About

Thanks for visiting Murray Low Music!  

Making music has always been an important, if not central part of my life. I grew up in a musical family. My grandfather played the bagpipes, fiddle and mouth organ. My mother played the piano. My father knew one song on the guitar and four on the piano, before picking up and dedicating himself to the saxophone late in life. My three brothers all played instruments. Growing up, the house was filled with music.

This next photo was in the Vancouver Sun in 1960 to promote the annual concert of the Kerrisdale Kiwanis Boys and Girls Band. All four Low boys were in the band!

In high school, I played in a rock band and flirted with becoming a professional jazz sax player. I had some confidence in my talent but soon realized that I lacked the dedication and single-mindedness to be a professional musician. I found the guitar more social, and song writing more expressive. In college, I lived with four guys who all played. Every night was a jam session.

But life gets in the way and for years my guitar and sax mostly sat in the case. Then about 20 years ago I splurged and I bought my first decent guitar, a Taylor 810 CE, which I love and is still my main guitar.

I started writing songs again, and after a short while had a list of 15 – 20 new songs. I met Michael Mugrage, a talented guitar player, songwriter and producer, and together we did my first CD, “Stories.”

As a songwriter, I could always hear the other instruments in my head. But what a thrill to be in the studio with great musicians, and hear it come to life!  It was totally exhilarating! It was an honor to have such talent playing my music!

The first CD was a happy experience and we decided to just keep going. A year later we released “Slipping Away.”  This album had a somewhat bigger sound, with a full drum-kit and horns.

Then life got in the way again, and it was hard to find time for music with a busy career. But I did keep writing songs. A tune would get in my head like an ear worm. And I would scratch out lyrics on scraps of paper and the back of envelopes. I reached out to Michael and said, “We have to do another record!”  

In 2016, with the help of bass player and engineer Seth Glassman, we produced “The Itinerant Professor.” With this record, we wanted the feel of a live band, and Michael once again brought together a group of superbly talented musicians. I think my song writing and musicianship had also evolved. This record was more polished.

And I also dusted off the sax. Actually, my old sax had been in the case for so long it was no longer playable, so I splurged again and bought a classic Selmer Alto Mark VI. If you are a sax player, you will be impressed! I still don’t hit all the right notes, but I’m amazed how quickly it came back.

After “The Itinerant Professor,” Michael and I started getting together every week or so to make music. We invited other musicians to join us, recorded the sessions on video, and began sharing them online as “Live from Murray’s Living Room!”  You’ll find a bunch of these videos on my YouTube channel.

In one of these sessions, we met Annie who has a spell binding, brilliant voice. She became a regular guest and the three of us started working on a record. The result was “Pie in the Sky,” a two-CD extravaganza that was co-written and a mix of our three musical styles.  It’s probably the most listenable of all the records because of the variety of voices, textures and perspectives. It turns out we are all story tellers! We kept writing songs and ended up with a double album. Such fun!  Sam Warfield was the masterful engineer who became a fourth member of the core team. 

Then the pandemic hit, and that put an ugly stop to everything!  We tried writing songs over the internet, but it wasn’t the same. By the summer of 2020, I decided it was time to get out of town! I hitched my trailer behind my pickup truck and headed west, spending a glorious summer mostly in Wyoming and Oregon. Great places to write songs! The result was my album, “Old Dog”.

The following year I was on the road again, spending the summer in the Yukon and Alaska: hiking, biking, paddling, and whenever possible, playing the guitar!  But when I passed through Seattle, my trailer was vandalized, and my travel guitar stolen!  At Thunder Road Guitars I found, and fell in love with, a 1957 Gibson LG-3. Here it is on steps of my trailer in the Land of the Midnight Sun!

And now I am releasing my sixth record, titled “I’ve Found My Heaven.” This one is special, because it is a collaboration with my wife, Molly. She sings backup vocals and is featured singing her own song “For Our Love” on the last track on the album. I think it is the most beautiful song on the record. She also did the painting for the album cover. Also beautiful!

I hope you enjoy the website. Please share it with anyone you think will enjoy it! 

Best musical wishes, 

Murray