Among the most innovative drummers to emerge from the '60s new wave of jazz, Sunny Murray was the first to forgo the drummer's traditional role as timekeeper in favor of a more textural approach to the instrument. In the mid '50s, Murray arrived in New York and worked with leading jazz figures such as Red Allen and Willie "The Lion" Smith, as well as proponents of hard-bop and the avant-garde Jackie McLean and Cecil Taylor. He joined Cecil Taylor's group in 1959, touring Europe during the '60s and developing his advanced improvisational instincts. While in Europe he met and joined saxophonist Albert Ayler's trio, recording the monumental 1964 albums GHOSTS and SPIRITUAL UNITY. In the '70s and '80s, Murray co-led the Untouchable Factor and reunited with Taylor for IT IS IN THE BREWING LUMINOUS (1980).