James Robert Murphy AKA Austin Jimmy Murphy

When exposing the lives of others, we reveal our own fractured personality. When you try to be honest about your take on other people, your own weaknesses and insecurities emerge for all to inspect." This is regarding my embellished memoir, My Life Before I Decided To Commit Suicide.

I have earned an MA from the University of Oklahoma in Administrative Leadership and a BS from the State University of New York with a concentration in Arts Management. I am the principal founding member of the New York State Blues Festival, serving as festival director from 1992-2003, and again in 2013-2014. I co-founded the Syracuse Guinness Irish Festival, serving as festival director from 1999-2003. Both of these community events continue to be popular in Syracuse, NY. 

My family and I moved to El Paso, TX, my wife's hometown, in 2004, where I first worked as managing director for El Paso Opera. I served the City of El Paso as its director of development for the El Paso Museum of History from 2006 until my retirement in 2018.

In Brief... I have been a songwriter and performer since the early 1970s, releasing a few original rock cassettes and a pop 45 along the way. I am currently producing The 2920 Sessions, a series of recording sessions in my home studio featuring a few select El Paso artists performing my music that covers several genres. My tastes range from the blues with the award-winning 2012 release of the 4-CD box set, A History of Blues, to country/folk/Americana, with the 2019 release, The Way Things Used To Be, a collection of songs written during my hitchhiking adventures that spanned more than a decade. Getting these projects out of my system, I began delving into an untapped genre - Jazz. Thus, The 2920 Sessions. This was the perfect time to play guitar and write new material every single day!  Jazz: The 2920 Sessions, is a collection of songs, some written decades ago but never recorded, was finally released in 2020. I admit some material may seem overproduced and should be placed in the "I am trying to figure out a new genre category, so bear with me" file. In 2021, Murphy began a journey toward his second jazz piece, Park North. Nearly every composition on Park North was new and consisted of thoughtful chord progressions and a closer, cleaner feel to the objective - learning jazz. A compilation of eight new songs written beginning in 2020. The CD opens with the instrumental Stone Edge featuring guest pianist Ruben Gutierrez and bassist Curt Bushaw. Song number two, Wherever, Whenever was written a couple of weeks before the project came to a close. Lyrically, it takes us down the road of a relationship that has lost its fire, its desire, and its ability to be reactionary. Joshua Lucero does a wonderful job on the vocals. Run Johnny is just a fun instrumental. Cryin' Cat Blues is my beatnik song - lazy and a little off-kilter. The lyrics were written back in my younger days and have now been published, along with many of my lyrics, in my book, Poetry from a Road Scholar. Scionti is dedicated to a couple of friends I met during my hitchhiking days. Hey Baby is one of those good old funky blues numbers with pianist Billy Townes and my golfing partner guitarist Pat "Guitar Slim" Chase joining in. There Was A Time was written and shelved in 2012. I liked it, but never brought it into the limelight until now. It is a haunting tale of a man so in love with his woman that he would do anything, and I mean anything for her. And then to wrap things up, I perform Curtis Mayfield's People Get Ready. I really like this number. It just makes me want to attend an outdoor festival and party all night long (after going to church that is). It features Frank Zona on the saxophone and Ruben Gutierrez on piano and organ. You can watch the video by going to YouTube and searching for Park North JRM.

