Born in Syracuse, New York, in 1932, Murphy was raised in a musical family, his parents having met as members of the local Methodist Church choir. He grew up in the nearby small town of Fulton, New York, where his grandmother and then his aunt were the church organists. Opera was also a presence in the Murphy home. He started piano lessons at the age of seven.
Murphy joined his brother's jazz dance band as the singer when a teenager, citing influences from Nat "King" Cole, June Christy, Anita O'Day, and Ella Fitzgerald. The Jazz pianist Art Tatum was also an influence.
Murphy graduated from Syracuse University in 1953, majoring in Music and Drama. University life included performing on campus and also in a club – playing piano and singing.
In 1954, Murphy moved to New York City, working part-time as an actor and singer. He appeared in productions for the Gilbert and Sullivan Light Opera Company and a musical version for television of Casey at the Bat. Also, he twice took second place at the Apollo Theatre amateur contests.
Murphy was eventually introduced to record producer Milt Gabler, who was an artist and repertoire director (A & R) for Decca. His resulting debut recording was Meet Mark Murphy (1956), followed closely by Let Yourself Go (1957).
In 1958 Murphy moved to Los Angeles and recorded for Capitol, but returned to New York in the early '60s and recorded the album Rah! (1961) on Riverside Records, performing "Angel Eyes", a version of Horace Silver's "Doodlin'", and "Green Dolphin Street", featuring Bill Evans, Clark Terry, Urbie Green, Blue Mitchell and Wynton Kelly as accompanists. His favorite recording to date, That's How I Love the Blues, soon followed. In 1963, Murphy hit the charts across the country with his single of "Fly Me to the Moon" and was voted New Star of the Year in Down Beat Magazine's Reader's Poll.[citation needed]
In the late 1960s Murphy moved to London, England, where he worked primarily as an actor. He continued however, to cultivate his jazz audiences in Europe. He returned to the States in 1972 and began recording an average of an album a year for more than fourteen years on the Muse label. These projects - including the albums Nat King Cole Songbook Vol. I and II, Bop for Kerouac, Kerouac Then And Now, Living Room, Satisfaction Guaranteed, Beauty And the Beast and, Stolen Moments - gained numerous Grammy nominations.[citation needed] This last album contains Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments" with lyrics by Murphy.
In 1984 together with Viva Brasil he recorded the album Brazil Song (Cancões do Brasil), which featured original material written by Brazilian songwriters including work by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Milton Nascimento.
In 1987, Murphy recorded Night Mood, an album of songs by Brazilian composer Ivan Lins, followed by the Grammy-nominated September Ballads on Milestone Records. Murphy has also appeared on U.F.O.'s last two releases (for Polydor Records), in which he wrote and rapped lyrics on songs composed with the group. This collaboration opened up further new audiences in the acid-jazz and hip-hop genres, demonstrating jazz's timelessness while transcending generations and styles.
In August 1997, BMG/RCA Victor released Song For The Geese, for which he has received his sixth Grammy nomination. Also in August 1997, the 32 Records label Joel Dorn and Michael Bourne released a double CD anthology Stolen and Other Moments, which features some of his recordings for the now defunct Muse label. The CD features material from the two "Kerouac" albums and a selection of "the best of Mark Murphy".
Murphy’s release Once to Every Heart (2005), on the Verve label, features sensuous ballads, where the listener can capture him singing in top form, with superb musicians and sounding better than ever. In 2007 Love is What Stays was released on Verve. Both albums were produced by German trumpeter Till Brönner.
Murphy has also collaborated with Five Corners Quintet, a modern Finnish jazz band. He appears on their albums Chasin' the Jazz Gone By (2005) and Hot Corner (2008).
In 2010 he released the independently produced CD, Never Let Me Go, on which he is supported by pianist Misha Piatigorsky, bassist Danton Boller and drummer Chris Wabich. A limited edition EP/MP3, "Beautiful Friendship: Remembering Shirley Horn" on Gearbox Records was released in 2013.
