jazz pianist, composer, arranger, producer, and educator. 

Dan Murphy is a very versatile jazz pianist in Chicago, IL. He is equally capable as a leader and a sideman with a tremendous amount of experience playing standard and modern repertoire. In October 2013, Dan released his debut album on Armored Records entitled Undisclosed Location, including five original compositions. His second album will be released early next year, as well as an album with the Ashley Summers Quintet featuring saxophonist Seamus Blake entitled True North.

Dan performs with many Chicago artists including Paul Marinaro, Rose Colella, Mark O’Connor, the Tony DoRosario Trio, the Josh Rzepka Trio, and the New Standard Jazz Orchestra. He is featured on albums such as Rose Colella’s Cocktail, the Vital Organ Trio’s Transplant, the Bi-Coastal Jazz Collective’s Chapter Three, and both Bobby Selvaggio’s Visions and Transitions and Modern Times. In addition, the New Standard Jazz Orchestra’s 2016 debut album Waltz About Nothing received a 4-star review in Downbeat Magazine. 

Murphy has performed with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, toured extensively in the U.S. and Japan with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, and was a pianist for Princess Cruises. Dan has also performed with Disney’s Collegiate All-Star Band in Orlando, FL and Anaheim, CA.

Murphy holds an MM in Jazz Studies from Youngstown State University and a BM in Jazz Studies from the University of Akron. He has taught at Youngstown State University, Ashland University, and Harold Washington College, and is currently a Senior Lecturer in Jazz Theory and Piano at the University of Illinois Chicago. He is also the Director of Music at St. James Church in the Bronzeville neighborhood.