Biography: James Murrell
James Murrell is a guitarist, composer, and singer from the Dayton, Ohio area. He plays Jazz, Rock, Pop, and other styles of American music. James grew up in Mt.Orab, Ohio about 40 miles east of Cincinnati. Most of the music that he was exposed to in his youth was Classic Rock, Country, Gospel, and Bluegrass. James started playing guitar when I was 10 years old in 1979.
James had a teacher named Lloyd Hazelbaker when he was 13 who had been a western swing steel guitarist that had been featured on the hit 1950‘s TV show “The Midwestern Hayride“ and a featured artist in the first Fender Musical Instruments catalog. Lloyd told James that he was going to be a Jazz guitarist when he grew up but, at that time, James had no idea what Jazz was. Lloyd went on to teach James a lot of old standards like "the Autumn Leaves" and “All Of Me“.
Later, when James was 19, he decided to go to college for music. He went to the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music Preparatory Department and studied with Phil Willis. Then James went on to study with James E. Smith at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio near Dayton, Ohio. James then started teaching and performing through out the Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus areas. James then found out about the Berklee College Of Music online school (www.berkleemusic.com) and started classes in the winter of 2009 and finished a Specialist Certificate in Advanced Guitar in May, 2009.
James has performed at most of the establishments in the Dayton, Ohio and Cincinnati, Ohio areas including the Schuster Center, the Victoria Theater, Pacchia restaurant, the Nite Owl, Jazz Central, and the Brown Dog Cafe. James has also performed at the Guitar Fest in Centerville, Ohio for the last 6 years and at the Lancaster Festival.
James recorded "Blue Sky Park" in 2004, "Look For Hope" in 2006, and "After Hours" in 2008. He has also recorded many demos through out the years. James took all of the originals from these recordings and released them as one digital release called "Songs Of My Life" through ReverbNation.com. James’ latest music release is the album "The Source" which he recorded and played all the music on. Both "Songs Of My Life" and "The Source" are available at all major online music retailers.
James Murrell is a guitarist, composer, and singer from the Dayton, Ohio area. He plays Jazz, Rock, Pop, and other styles of American music. James grew up in Mt.Orab, Ohio about 40 miles east of Cincinnati. Most of the music that he was exposed to in his youth was Classic Rock, Country, Gospel, and Bluegrass. James started playing guitar when I was 10 years old in 1979.
James had a teacher named Lloyd Hazelbaker when he was 13 who had been a western swing steel guitarist that had been featured on the hit 1950‘s TV show “The Midwestern Hayride“ and a featured artist in the first Fender Musical Instruments catalog. Lloyd told James that he was going to be a Jazz guitarist when he grew up but, at that time, James had no idea what Jazz was. Lloyd went on to teach James a lot of old standards like "the Autumn Leaves" and “All Of Me“.
Later, when James was 19, he decided to go to college for music. He went to the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music Preparatory Department and studied with Phil Willis. Then James went on to study with James E. Smith at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio near Dayton, Ohio. James then started teaching and performing through out the Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus areas. James then found out about the Berklee College Of Music online school (www.berkleemusic.com) and started classes in the winter of 2009 and finished a Specialist Certificate in Advanced Guitar in May, 2009.
James has performed at most of the establishments in the Dayton, Ohio and Cincinnati, Ohio areas including the Schuster Center, the Victoria Theater, Pacchia restaurant, the Nite Owl, Jazz Central, and the Brown Dog Cafe. James has also performed at the Guitar Fest in Centerville, Ohio for the last 6 years and at the Lancaster Festival.
James recorded "Blue Sky Park" in 2004, "Look For Hope" in 2006, and "After Hours" in 2008. He has also recorded many demos through out the years. James took all of the originals from these recordings and released them as one digital release called "Songs Of My Life" through ReverbNation.com. James’ latest music release is the album "The Source" which he recorded and played all the music on. Both "Songs Of My Life" and "The Source" are available at all major online music retailers.