Now, I Want to List My Releases in Reverse... Welcome to my latest and second instrumental album, Sunday Morning (2025). The name? Early one Sunday morning, not too long ago, I was making coffee and decided to give these cuts a spin. And while originally called Funky Blue, I immediately realized that Sunday Morning was filled with songs that gently woke me up. It’s a beauty. It consists of eight original compositions, all named after streets and avenues that have played a role in my life. 1) Salina Street is the main road that travels through Nedrow, NY, the little town on the southern border of Syracuse, where I grew up. It’s a funky, easy-going downtown groove. I like it. 2) Riverside Drive is in El Paso, TX, where my wife was raised. It has a smooth samba beat that allowed me to explore my guitar neck a bit more than I usually do. 3) South Onondaga Road (Rt. 80) runs from my little town of Nedrow out to South Onondaga, where I went to high school. This song reminds me of the area's many corn fields, apple orchards, creeks, and lakes. It is a great driving-your-automobile song. 4) Brae Burn Lane is my favorite street in Nedrow, and if I ever move back, I would want to live in one of the five houses on this street, preferably the one on the top left side. I put this piece together like, “right now”! I just wrapped it up. 5) Lakehurst Drive is the street where I was born, in Auburn, NY. It is a smooth jazz composition that feels like small-town Central New York. I really enjoyed opening up during this cut. 6) Elton Avenue is in Nedrow as well. My first wife lived on this street, and a few old friends did as well. When I visit Nedrow I stay on Elton Ave with my friend Lynn. This is a really nice Latin-flavored song. It is certainly one of my favorites. I normally open with this song. 7) The State Street Shuffle is named after a rough and tumble part of Syracuse. At least it used to be. It has that bluesy, funky thing going on like State Street did back in its heyday. 8) 211 Thompson Road. is the house number and street in Nedrow where I grew up - right behind the firehouse. This song is a revision of the A.J. Shuffle released previously on my A History of Blues box set. The opening theme is the same, but that’s about it. It’s a swinging little rockabilly number to wrap things up. 

In Between Diddle and Sunday Morning, I Released a Spanish Album, a Blues album, and Two Live Albums... Recorded Live at The Black Orchid Lounge (2025). I stumbled upon this live 2018 recording in late 2024. The Black Orchid Lounge was a quaint little jazz/folk venue on the west side, tucked into a strip mall. The owner, Michelle Fierro, was very accommodating. It was ‘the’ cool place to gig. I think Covid brought on its unfortunate demise. The ‘shaker’ you hear now and then is a drink being mixed at the bar. This recording is unfiltered. Is it perfect? Yes, sort of. I’m glad I found it. A very heartfelt thank you to Curt Bushaw. As a songwriter, it’s not easy to find musicians that not only take the time to learn your material, but greatly enhance it. Curt is one of those musicians. On a final note, I’m not fond of listening to myself perform live, but listening back through this session, Curt and I were locked into some pretty good grooves. I hope you like it. It features Lowell Fulson's  Reconsider Baby, Big Joe Williams' Baby Please Don't Go, Little Walter's Everything's Going To Be Alright, Louie Jordan's Caledonia, and four of my original cuts, The Funky Thing, Hello, When The Morning Comes, and My Baby Says She Loves Me.

Live at Shifty's (2025)... Featuring Austin Jimmy Murphy (guitar and vocals), Pat DeSalvo (bass), Garnet Grimm (drums), and Scott Ebner (keys). Is it raw? To say the least. Is it a loose jam session? Uh ... yes. Is the recording as pure as the driven snow? Not even close. Live at Shifty's was recorded in Syracuse, NY in 2011 on the spur of the moment by long-time doorman Bill Scheutzow (RIP). I had moved to El Paso, TX, in 2004, and on occasion would return to my home turf for fun and games and even some music once in a while. I was very lucky this time because I was able to hook up with bassist Pat DeSalvo and drummer Garnet Grimm, both of whom had been touring with Savoy Brown's main man, Kim Simmonds. And then multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter Scott Ebner joined in. We practiced once at Scott's place and went to Shity's soon thereafter. It was a roof-raising experience. To repeat myself ... Is it raw? To say the least. Is it a loose jam session? Uh ... yes. Is the recording as pure as the driven snow? Not even close. We had to make it through four hours! Anyway, it was a true honor to play with these fellow musicians. More than likely, it will never happen again. The album opens with an original cut, Mesa Street Boogie. Then Walter Brownie McGhee's Stranger Blues, a couple of originals - Goodbye Baby, and Dig me A Hole, and then Muddy Waters' Deep Down in Florida, Junior Wells' Messin' With The Kid, and wraps up with Robert Johnson's Love in Vien.

