Funeral, visitation, and memorial jams to honor Clifford Murphy

Final arrangements for the late jazz icon set

By Tom Henry/The Blade
Tue, 03 Dec 2019 17:05:51 GMT

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Final arrangements for the late jazz icon Clifford Murphy are as follows:

■ Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at The Ark of Toledo, 2500 Nebraska Ave.

■ Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Mount Pilgrim Church - The Household of Faith, 1401 Hoag St. The services will be preceded by a family hour that begins at 10 a.m.

■ A free, memorial tribute jam will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Hill Street Blues Cafe, 3535 Hill Ave., behind the Sunoco station. Singer Ramona Collins is putting out invitations to several area jazz and blues musicians to perform.

Earlier Sunday, from 2 to 6 p.m., the final regularly scheduled Second Sunday Jazz Jam will be dedicated to Mr. Murphy. The original theme was changed because of his passing.

The near-monthly event is held at the home of Keith Bernhard, 1117 Independence Rd. Mr. Bernhard is a former drummer of The Murphys. The event is open to all jazz fans. There is no cover charge, but a tip jar is set out for musicians. Multi-instrumental jazz artist Gene Parker is the featured performer for that event. Photos and some commentary about Mr. Murphy’s impact will be provided. Parking is on side streets and in the lot at Sleepy Hollow Park.

Mr. Murphy, a bassist who was a fixture in the local jazz community for decades, died Wednesday night in ProMedica Toledo Hospital from multiple health issues. He was 87, and co-owned the former Murphy’s Place nightclub in downtown Toledo, which closed in 2011.

His daughter, Deborah Murphy, told The Blade she needed time to confirm venues for the visitation, funeral, and memorial jazz session because of a large number of people expected to attend. She announced those to the newspaper Tuesday morning. Scheduling was further complicated because Mr. Murphy’s passing occurred only three hours before Thanksgiving.

For other information, see the House of Day Funeral Service website.

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