cecil Taylor, who along with Dewey Redman gave the young musician the encouragement he needed. The city would again be a source of new encounters, with people and music from all horizons: Sunny Murray, Tony Braxton, Oliver Lake, Don Cherry. In Ted Daniel’s Energy Band he worked with Hamiet Bluiett, Lester Bowie and Frank Lowe.

In 1976, after a European tour, David Murray set up the first of his mythic groups, the World Saxophone Quartet, with Oliver Lake, Hamiet Bluiett and Julius Hemphill. This marked the beginning of an intensely creative time, when one recording led to another, with an endless permutation of formations from Jerry Garcia to Max Roach and from Randy Weston to Elvin Jones. Murray worked as widely as possible until 1978, when he set up his own quartet, then octet and finally his quintet. From this time on his focus has been more on his own formations, although he frequently works with other musicians, drawing in a whole range of different sounds, from strings (the 1982 concert at the Public Theatre in New York), to Ka drums from Guadeloupe (Créole in 1998 and Yonn Dé in 2002) and South African dancers and musicians (Mbizo, 1998), just some of the treasures he has discovered on his journey David Murray’s awards include : a Grammy and several nominations; a Guggenheim Fellowship; the Bird Award; the Danish Jazzpar Prize; Village Voice musician of the decade (1980s); Newsday musician of the year (1993); personality of the Guinness Jazz festival (Ireland, 1994); the Ralph J. Simon Rex Award (1995).

Two documentaries have been made about David Murray’s life: ‘Speaking in Tongues’ (1982) and ‘Jazzman,’ nominated at the Baltimore Film Festival (1999).

Macy Gray biography

A gifted songwriter and dazzlingly singular singer, the mom of three teenagers has been overturning fan expectation and industry formula since kicking off her music career with her debut 1999 CD, “On How Life Is.” That musical calling card spawned the classic single “I Try,” and both the CD and single were massive global hits. They kicked off a career ride that includes two Grammys, two MTV awards, over 15 million units sold, and a thriving acting career.

What awards and sales figures fail to illustrate is the depth and breadth of Gray’s artistry. In an industry that is increasingly stifling of real artists, she has forged her own vision, creating music that leaps genre barriers from experimental soul to alternative rock, from retro-disco to hip-hop. Her artistic integrity and innovativeness has won her fans across the world, including artists such as John Frusciante, Erykah Badu, Gang Starr, Mos Def, and Pharoah Monche, all of whom have collaborated with her.