Murphy continued to tour internationally into his 80s, appearing at festivals, concerts, in jazz clubs and on television programs, throughout the U.S., Europe, Australia and Japan, as well as other places. John Bush at AllMusic.com described Murphy as "a major name in vocal jazz." A longtime resident of the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey, he died there on October 22, 2015.
Naima
Mark Murphy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Spirits of starlight
Inspiration of great beauty
And love, love at first sight
Queen of the ages
She transcends history's pages
From beginning to the end
Exotic rich and rare
None other to compare
The song "Naima" by Mark Murphy is a tribute to the jazz musician John Coltrane's wife, Naima Grubbs. The song title refers to Naima, which means "pleasant" in Arabic. The lyrics of the song depict Naima as a remarkable woman who possesses timeless beauty, deep wisdom, and a strong spirit. The phrase "Deep as the night," signifies her mysterious yet alluring nature, and "spirits of starlight," represents her divine presence.
The song continues to describe Naima as the "Queen of the ages," who transcends history's pages from beginning to end. This suggests that Naima's character is not limited to a specific time, place, or culture. She is a universal figure that embodies the essence of womanhood. The lyrics use the phrase "love at first sight," which could refer to Coltrane's initial attraction to Naima, or to the enduring love shared between the couple.
The song concludes with the phrase "exotic rich and rare, none other to compare," describing Naima's uniqueness, rareness, and exoticism. This phrase implies that Naima is not just a regular woman, but an extraordinary person, who left a lasting impression on everyone who came across her.
Line by Line Meaning
Deep as the night
Naima's depth is as vast as the darkest night
Spirits of starlight
Her essence is as ethereal as the twinkling stars
Inspiration of great beauty
Naima is a great source of beauty and inspires artistic creativity
And love, love at first sight
She is also a symbol of true love, capable of captivating hearts at first sight
Queen of the ages
Naima is a reigning queen, surpassing all eras with her majestic aura
She transcends history's pages
Her spirit is so transcendent that it surpasses even the pages of history
From beginning to the end
Naima's influence and significance extends from the earliest to the latest of times
What a woman she has been
Naima's impact on humanity is a testament to the greatness of her character
Exotic rich and rare
Her uniqueness and allure are as rare and exceptional as the most exotic of jewels
None other to compare
There is no one else in the world who can be compared to Naima
Writer(s): JOHN COLTRANE
Contributed by William L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@godsonegbo3984
I was looking for a version of this song sung by a female vocalist that I heard years ago, and I can't remember who it was. So I found this version by accident, but goodness me, I'm blown away! I'd never heard of Mark Murphy before but his tone and phrasing pack so much emotion. And the arrangement is sublime. YouTube does it again.
@starfox5467
Was it the Doug/Jean Carn version that you were looking for?
@starfox5467
Nina Berglova?
@godsonegbo3984
@@starfox5467 Oh, thanks for the suggestions. I will check those out. The names don't immediately ring a bell, but I'll check.
@godsonegbo3984
@@starfox5467 I just listened to both suggestions. Both are fantastic, by the way. But neither are the one I was looking for. It is entirely possible that I have somehow created a false memory, but I could have sworn that the one I am looking for was sung by Alice Coltrane.
@starfox5467
@@godsonegbo3984 oh well, good luck. Naima is my daughter’s name so I am always looking for a version of the tune that she might connect with. No luck yet-she delights in telling me how much she dislikes “my” music. It’s all in there in her subconscious though and will hopefully she will come around when she grows up. Reply back if you ever find the version your looking for-maybe that will be the one that gets her :-)
@girlinagale
As a saxophonist I find listening to a song with a vocalist one of the most insightful ways to learn the melody and phrasing. The phrases actually are given their meaning, a story to the song, sets the tone of it.
@lloydagere5839
Thank you for sharing. Reminds me of 30 years ago when I first heard this version. Wonderful Song
@Guitfiddlejase
They can play this at my funeral.
@Guitfiddlejase
Perfect! Thank you for posting...