He went on to study with Krupa, Louis Bellson, and Joseph Levitt, the principal percussionist of the National Symphony Orchestra and director of the Peabody Conservatory.
[2] Following Lyons' untimely death in 1986,[4] Murphy spent time playing drums in Las Vegas, then moved back to San Francisco, where he formed Trio Hurricane with saxophonist Glenn Spearman and bassist William Parker.
[3] He moved back to the Washington, D.C. area in 1990, and has since collaborated with pianists Joel Futterman and Larry Willis,[5] poet Jere Carroll, and others.
"[1] One reviewer wrote "It is hard to believe that Murphy is actually moving through space as he moves from one part of the drum set to another because the action is seamless... Murphy uses every tool he has on every drum surface; hands, brushes, mallets and sticks on snare, tom, cymbals, bass and bongos.
"[7] With Jimmy Lyons With Larry Willis With Raphe Malik With Eddie Gale With Mary Anne Driscoll With Kendra Shank With Windmill Saxophone Quartet Compilations