Support Future Musical Artists
Please consider joining the Murray family by making a gift to the Murray Jazz Residency Fund.
Murray Jazz Residency
The Murray Jazz Residency Artist for Spring 2024 is Drew Gress. Performances April 3 and April 5.
Founded in 2008, the Murray Jazz Residency brings internationally acclaimed jazz and improvisation artists to the campus for a full week of engagement with the students of Towson University’s Department of Music.
These guest artists provide valuable models of the potential for creating a niche in today’s world of creative music making.
Featuring TU alumni Drew Gress and Ellery Eskelin as recurring biannual guest artists has proven to be a potent example that life in creative music is available through dedication and determination.
The Murray Jazz Residency continues to inspire future musical artists through the sustained generous gifts of Bill Murray, Vira J. Denney and the Murray Family.
About the Spring 2024 Artist: Drew Gress
Bassist/composer Drew Gress performs extensively with artists on the cutting edge of contemporary improvised music. Gress maintains an extensive touring schedule, traveling to Europe, Asia, and South America, and has served as Artist-in-Residence at St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia and at the Paris Conservatoire.
He has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer, and Chamber Music America and currently resides in New York. To date, he has appeared on over 140 recordings, 4 of which have received Grammy nominations.
Those with whom he has and continues to work include Tim Berne, Ravi Coltrane, Uri Caine, John Hollenbeck, Fred Hersch, Marc Copeland, Don Byron, Steve Coleman, Dave Douglas, Jack DeJohnette, John Surman, Ray Anderson, Erik Friedlander, Kenny Werner, Bill Carrothers, Ralph Alessi, Tony Malaby, Steve Lehman and Edsel Gomez.
Composition awards include an NEA grant (1990), funding from Meet the Composer (2003), a Chamber Music America New Works Grant (2005), a CMA French-American Exchange Grant (2007) and an Encore Grant from that same organization (2008). He continues to compose for larger groups and has begun experimenting with virtual synthesizers.
Additional Featured Artists
- Drew Gress (2009, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2022)
- Ellery Eskelin (2010, 2011, 2014, 2017)
- Tim Hagans (2009)
- John Hollenbeck (2009)
- Gerald Cleaver (2010)
- Craig Taborn (2012)
- Matt Wilson (2012)
- Ralph Alessi (2013)
- Mary Halvorson (2014)
- Tony Malaby (2015)
- Tim Berne (2016)
- Kris Davis (2017)
- William Parker (2018)
- Mark Guiliana (2019)
- Oliver Lake (2021)
- Angelica Sanchez (2022)
- Wadada Leo Smith (2023)
- Gretchen Parlato (2023)