Olivia Murphy: Fateful Birds & Fledgling Stories

Throughout her career, Olivia Murphy has receiyed many awards which have been instrumental in promoting her blossoming career. In 2021, she received the prestigious and influential Peter Whittingham Jazz Development Award, which has been contested annually since 1990 to support an emerging jazz musician with their plans and ambitions. At the time she won it, Murphy was playing clarinet in the Moonrise Trio alongside vocalist Becca Wilkins and pianist Olly Chalk.

In 2020, the trio's first EP, Tomorrow Songs, was recorded in isolation, commissioned by Stoney Lane Records Their second EP was funded by PRSF, through the Jazzlife Alliance Young Composer, which Murphy won in 2021, and released on Lyte Records in 2022.

In early 2022, the Olivia Murphy Jazz Orchestra (OMJO) was formed, directed by award-winning composer Murphy herself, as well as her companions from Moonrise Trio. OMJO performed highly praised, sold-out gigs across the U.K. at such venues as Birmingham Symphony Hall, Pizza Express Jazz Club, The Vortex Jazz Club, Cheltenham Jazz Festival.

Despite the use of the words "orchestra" and "symphony," Olivia Murphy Jazz Orchestra gigs are more akin to big band music than to orchestral symphonies. The OMJO instrumentation of 18 musicians, conducted by Murphy, comprises two vocalists, one flute, four saxophones, three trumpets, three trombones, a tuba, a guitar, a piano, a bass and drums. When she is in front of an audience with OMJO, Murphy's enthusiasm and energy are contagious, with musicians and audience alike emitting their excitement and joi de vivre.

The OMJO debut EP Somewhere, Not Far Away (Self-Produced) was recorded live in Birmingham in 2022 and at the time was described as "highly accomplished music, brimming with emotion." In October 2024, the Orchestra recorded their debut studio album, Fateful Birds & Fledgling Stories with support from a Help Musicians' Next Level Award. Of the album's 10 tracks, nine were composed by Murphy; four comprise her sister suite, based on a quote from Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women; two others comprise Murphy's Musicians' Company Dankworth Award for her composition "Honey Thieves"; the album closes with her Eddie Harvey Award-winning arrangement of the Johnny Mandel and Dave Frishberg song "You Are There."  From beginning to end, the OMJO's debut album makes priceless listening and makes one feel it is the start of an awesome discography.