James

JamesMurrell

About James

Hello, Thanks for dropping by. My name is James Murrell. I am a guitarist and composer from Ohio. My style is jazz but I blend in influences from rock, blues, R&B, folk, & world music. I pray to bring peace, happiness, & love to all those that hear my music.

Interview

Q:Tell us about your act, music style, and brief history, including band members and what instruments they play.
A: I am a guitarist and guitar teacher in the Dayton, Ohio area. I play jazz and other types of instrumental music. I grew up in Mt.Orab, Ohio about 40 miles outside of Cincinnati. Most of the music that I was exposed to was classic rock, country, gospel, and bluegrass. I started playing guitar when I was 10 years old in 1979. I had a teacher named Lloyd Hazelbaker when I was 13 and he was a western swing steel guitarist. He told me that I was going to be a jazz guitarist but I had no idea what jazz was. He went on to teach me a lot of old standards like "the Autumn Leaves". Later, when I was 19, I decided to go to college for music. I went to the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music Preparatory Department and studied with Phil Willis. Then I studied with James E. Smith at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio near Dayton. Then I started teaching and performing through out the Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus areas. I then found out about the Berklee Online school and started my classes in the winter of 2009 and finished my Specialist Certificate in Advanced Guitar in May.

Q:What have been some important gigs or venues you've played?
A: I have performed at most of the establishments in the local area including the Schuster Center, the Victoria Theater, and Pacchia restaurant, the Nite Owl, Jazz Central, and the Brown Dog Cafe. I have also played at the Guitar Fest in Centerville, Ohio for the last 4 years and at the Lancaster Festival.

Q:What are the names and release dates of your previous recordings?
A: I recorded "Blue Sky Park" in 2004, "Look For Hope" in 2006, and "After Hours" in 2008. I have also recorded many demos through out the years. I took all of the originals from these recordings and will be putting them out as 1 digital release called "Songs Of My Life" through ReverbNation.com. I have also released a new recording called "The Source" through ReverbNation which is more of a Pop/Rock album. Both releases are available at Itunes.com, eMusic.com, Rhapsody.com, Napster.com, and AmazonMP3.com.

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