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Jim Funnell
Since then, he has launched a prolific recording career: five albums as a leader/co-leader of both his own group “Word Out” (modern jazz combo with groove and world tinges) and AfuriKo (African infused jazz duo with percussionist Akiko Horii) have already been released to this day. Jim’s colorful and well-rounded compositional style earned him the Composition Prize in 2011 at the “Trophées du Sunside” in Paris. In 2017, Jazz Magazine (France) featured Woandering, a duo record with saxophonist Philippe Lopes de Sa, as a “Révélation !” and included Jim’s arrangement of She’s Out of My Life (Michael Jackson) on the editorial board’s playlist.
A versatile musician, Jim has played and recorded with artists from across a wide musical spectrum such as David Fiuczynski, New York Gypsy All Stars, Chico Freeman, Ravy Magnifique, Tiger Okoshi, Benjamin de Roubaix, Flox, and, in his own band, bassist Mátyás Szandai, drummers Jeff Boudreaux or John Betsch, and harpist Isabelle Olivier. He has performed at numerous venues across sixteen countries (in Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Africa) and festivals such as the London Jazz Festival, Balkan Trafic! (Brussels), Kathmandu Jazz Festival, Kanazawa Jazz Street (Japan), JazzQ (St. Petersburg), Malta Jazz Festival, Jazz en Touraine, Festival Cinéma d’Alès Itinérances, Festival des Musiques Sacrées de Paris (France), and Central Park SummerStage (New York).
Jim is also active as an educator, teaching both privately and in workshop/masterclass settings (BRICKS Music Salon in Tokyo, Cardiff University School of Music in Wales, Improphile/Jazz de Mars in France, Koyo Conservatory in Kobe, Euro Institute of Music and Arts in Malta…)
Awards
Industry Awards:
- Révélation Jazz Magazine for duo album "Woandering" with saxophonist Philippe Lopes de Sa (2017)
- Full funding (“aide à l’autoproduction“) from French performing rights organization SACEM for the production of AfuriKo’s second album "Style" (2016)
- Full funding (“aide à l’autoproduction“) from French performing rights organization SACEM for the production of AfuriKo’s debut album "On the Far Side" (2014)
- Composition prize at the “Trophées du Sunside” with Jim Funnell’s Word Out (Paris, 2011)
Academic Awards:
- Berklee College of Music Professional Writing Division Wayne Shorter Award (Boston, 2007)
- Berklee College of Music Professional Writing Division Arif Mardin Award (Boston, 2006)
- Berklee College of Music Piano Department Achievement Award (Boston, 2006)
- Berklee College of Music Piano Department Chair Award (Boston, 2005)
- Berklee College of Music Full Tuition Scholarship (American School of Modern Music, Boulogne-Billancourt, 2003)
Gear
- Nord Electro 4D Semi Weighted Waterfall SW61 Keyboard
- microKORG XL Synthesizer/Vocoder
- Roland RD-300SX Digital Stage Piano
- Roland KC-350 4-Ch Mixing Keyboard Amplifier
Tags
New music from Yellow Jackets, Jim Funnels Word Out and Bass Extremes 2
by Len Davis
New Music from Yellow Jackets, Jim Funnel, and Bass Extremes, plus Miles Davis. Raoul Bjorkenheim-Bill Laswell-Morgran Agren. Cindy Blackman Santana with Velocity and Gary Husband with The Trackers. Playlist Yellow Jackets Onyx Manor" from Parallel Motion (Mack Avenue) 00:00 Hakan Basar Hub Art" from On Top Of The Roof (Ubuntu) 06:32 Miles Davis Hopscotch" from Bootleg Vol 7 (Sony) 13:00 Jim Funnel Bitcorn Soup" from Bitcorn Soup (Self Produced) 19:29 Raoul Bjorkenheim-Bill Laswell-Morgan Agren Tools" from Blixt (Cuneiform) ...
read more3x3: Piano Trios: October 2021
by Geno Thackara
It's a pretty worldly mix of trios here. While the instrumental setup is familiar as ever, these are players always happy to take it out of jazz land and wander anywhere else they wish. Jim Funnell's Word Out! Live in Japan Self Produced 2021 While Jim Funnell isn't notably prolific, he makes a convincing case for quality over quantity. A lot of living goes into making each of his works -besides absorbing ideas ...
read moreAfuriKo: Tao
by Geno Thackara
On first impression, AfuriKo seems to sit somewhere between groovy Miles Davis circa Big Fun (Columbia, 1974) and the electric '70s fusion of, say, Joe Zawinul or Jeff Beck. You have the deep rhythms, world- spanning percussion and any tone an electric piano can make. The name is a portmanteau combining the Japanese terms for child" and Africa," while the approach to music is rooted in that continent's griot traditions of conveying stories and experiences in song. Akiko ...
read more- Franck Bergerot, Jazz Magazine (August 2017)
“This arrangement of Michael Jackson’s hyper-emotional ballad [ She's Out of My Life ] (“Off the Wall,” 1979) won't possibly leave you indifferent.”
- Jazz Magazine's “playlist” article (July 2017)
"Autumn Leaves [...] began with a solo performance of Funnell on keyboard who was joined by Horii on cajon and the magic of their music slowly took over the venue
Primary Instrument
Piano
Location
New York City
Willing to teach
Beginner to advanced
Credentials/Background
2007 - present
• freelance private instruction (piano, improvisation, music theory/composition, guitar)
2008 - 2009
• jazz piano and ensemble teacher, Conservatoire
Municipal de Musique et de Danse (Mennecy, France)
2007 - 2008
• piano teacher (jazz and classical), Institut de Culture
Musicale (Paris, France)
Clinic/Workshop Information
2009
• jazz piano masterclass, Koyo Conservatory (Kobe, Japan)
• jazz masterclass (rhythm section), Euro Institute for Music and
Arts (Hamrun, Malta)
2008
• improvisation workshop, Conservatoire Municipal de Musique et
de Danse (Mennecy, France)
2007
• "Stylistic Interpretation" and "Musical Improvisation" workshops,
Unidad Académica de Música de la UAZ (Zacatecas, México) &
Escuela de Música aRtes Revueltas (Cholula, México)
• jazz piano masterclass, Foxborough High School (Foxborough,
MA, USA)
2006
• "Basic Musical Improvisation" workshop, Unidad Académica de
Música de la UAZ (Zacatecas, México)
• latin music workshop, Booker T