This is Hip: The Life of Mark Murphy(Popular Music History)

When Mark Murphy died in October 2015, the world lost one of the greatest jazz singer in history. Murphy was the last of his kind, a hipster of the Kerouac generation, who rejected the straight life of prosperity and numb consumerism. With a catalogue of more than 40 albums under his own name, Mark Murphy was a consummate improviser, who never sang a song the same way twice. He could have enjoyed a successful mainstream career in the vein of Mel Tormé or Jack Jones. But his ambition was greater – to be an artist, to rebel against the commercial music industry and to carry the jazz vocal flame wherever it led him. Murphy was a master of scat and vocalese, of songwriting and the spoken word. He expanded the jazz singing repertoire, adding his own lyrics to instrumentals like John Coltrane’s Naima, Freddie Hubbard’s Red Clay, and Oliver Nelson’s Stolen Moments. Unrivalled as an interpreter of ballads, he was able to express longing and regret to a degree lacking in any other jazz singer. For years he roamed the world, playing thousands of gigs. Rediscovered in the Eighties by a new audience of jazz dancers, and again in the 21st century by a digital generation who invited him to guest on their recordings, he remains a crucial though unjustly neglected figure in vocal jazz. This Is Hip is more than a biography: it also explores Murphy’s innovative approaches both to singing and to the teaching of singers. Based on numerous interviews with those who knew him best, the book delves into a performing and recording career that spanned 60 years and earned him five Grammy nominations.

Table of Contents:
Foreword: It's Compromise, Don't Bother 1. I See Inside the Song 2. Dues-paying Days 3. All the Bases were Loaded 4. Many Shades of Blue 5. That's what I Like about London 6. He's as Good as I Am 7. Ready for Anything 8. Where Fountains Drip in a Forgotten Tempo 9. It's Hot, it's Red Lights, it's Exciting! 10. I Remember Less and Less, Except You Baby 11. A Wild Animal, or a Child 12. Age Only Matters if You're a Cheese 13. The Mother of All Love Songs 14. Much to Do and Not a Moment to Spare Appendix A: A Jazz Singer is a Singer who Sings Jazz Appendix B: I Don't Want to Stamp out Singers Like Cookies Discography

About the Author :
Peter Jones is a jazz singer and journalist based in London. He has taught film and media at a variety of London colleges, and published a short book on black cinema (BFI Publishing), followed by a handbook for media and film students (Hodder Arnold). During the making of his first album (`One Way Ticket to Palookaville' - 2013) he developed a serious interest in the work of Mark Murphy, which has continued ever since. He reviews concerts and CDs and conducts interviews for London Jazz News. His second album (`Utopia') was released in 2016.

Review :
Named as one of the best books for 2018 by Jazz History Online Awarded BEST HISTORICAL RESEARCH IN RECORDED JAZZ: Best Discography in The Association for Recorded Sound Collections Awards for Excellence 2019 Assiduously researched and adeptly written....Being a vocalist of note himself, Jones not only sets the material in context but also writes insightfully about the music. Jazzwise In short, this is a model biography. Richly detailed, balanced and consistently thoughtful, it should be enjoyed not only by its core audience, committed Murphy admirers, but also by the general reader. London Jazz News A 360-degree perspective on Mark Murphy's uniqueness and authenticity. I liked the clear narrative and Peter Jones' probing, questioning approach; and the section on Murphy's uninhibited, no-safety-net teaching methods is unputdownable. Sebastian Scotney, editor of London Jazz News I knew Mark quite well over a number of years.. I wouldn't have believed that I could learn so much more about a man that I already knew. Mr Jones is a most gifted writer and a singer himself. He has written an amazing account of Mark's life - amazing for the story he has dug up... Mark lived a life that was by no means ordinary, but nor was it filled with gripping incident. No detail of family or fortunes escapes Mr Jones and he breathes life into the parade of gigs and recordings that make this into a good read. Steve Voce, Jazz Journal