Canciones de Amor (Songs of Love) (2024)... A Mexican/American Collaboration. The creative process behind Canciones de Amor (Songs of Love). Love songs play an integral role in everyone’s life. We all have our favorite songs that either spark pleasant or, at times, not-so-pleasant memories of days gone by. The expression of the written word allows us to cherish another human being, whether the relationship lasts a short while or for the rest of our lives; these are the songs that define our lifelong journey. I have experienced love’s emotions that approach us from all sides and have been able to present these sentimental angles through the most memorable lyrical content and theme-driven compositions we’ve heard in some time. As a singer/songwriter/entertainer for decades, my vocal range and stylings have suited blues, country, and Americana genres, as my past recordings reflect. But my voice is not suited to portray the beautiful emotional songs of love I have composed. And then...Joshua Lucero stepped into my life. Joshua has the velvety voice of a Julio Iglesias, a Luis Miguel, a Marc Anthony ….. but in truth, Joshua is Joshua. A vocal sensation. Perfect pitch. He makes you want to fall in love all over again. His voice alone gives us hope. Throughout this 16-song collection (8 in Spanish and the same 8 songs in English) Joshua, copying Murphy’s lyrical attempts, transformed these love songs into songs that you will listen to over and over again. This Mexican/American joint effort is beautifully portrayed in Canciones de Amor (Songs of Love).

The eight selected love songs are written, arranged, and produced by Central New York composer James Robert Murphy who now resides in El Paso, TX. They are translated and sung in Spanish and English by Juarez, Mexico native Joshua Lucero, a young man introduced to Mr. Murphy by the University of Texas at El Paso Opera director, Cherry Duke. The Murphy/Lucero Project is part of The 2920 Sessions, organized in El Paso, TX, at El Rancho Pequeño. Mr. Lucero is joined by El Paso’s premier vocal coach, Monica Gutierrez, on Two Flames Burning. Where noted, educator Curt Bushaw plays bass, and educator Ruben Gutierrez plays piano, Fender Rhodes, and strings. Additional instrumentation is created and performed by Mr. Murphy.

The Avocado Sessions - Blues Salad Part Two, Raw Fingerpicking and Slide Guitar (2024)... Raw blues at its finest. All of the fingerpicking and slide guitar playing are unedited and recorded in various locations throughout the years, including The Recording Studio in Chillicothe, Ohio, Screaming Skull Studio in Syracuse, NY, a living room apartment floor while awaiting back surgery, and other apartments and bedrooms. One of my favorite cuts, Worried Blues, sounds like it was recorded in the 40s or 50s. That's just the way things naturally turned out. On many of these cuts, I redid the vocals - no big deal, the original vocals....while, maybe they would have kept the originality intact, the new vocals are better - believe me. The Train Song was recoded on a borrowed 12-string guitar. There is an attempt to make the 12-string sound like a train rolling down the tracks - I think it was pretty successful. Rip The Chains is performed on a Sears Roebuck children's 6-string guitar. Raw and nearly spontaneous. Strollin' Blues, an instrumental, is the shortest blues song ever written. Baby Gone and Left Me, and Hello are all performed in an El Paso, TX library. My Baby Lives So Far From Me is a pretty good fingerpicker while I was waiting for my baby and me to get together. Killin' Blues was written on my apartment floor, awaiting back surgery. South Side of Blue is one of my best songs ever. A powerful droning tune about old friends I no longer see. Margarita is an instrumental in an 'E' open tuning. Worried Blues is a good old-fashioned picer. And Almost Took My Life is about a broken relationship in which I considered killing myself. (That is a really dumb thing to do...DON'T do it!)

