Scott Adair pays tribute to Dave Murphy

Dave moved to Whitley Bay from Birmingham with his mother and father in 1955. We got together in 1956, as he played piano and had a double bass, and we both loved the same style of modern jazz. We managed to practice in Dave’s church hall every Sunday with Dave on piano, myself on drums, Sam Padmore playing Dave’s bass and, would you believe? John McLaughlin on guitar. We were all 14, 15 and 16 yrs old respectively and all still at school in Whitley Bay. As time went on John went off to London then to America to become a world-famous guitar player and Sam went off to university.

Dave and I used to “sit in” at the Rex Jazz Club, Whitley Bay on Sunday evenings. Bobby Carr, Sid Warren, Arthur Mowatt were a great help and influence during this time.

Our first gig together, of any note, was with Eddie Thompson, an incredible blind pianist at the Opus 3 Club, Darlington in 1964, by courtesy of Ron Barnaby. Dave now had a proper job working full-time with British Gas at the Killingworth Research Centre but we still got together to play regularly. 

By this time we had met Dave Weisser and played at the Corner House, Whitley Bay with Friends of Jazz. In 1976, off we all went to play at the San Sebastian Jazz Festival in Spain, where the band received a great write-up in the Melody Maker.

The next milestone was the Corner House, Heaton where we, as the quintet Jazz Spirit, with me (drums), Dave (double bass), Sid Warren (saxophone), Mike Gilby (trumpet), and two great piano players: Billy Harper and Malcolm Saul. 

In 1979 Chris Yates from Jazz North East called and asked if we would mind JNE using the Corner House and our band for visiting guest players from all over the world. The answer of course was Yes! The guest players included Al Gray, Buddy Tate, Joe Newman, Harry “Sweets” Edison, and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davies to name but a few. By this time guitarist Willie Payne, whom I had previously met in Trinidad, had arrived in Newcastle. These were magic years for us all because we had the opportunity to play with such well-respected and accomplished jazz players!

In between Dave and I did the 1983 Breda Jazz Festival in the Netherlands with Peter Gascoigne (cornet), Tommy Moran (reeds), Mike Carlton (trombone), Malcolm Saul (piano) and Roy Willis (guitar). As you can imagine Peter Gascoigne made it a memorable trip! 

Dave was still working full-time up until he retired in his late sixties and had many happy years living in Dinnington with his wife Jean.

My dear friend was a lovely guy, a great player, and now a great loss to all his friends and family. Scott Adair