The Murphy's

The Murphy's

Clifford Murphy had a dream.  He wanted to come home to Toledo, get out of the van, and buy himself a jazz club where he could play whenever he felt like it and whatever he felt like.  And he did; Murphy's Place came to life in downtown Toledo in an old building in 1983.  A few years later he packed up and moved into 151 Water Street overlooking the Maumee River where he would play his 200 year old double bass with his piano player and dear friend, Claude Black, for the next 22 years.  He presented some of the finest musicians in the world right alongside local kids just breaking in.  He and Claude, together with a variety of fine musicians from the Detroit-Toledo axis, played hundreds of shows over the years - five or six nights a week, sometimes seven.  By the time they were done, Clifford and Claude had been together off and on (mostly on) for over sixty years.  They could read each others minds by this point, and when the spirit was on them, there was no better music anywhere. 

This is the scene Anna walked into in late November of 2007.