Syracuse blues harmonica player Skip Murphy is best known as the leader of Out of the Blue, a versatile local roots rock band that entertained thousands of nightclub and festival audiences in the 1970s and ’80s.
This Sunday, however, Murphy will lead an equally eclectic swing-blues-jazz combo at the Motto Archive Sunday Musicale, at 2 p.m. Oct. 16, at Fayetteville Free Library’s reading room, 300 Orchard St. Admission is free; fayettevillefreelibrary.org.
Sunday’s musicians include Murphy’s son, bassist Spencer Murphy, along with guitarists Mark Hoffmann and Dave “Big D” Schneider, organist Mike Davis and drummer Eric Cappatto.
Murphy will sing topical tunes like “Times Are Getting’ Tougher than Tough,” though he makes light of his vocal talent or lack thereof. “Yes, I will make the audience suffer,” he sighed. In fact, Murphy’s conversational singing style is actually quite entertaining.
In 1996, Murphy arranged a recording-session reunion of Out of the Blue, and the band released a well-received disc called “Catch the Buzz.”
On Sunday, Murphy’s swingin’ sextet will display its considerable chops on numbers such as Miles Davis’ 1959 composition “All Blues.” Mark Hoffmann, who recently recovered from a life-threatening post-surgery coma, will be featured on tunes like “Magnolia,” “Crazy ’bout My Baby” and “Born in Chicago.” Big D will sing tunes like “I’m Goin’ Fishin,’” and “This Ol’ Cowboy” while Mike Davis will display his B-3 brilliance on “The Creeper” and “Back to the Chicken Shack.”
“I am pumped, excited and I can hardly contain myself,” Murphy said. “It should be a blast.”
The Sunday Musicale Series is supported by the FFL Motto Sheet Music Collection and Friends of the Fayetteville Free Library.
The Motto Sheet Music Collection houses 35,000 sheets of popular American songs from the Civil War through the 1980s. The archive includes 900 music and reference books, CDs and DVDs which are available for check-out. For information, call curator Roberta Hampson at 637-6374, ext. 328.
Future musicales will feature Butternut Creek guitar duo on Nov. 13; the Belle Aire Holiday Bell Ringers with the Rene Hebert Trio on Dec. 4; the John Seiger Quartet on Jan. 15, 2012; and Mark Hoffmann and Friends on Feb. 5, 2012.
For info, visit www.fayettevillefreelibrary.org.
