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Bryan Murray

Saxophonist Bryan Murray’s mature conception of music distinguishes him as both a performer and as a composer. His music has a unique sensibility, focusing simply on caliber of ideas and timelessness of melody. He is firmly rooted in an improvisational and communicative tradition, but remains open to all styles of music, resulting in a sound that draws from all genres and defies categorization. Most importantly, his work retains the sense of joy that initially attracted both performers and appreciators to music: he plays because he loves to; and that love speaks, loud and clear, to his audience.

Bryan was born and raised in Nitro, West Virginia, where he began studying and playing professionally at a young age with local guitarist/bassist Chuck Biel. Bryan then pursued his musical studies at the University of Kentucky with Miles Osland. He was a member of the Downbeat award winning ensemble Mega Sax, which made several recordings on the Seabreeze Jazz label. Upon completion of his Bachelor of Music, he continued his education and obtained a Masters in Jazz Studies at DePaul University under the instruction of Mark Colby. While attending DePaul, Bryan performed with Joe Lovano, Kenny Werner, Nicholas Payton, and recorded a live CD with Tom Harrell. Bryan was also a member in the Chicago Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra and is featured on their recording “Labor of Love.” While in Chicago, Bryan had the opportunity to study with tenor greats Joe Lovano and Rick Margitza. Bryan spent four years in Chicago working as a private instructor and freelance musician before moving to New York.

Since moving to Brooklyn, New York in 2002, Bryan has established a strong presence in the New York music scene, leading his own quartet as well as his avant-jazz/country band “Bryan and the Haggards.” He is also currently performing and recording with many ensembles including Jon Lundbom and Big Five Chord, the Nick Russo Quintet, and the Aaron Irwin Group. Since moving to New York, he has studied with saxophonists Rich Perry and Chris Cheek, and has performed at numerous venues including 55 Bar, Blue Note, Jazz Gallery, CBGB’s Underground Lounge, and the Knitting Factory.

Bryan has performed with: Aaron Irwin Group, Brian O'Hern Big Band, Chicago Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra, Jon Lundbom and Big Five Chord, Louie Belson, Michael Bates Tamarind, Microtonacity, Mike Fahie Orchestra, Nick Russo Quintet, Peter Van Huffel Quintet, Ray Charles, Rick Parker's Jazz Collective, Sherisse Rogers Jazz Orchestra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.

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3
Album Review

Bryan Murray & Jon Lundbom: Beats by Balto! Vol. 2

Read "Beats by Balto! Vol. 2" reviewed by Mark Corroto


Spinning Beats by Balto Vol. 2 in the midst of a global pandemic brings to mind a quote from Zack de la Rocha: “Fear is your only god on the radio." The Rage Against The Machine frontman is begging you to turn off your radio, but somehow you just can't turn off Balto!'s beats. The brain-child of guitarist Jon Lundbom and Bryan Murray (Bryan And The Haggards, Big Five Chord), the spine-tingling essence of this music confirms what ...

119
Album Review

Bryan and the Haggards: Still Alive And Kickin' Down The Walls

Read "Still Alive And Kickin' Down The Walls" reviewed by Dave Wayne


With the music of country music legends Merle Haggard and Bob Wills as a starting point, tenor saxophonist Bryan Murray and his band have been creating fresh, iconoclastic, and somewhat noisy modern jazz for a few years. The Haggards' second CD, Still Alive And Kickin' Down The Walls, picks up where their stunning debut, Pretend It's the End of the World (Hot Cup, 2010), left off. Murray and his band are clearly having a lot of fun with Haggard's music. ...

108
Album Review

Bryan and the Haggards: Still Alive and Kickin' Down the Walls

Read "Still Alive and Kickin' Down the Walls" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Still Alive and Kickin' Down the Walls is the second foray into an unlikely marriage of free jazz and the Bakersfield, California, country sound of the legendary Merle Haggard, a follow-up to the pairing's raucous honeymoon, Pretend It's the End of the World (Hot Cup Records, 2010). Saxophonist Bryan Murray leads this outfit, a rowdy, rough around the edges quintet comprised of two reeds in front of a guitar-driven rhythm section.Opening with Haggard's “Ramblin' Fever," the music sounds ...

126
Album Review

Bryan and the Haggards: Pretend It's The End of the World

Read "Pretend It's The End of the World" reviewed by William Carey


Is it too late for a “best of 2010" list? This 2010 release, by Bryan and the Haggards, has made several of these lists; while it would be easy to approach these jazz renditions of Merle Haggard tunes as some sort of novelty, that couldn't be farther from what tenor saxophonist Bryan Murray and his quintet have accomplished with this set of country ditties. The band's namesake, singer/songwriter Merle Haggard, remains a fascinating character in the history ...

85
Album Review

Bryan and the Haggards: Pretend It's The End of the World

Read "Pretend It's The End of the World" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose


The legend of Merle Haggard is probably as large as the life of the folk music star. Only Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash have a larger legend than Haggard. The writer of “Okie from Muskogee" is the star of this album, Pretend It's The End of the World by this ensemble led by tenor saxophonist, Bryan Murray. Haggard's music has always been earnest and soulful and like the best contemporary music, was in fact, somewhat ...

347
Album Review

Bryan and the Haggards: Pretend It's the End of the World

Read "Pretend It's the End of the World" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Can a saxophone “twang?" If it's a set of music celebrating the sounds of Bakersfield, California's county music legend, Merle Haggard, it had better do just that. And strangely, with Pretend It's the End of the World, by Bryan and the Haggards, the saxophone blowing of altoist Jon Irabagon and the tenorist/leader Bryan Murray find that country twang via drawn out whiny lines, in an odd marriage of the country music's iconic Bakersfield sound with free jazz, in, at times, ...

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116

Radio

The Jazz Session #184: Bryan Murray of Bryan and the Haggards

The Jazz Session #184: Bryan Murray of Bryan and the Haggards

Source: AAJ Staff

When one thinks of free jazz, one of the first names that springs to mind is that of Merle Haggard. And so, it's perfectly natural that saxophonist Bryan Murray would have assembled a band to play free versions of Haggard's songs. The result is the very engaging Pretend It's The End Of The World (Hot Cup, 2010). In this interview, Murray talks about the inspiration for the record and how the band made the songs work in such a different ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Beats by Balto! Vol. 2

Chant Records
2021

buy

Still Alive and...

Hot Cup Records
2012

buy

Pretend It's The End...

Hot Cup Records
2011

buy

Still Alive and...

Hot Cup Records
2011

buy

Pretend It's the End...

Hot Cup Records
2010

buy

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