LIVE MUSIC - Chris Murray genre: Ska, reggae

Chris Murray is a unique force on today's music scene. Born in Toronto, he earned a strong reputation as a dynamic performer and gifted songwriter as leader of influential Canadian ska group King Apparatus. Upon the band's breakup, he relocated to Los Angeles, emerging as a solo artist with The 4-Track Adventures Of Venice Shoreline Chris, recorded in various locations on a portable 4-track cassette recorder.

Entering LA's ultra-purist rock steady scene armed only with an acoustic guitar, Chris has become a leading figure in the world's foremost authentic Jamaican music community. As host of Bluebeat Lounge, a popular weekly concert series focusing on reggae and ska, Chris promoted more than 350 shows over seven years at Hollywood's Knitting Factory.

Life has led Chris down a musical path to the very roots of reggae music. From trading songs on acoustic guitar with boogie-ska pioneer Laurel Aitken and singing with famed bandleader Carlos Malcom, to jamming with The Specials in a basement club and recording with Jamaica's original rhythm section, Lloyd Knibb and Lloyd Brevett, Chris has served his apprenticeship with the finest musicians associated with the genre. He has also performed with backing groups for such legendary Jamaican artists as Rico Rodriguez, Leonard Dillon (The Ethiopians), Eric Morris and Prince Buster.

Chris has toured on five continents, sometimes solo, sometimes with his LA band Chris Murray Combo, and sometimes backed by local groups. His travels have taken him throughout the US, Canada, Europe, the UK, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, South Korea, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.