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mikem

Micheal Murray

Born in the rugged, rural landscape of County Donegal Ireland, Conor and Micheal began experimenting with various different instruments in Irish traditional music like the Fiddle, Guitar, and Tin Whistle before settling on Saxophone and Double Bass respectively at age twelve.

Both brothers quickly developed a strong love for jazz music after this and in 2013, at the Sligo Jazz Project, the brothers met Irish Jazz Drummer David Lyttle who the have had the honour of working with and being mentored since then.

Since moving to Glasgow in 2015, Micheal has had a vast array of performing experience in many of Glasgows jazz clubs and venues alongside top musicians such as Pete Johnstone (Tommy Smith, Square One, SNJO) and Paul Harrison, and have this year been working extensively over Ireland with David playing in Bennigans Jazz Club, Sligo Jazz Project and also in rural and island communities like Tory, Arranmore & Rathlin. In June 2019, the brothers will do their first official month-long Irish tour as part of the David Lyttle trio.

Micheal was also semi-finalist in Young Scottish Jazz Musician 2018, Grade 8 Trinity in Jazz Saxophone, Lead Alto in the Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra, awarded a place on the Erasmus Program Sep 2017 to Feb 2018 to study at the Music and Arts Conservatoire of Vienna (MUK). He has been studying with some of Europes greatest saxophonists, including Tommy Smith & Austria based Andy Middleton. He is an in demand saxophonist in Glasgow, and featured in the Edinburgh Jazz Festival in 2018.

Aside from being popular in-demand musicians on the Scottish and Irish Jazz Scene they are also keen promoters, and have worked to bring Glasgow some of the top Jazz musicians in the World, through their promotions group Twin People Promotions. Since 2016 they have brought in The David Lyttle Trio, Michael Janisch's Paradigm Shift, and the world revered Kurt Rosenwinkel. Last year, they pioneered the inaugaural Falcarragh Winter Jazz festival, in their home town in Co. Donegal, featuring world renowned Dutch guitarist Jesse Van Ruller. Despite the challenges of organising a jazz festival in small rural town, the 2-day event was widely reported as being a huge success, and is firmly fixed on the calendar for 2019.