Miko Stefanovic (August 19, 1908 â€" August 5, 2005), better known as
Lyle 'Spud' Murphy, was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist,
bandleader, and arranger.Born Miko Stefanovic to Serbian émigré
parents in Berlin, Germany, Murphy grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah,
where he took the name of a childhood friend.Murphy studied clarinet
and saxophone when young and took trumpet lessons from Red Nichols's
father. He worked with Jimmy Joy in 1927â€"28 and with Ross Gorman and
Slim Lamar (on oboe) in 1928. He worked in the early 1930s as
saxophonist and arranger for Austin Wylie, Jan Garber, Mal Hallett,
and Joe Haymes, then became a staff arranger for Benny Goodman from
1935â€"1937. At the same time he contributed arrangements for the Casa
Loma Orchestra, Isham Jones, and Les Brown.From 1937â€"1940 Murphy led
a big band, and from 1938â€"39 recorded for Decca Records and Bluebird
Records. In the 1940s he moved to Los Angeles, where worked in studios
and film music, in addition to writing and teaching the 1200-page
System of Horizontal Composition (a.k.a. "Equal Interval System"). He
recorded two jazz albums in the 1950s, but his later career was
focused on classical and film music. In the film world, Murphy was
staff composer and arranger for Columbia Pictures under Morris
Stoloff. He worked on over 50 films, including The Tony Fontane Story,
which won him the Neff Award for best music score.
Lyle 'Spud' Murphy, was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist,
bandleader, and arranger.Born Miko Stefanovic to Serbian émigré
parents in Berlin, Germany, Murphy grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah,
where he took the name of a childhood friend.Murphy studied clarinet
and saxophone when young and took trumpet lessons from Red Nichols's
father. He worked with Jimmy Joy in 1927â€"28 and with Ross Gorman and
Slim Lamar (on oboe) in 1928. He worked in the early 1930s as
saxophonist and arranger for Austin Wylie, Jan Garber, Mal Hallett,
and Joe Haymes, then became a staff arranger for Benny Goodman from
1935â€"1937. At the same time he contributed arrangements for the Casa
Loma Orchestra, Isham Jones, and Les Brown.From 1937â€"1940 Murphy led
a big band, and from 1938â€"39 recorded for Decca Records and Bluebird
Records. In the 1940s he moved to Los Angeles, where worked in studios
and film music, in addition to writing and teaching the 1200-page
System of Horizontal Composition (a.k.a. "Equal Interval System"). He
recorded two jazz albums in the 1950s, but his later career was
focused on classical and film music. In the film world, Murphy was
staff composer and arranger for Columbia Pictures under Morris
Stoloff. He worked on over 50 films, including The Tony Fontane Story,
which won him the Neff Award for best music score.
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