Tom Murray is a New York freelance saxophonist-vocalist who specializes in the American Songbook. A singing horn player like Louis Armstrong, Murray brings a big smile and fun to each performance. Part tattooed sailor, part New York sophisticate, he creates inventive arrangements that give old standards a “make-over” for today. As a busy Broadway musician, he is also accomplished on flute and clarinet and proficient in many styles, including classical, jazz, Dixieland, R&B, and rock.

Tom is currently playing in the hit Broadway show The Drowsy Chaperone (starring Sutton Foster) and celebrating the release of his new CD, Cole Porter Moods. This CD is the first in a series called the American Songbook for the Modern Ear. As Murray explains, “By resetting Cole Porter’s masterpieces with contemporary and world flavor, they become accessible to today’s listener.” Eleven songs are sung and played on acoustic and electric instruments in styles ranging from flamenco and Cuban to techno and acid jazz. Murray can also be heard soloing on sax in incidental music used in the Broadway play The Odd Couple (starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick).

Murray is originally from Brockton, Massachusetts. He attended the Hartt School of Music, where he studied saxophone, clarinet, flute, and jazz with legends Jackie McLean, Walter Bishop Jr., and Jaki Byard. In 1984 he moved to New York City and has been freelancing all over the world ever since. He has played for the Broadway shows Fosse, Little Shop of Horrors, Lennon, A Chorus Line, Evita, and Grey Gardens, recorded for Disney’s Ice Queen and numerous CDs, and performed with Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Julie Andrews, Bernadette Peters, Rita Moreno, and played in the jazz/swing groups of Glenn Miller, Woody Herman, Brother Jack McDuff, Jaki Byard, and the Flipped Fedoras.

As a freelancer Murray spent several trips on the Mississippi River aboard a steamboat playing in a Dixieland band. Several members of the band would lower their horns and sing. “This had a profound effect on me-it seemed so natural and looked like a blast!” says Murray. This horn player-singer concept seems to have originated in New Orleans with stars like Armstrong, Louis Prima, and Jack Teagarden. Other swing musicians who did this with success were Louis Jordan “Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby”, Woody Herman “Caldonia, Caldonia” and Tex Beneke “Chattanooga Choo Choo”.

New York Times writer Margo Jefferson calls Murray “a savvy musician.” He is a talented and entertaining musician who is versed in the American Songbook and in touch with the sounds of today. Someone who understands the poignancy and drama of live performance in this stay-at-home DVD/iPod world we live in. As Murray puts it, “You play, you sing, the band sounds great, and the crowd is into it . . . and you smile because life is good! You’re a musician.”