Jim Murray
Primarily known for acoustic jazz piano, Jim Murray is equally at home with electronic keyboards, creating music in a wide spectrum of styles.
Jim was born in southern California, USA and grew up in the red rock canyon country of southern Utah, a seemingly unlikely place for a jazz artist to emerge. But in the following years of early adulthood, opportunities took him places as far and wide as Newport, Rhode Island; Savannah, Georgia; Portland, Oregon and Denver, Colorado. Howerever, no matter how far this work takes him, those early years spent in the natural beauty of the desert will always be a source of Jim's musical inspiration.
Since moving to Japan in 2001, Jim Murray has performed around the country with many Tokyo jazz greats like vocalist Karen Aoki, trumpeter Hiro Kawashima, bassist Stan Gilbert, and drummers George Kawaguchi and Tommy Campbell.
As a soloist, his piano and vocal style have delighted audiences in top hotels around Tokyo and Yokohama, including the Shinjuku Park Hyatt, the Tokyo Imperial Hotel, Disneyland Ambassador Hotel, Shibuya Cerulean Hotel, and the Yokohama Royal Park Hotel.
All that jazz aside, Jim does not limit himself to any one particular style of music. In fact, he has served seven years as a member of the Tokyo based Hawaiian band Love Notes, backing up singer/dancer Maki Inoue and her Lima Nani dance troops. Additionally, he has been exploring his Celtic roots in recent years, and has become active in Tokyo's Irish folk music scene, performing not on piano, but on the bass fiddle, Irish tin whistle, recorder, and highland bagpipes.
When not behind an instrument creating music, Jim Murray can often be found in front of a canvas with a paint brush in hand. His work can be seen at http://jimsjazzz.wixsite.com/art-page