Diddle (2023)... Diddle is a project I began in late 2022. I love the name primarily because Diddle is an instrumental CD consisting of new jazz and a few borrowed instrumentals from Jazz: The 2920 Sessions, and Park North. And, to me, instrumentals are sometimes just diddling around. Like in Hondo Pass. It is the first time I have ever played lead guitar for five straight minutes...it's a jam. I love it. I think you will love it too. Diddle is a clean, consistent album with my favorite instrumental jazz compositions to date. When I first considered an all-instrumental project, I knew that I could borrow the composition Be Flat featuring saxophonist Frank Zona and keyboardist Ruben Gutierrez from my inaugural jazz CD, Jazz: The 2920 Sessions, and the songs Stone Edge and Run Johnny from my sophomore adventure, Park North. All I needed were five new pieces, and the puzzle would be complete. A note about Run Johnny - there is no bass guitar in this song. I began writing Devil’s Tower, my first work, it was catchy and fun to play. For a while, I performed Devil’s Tower live with just the drum track and my guitar. Then jazz bassist Curt Bushaw added his expertise to the mix. I threw in what I call “Melody #2” and then Ruben Gutierrez came in and added the stellar piano work. Devil’s Tower was the first tune written and the last to be completed. Brookside Drive is brand new. My attempted goal with Brookside was to use a wah-wah pedal through the entire song. I wanted to create a defined use for the wah-wah and not just play wah wah wah wah. I just could not make it work, or let’s say that I didn’t concentrate for long enough to perfect my goal. So what you get is the unique use of the wah-wah in the third passage. You will see what I mean once you give it a listen. Mesa Verde is a beautiful composition. Curt Bushaw and Ruben Gutierrez added their expertise. The slow blues, I Won’t Have It is a very fitting last song on the CD. It is possibly the most powerful song I’ve ever written. I use a Fender Stratocaster on this cut. In each of the five progressions, I use one of the five pickup settings. It is a subtle but effective trick. In need of one more song, Hondo Pass was an impromptu jam late one evening toward the end of the sessions. After three takes, the first take was selected. Straight through - just diddling around.

Blues Salad, The Avocado Sessions Part One (2022)... This is a fun CD loaded with 10 great tunes. I think you are going to love it. The Avocado Sessions Part One primarily features the harmonica work of legendary harp player, Central New York's Tom Townsley. Tom is featured on 7 of the 10 songs. All but one song, Saint James Infirmary Blues, are originals. That being said, this version of the Saint James Infirmary Blues is one of my all-time favorites (except I forgot the last verse - yikes!). Featured on Part One is my favorite drummer Mark Tiffault. Hungry Larry Stringer, T. A. James, and Paul LaRonde share bass duties - all equally great performers. The super-talented George Rossi is featured on piano and organ, and Frank Grosso and John Kane play horns on I Ain't Got No Money. Little Tiny Kitty Cat (I see your eye a peeping) is a brand new song loaded with sexual innuendo. Have fun, and thank you for supporting your musician friends.

There is an extraordinary amount of original music available by clicking on the music link to the left.

Becoming an Author

Mr. Murphy states, "Becoming an author was an unexpected opportunity that opened an entire universe of untapped exploration." In 2008 Arcadia Publishing blanketed the Southwest with proposals for their well-known Images of America series. A beautiful publication that focuses on historical aspects of "any town" America. Each book contains approximately 200 black and white photos accompanied by a brief analysis of each. He was selected to write, El Paso: 1850-1950, and thus, the official book-writing bug began. More than 8,000 photos were examined for the book. The project took one year from conception to the coffee table. El Paso: 1850-1950 is loved by teachers, students, established El Paso families, and new arrivals to this region of the United States. It is available on this site, online through several sources, and locally throughout El Paso. 

His follow-up, My Life Before I Decided To Commit Suicide: A Love Story, began as a series of short stories describing events that led to a nervous breakdown in the mid-1970s. As a new author he realized that in order to truly accomplish his personal goal of becoming a valid author, the storyline and characters would have to be fully dissected, redirected and exposed for all to see. Unknowingly, when he exposed the lives of others, he revealed his own fractured personality as he states, "I probably wish I hadn't, but that is the price paid. When you try to be honest about your take on other people, your own weaknesses and insecurities emerge for all to inspect." While the title, My Life Before I Decided To Commit Suicide - A Love Story, certainly portrays an impending doom, the stories themselves, the memories of innocent youth before that tragic, suicidal day are quirky embellishments of an interesting upbringing in the rolling hills and valleys of Central New York. 

His two 2015 releases are, My Favorite El Pasoans: Past and Present, and, The Right to Kill. In 2017 he released, The South Franklin Trinity, and The Adult Stress Relief Book: I'm So Pissed Off. 

Awards

2025, Sunday Morning   Eight original jazz compositions.  BLBL Publishing. BMI

2025, Live at Shifty's - a raw knock 'm out live session at Syracuse's most acclaimed nightclub. BLBM Publishing. BMI

2024, Composed and produced Canciones de Amor (Songs of Love). BLBM Publishing. BMI.

