Turk Murphy
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Melvin Edward Alton “Turk” Murphy (born Palermo, California, December 16, 1915; died New Orleans, Louisiana, May 30, 1987) was renowned as a trombonist who played traditional and dixieland jazz in San Francisco.
Murphy served in the Navy during World War II, during which time he played and recorded when he could, with the likes of Lu Watters and Bunk Johnson. In 1952, he headed his own band, "Turk Murphy's Jazz Band," which included pianist Wally Rose, clarinetist Bob Helm, banjo player Dick Lammi, and tubaist Bob Short. They played at the Italian Village at Columbus and Lombard, in San Francisco’s North Beach. The band appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show twice, in 1959 and 1965.[1] In 1979, horn man Bob Schultz began an eight-year stint with the band. Among other venues, Murphy's band played his nightclub "Earthquake McGoons," which opened in 1960 and moved twice before closing in 1984. In January 1987, Murphy played Carnegie Hall.
The band recorded and released dozens of albums.[2]
Murphy died later in the year, and his band broke up.
