Saturday Live: Lynda Murray Trio

Experience inspiring performances by top emerging artists in our historic venue, renowned for its superb acoustics. Our recitals are programmed in collaboration with leading music colleges and charities, providing a platform for the stars of tomorrow. Discover exceptional talent in a unique settting.

Free admission | Donations welcome

Whether £5 or any amount you’re able to give. Donations can be made in cash in the basket on your way out, or by tap donation at the machines at our exits. Your generosity helps support our cultural events and charitable services. Thank you.

Programme

This recital draws on the music created by Cannonball Adderly, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, and Thelonious Monk. They were contemporaries in the late 50’s and early 60’s and they played on each others albums and concerts as well as writing for each other.

Artist Bio

Lynda, Adrian and Paul are well established musicians from East Sussex. They played as a quartet before the Covid lockdown and earlier this year Lynda asked the guys if they would like to play as a trio. They said yes.
Paul Whitten is a popular sideman playing in many jazz ensembles in Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings. In the 70’s he was a double bass student at the Guildhall School of Music and studied jazz harmony with Lionel Grigson. His early career took him around the world and most memorable for Paul was his time in Paris and regularly playing in Chet Baker’s band.

Dr Adrian York studied piano at Sussex University and by the late 80’s was a fixture on the pop session, light entertainment and jazz circuits in London. He has been Musical Director for JazzFM live events, the ANC’s 25th anniversary and Gay Pride. He has also built a career as a media composer for TV and radio. Adrian is now Senior Lecturer in Commercial Music at the University of Westminster as well as running his own trio.

Lynda Murray studied classical piano at Trent Park Music College in the early 80’s as a mature student. While she was there she had the opportunity to study a wind instrument and a friend gave her a battered old soprano saxophone. Lynda fell in love with this instrument and now plays alto and sopranino. Lynda’s jazz education began in the 70’s when her boyfriend and then later husband who was an established jazz photographer, he took her to every gig that he was working on. She remembers being completely saturated with jazz during the Camden Jazz week’s and the Bracknell Jazz Festival weekends both organised by late John Cummings who then formed Serious Productions which is one of the main organisers of jazz events in London. Lynda began studying jazz harmony at the City Lit, joined the big band and Cathy Stobbart’s saxophone classes. 1984 she had the opportunity to be in the London’s Community Music Project set up by drummer John Stevens and had an introduction to free improvised music. She was taught how to run music sessions without using conventional methods i.e. not using music notation. Around this time she formed her first band playing original compositions composed by the band members. They spent most of their time rehearsing with very few gigs. Now it’s the reverse very few rehearsals and some gigs.

In 1986 she moved to Hastings with her husband and two young children and eventually went into teaching in a comprehensive school after finishing her degree with the Open University and taking her PGCE at Sussex University. In early 2002 and Lynda invited Paul to play in one of her quartets and he is still her go to bass player when she needs a jazz bass player. Around 2003 Lynda set up Hastings Jazz Club which ran for 3 years and in 2006 organised a 2 day jazz festival in Hastings. This festival included Julian Joseph, Tony Kofi, the late Harry Becket, Liam Noble, Fred Thelonius Baker, Juliet Kelly, Trevor Watts and Veryan Western. The monthly club also played host to Alan Barnes, Gilad Atzmon, Annie Whitehead, Ian Shaw, Steve Lodder
with Paul Whitten providing bass for some of the visiting musicians. Lynda also has a drum and bass trio called Mosaic Triangle with Paul. They play mainly her compositions and they recently spent a day in a recording studio. Tracks will be available on the Band Camp platform.