2024, Composed and produced Blues Salad Part Two - The Avocado Sessions, Raw Fingerpicking and Slide Guitar, BLBM Publishing. BLBM Publishing. BMI

2023, Composed and produced Diddle, an acclaimed instrumental jazz CD BLBM Publishing. BMI
2022, Composed and produced Blues Salad: The Avocado Sessions Part One. Part One is the dismantling of the 4-CD box set, A History of Blues. This series categorizes the box set into three separate entities: 1) harmonica-based blues mostly recorded during the 820 Sessions in Syracuse, NY. 2) fingerpicking blues, and 3) Dou songs featuring guitar, harmonica, and vocals, or guitar, bass, and vocals. Parts two and three should be released in 2023-2024. BLBM Publishing. BMI

2021, Composed and produced the acclaimed jazz CD, Park North, BLBM Publishing. BMI.
2020, Composed and produced the CD, Jazz: The 2920 Sessions, BLBM Publishing. BMI
2020, Released the written work Poetry from a Road Scholar, through Wipf and Stock Resource Publications 
2019, Composed and produced the folk/Americana CD, The Way Things Used To Be. BLBM Publishing 
2019, Founding member of The Iva Turney Society for Arts and Adventure 
2018, Founding member of The Art of the Arts Society 
2017, Released the written work, The South Franklin Trinity, BLBM Publishing 
2017, Released the written work, I'm So Pissed Off!!! - The Adult Stress Release Book, BLBM Publishing 
2015, Released the written work, My Favorite El Pasoans: Past and Present. Released the written work, The Right to Kill, and published the 2nd edition of My Life Before I Decided To Commit Suicide - A Love Story, BLBM Publishing 
2015 -2017, President/Festival Director, El Paso Music Society, Inc. 
2013-2014, President/Festival Director, New York State Blues Festival 
2014, 1st Place, Worthy of Being Called Excellent, Book Publishers of El Paso for the embellished memoir, My Life Before I Decided To Commit Suicide - A Love Story, BLBM Publishing 
2014, 1st Place, Most Promising, Book Publishers of El Paso for, El Paso: 1850 -1950, Arcadia Publishing - Images of America 
2013, SAMMY (Syracuse Area Music Award), Best Blues CD, A History of Blues 
2010, Co-edited El Hilo de la Memoria, Fresco Fine Arts Publications 
2009, Released the written work, El Paso: 1850 -1950, Arcadia Publishing - Images of America 
2009, Founding member, El Paso Blues Society 
2009-2010, President, Los Paisanos de El Chamizal 
2004, Awarded the Selfless Service to Music and the Arts, by the New York State Blues Festival 
2003, Awarded the Keeping the Blues Alive – Best Promoter/Festival, the Blues Foundation, Memphis, TN  
2001, 1999, 1997, Awarded the People’s Choice Award, Best Festival, Syracuse New Times 
1998-2003, Founding member/Festival Director, Guinness Irish Festival, Syracuse, NY 
1996, Awarded a SAMMY – Syracuse Area Music Award for Best Concert Event or Series, NYS Blues Festival 
1995, Service to the Arts award, Cultural Resources Council of Syracuse and Onondaga County 
1992-2003, Principal founding member/Festival Director, New York State Blues Festival, Syracuse, NY

Gear

You wouldn't believe me if I told you...but here goes.

I record in my dining room on a Tascam Digital Portastudio DP 24SD. Look it up. You will laugh. But this is what I work on. My monitor speakers are a couple of Mackie MR5s. I never use any effects other than reverb and a touch of delay here and there on my guitar. 

Guitar-wise, when I first started the 2920 Sessions, I was using my Guild D-40C acoustic. I bought it back in the 1970s. This is when I was recording The Way Things Used To Be. When I switched to the 'jazz' vein, I used my 1990's Strat, and my first electric guitar I purchased, a Guild Starfire III. But then I switched to my 1890s Telecaster. And that is what I have been using. I did purchase a Pat Methaney Ibanez that I will use for my upcoming session, but I haven't used it yet. 

Playing live....you'll get a kick out of this. I run my vocals, my Tele, and my backing tracks through a Yorkville  EXM Mobile 8. As far as pedals go, I only use a delay on the geetar and some reverb on my vocals. Simple is as simple does. All I do these days are solo shows. It works for me.