Album Notes

Murl Allen Sanders

Murl Allen Sanders is a free-lance musician and recording artist who has been active in the Seattle area music scene and across the United States for over twenty-five years. He performs and records regularly with his own bands, as a soloist, and with numerous bands in the Northwest. Murl plays piano, accordion, B-3, electronic keyboards, harmonica, sings, teaches and composes music. Murl has worked with such diverse artists as Chuck Berry, Etta James, The Von Trapp Children, Theodore Bikel, Leslie Gore, Barbara Lamb and Peter Duchin.

Murl's Accordion Concerto #1 had a world premiere June 6, 2003 with Orchestra Seattle conducted by Maestro George Shangrow at Meany Hall on the University of Washington campus.

In September 2002, Murl's group played for the opening night gala for Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall. Murl was a featured artist at the First and Second Annual Las Vegas International Accordion Convention in 2000 and 2001 performing and teaching workshops. Murl appeared at the Arizona Accordion Club in March 2002 and 2003. Murl is a member of the Northwest Accordion Society and performs regularly at Seattle's Day of the Accordion and has been featured at the Forest Grove Accordion Club as well. Murl was also a featured artist at the Third Annual Cotati Festival in 1993. In 2003 Murl was a featured artist at the Leavenworth Festival, the Chemainus B.C. Festival and appeared at accordion clubs in Milwaukee and Chicago.

Murl's latest release is an accordion CD "Can You Dance To It?" featuring all original tunes and his band. He has two other CD's "Soon" and "New Romance and Doin' All Right" plus a solo piano LP "Guides and Spirits" and is featured on dozens of recordings by other artists. Murl's solo piano CD "New Romance and Doin' All Right" from 1996 still receives airplay on KPLU-FM and KING -FM. You currently hear Murl's music in retail stores on the MUZAK network and in Nordstrom's own background music system. Recently Murl played accordion for the soundtrack for a feature film starring Eileen Brennan called "Moonglow" and a short film for the 1997 Seattle International Film Festival entitled "It's Only Temporary". You may have heard Murl as the soundtrack for the "Ivar's Dancing Clam and Sea Captain" TV and radio commercials or the "Accordion Logger" TV spots for Washington Mutual Bank.