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John McNeil

John McNeil is regarded as one of the most original and creative jazz artists in the world today. For nearly three decades John has toured with his own groups and has received widespread acclaim as both a player and composer. His highly personal trumpet style communicates across the full range of contemporary jazz, and his compositions combine harmonic freedom with melodic accessibility. John's restless experimentation has kept him on the cutting edge of new music.

His background includes the Horace Silver Quintet, Gerry Mulligan, and the Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis Orchestra. John is equally at home in free and structured settings, and this versatility has put him on stage with artists from Slide Hampton to John Abercrombie.

John McNeil was born in 1948 in northern California. Due to a lack of available musical instruction in his home town of Yreka, John largely taught himself to play trumpet and read music. By the time he graduated from high school in 1966, John had already begun playing professionally in the northern California region.

John moved to New York in the mid-1970's and began a freelance career. His reputation as an innovative trumpet voice began to grow as he played with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, and led his own groups at clubs such as Boomer's, the legendary Village jazz room.

In the late 70's, John joined the Horace Silver Quintet. Around the same time, he began recording for the SteepleChase label under his own name and toured internationally.

Although he has worked as a sideman with such luminaries as Gerry Mulligan, John has consistently led his own groups from about 1980 to the present. He has recorded numerous albums that have met with excellent reviews, and continues to record with similar acclaim.

In the 1990's, John became increasingly in demand as a writer, arranger, and record producer. He continues these activities in addition to his usual schedule of live performance.

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Album Review

Hush Point: Hush Point III

Read "Hush Point III" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Hush Point è un quartetto cooperativo operante a New York che ha pubblicato un primo disco, omonimo, nel 2013 e un secondo l'anno successivo (Blues and Reds Sunnyside). In questo terzo capitolo conferma l'identità stilistica di fondo, che colloca la tensione sperimentale in un quadro espressivo di derivazione West Coast. Da quel composito universo musicale e geografico, il quartetto riprende la dimensione (allora) più innovativa, scegliendo la formula pianoless che caratterizzò i gruppi di Gerry Mulligan e di Ornette Coleman ...

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Album Review

John McNeil: Hush Point III

Read "Hush Point III" reviewed by Budd Kopman


Trumpeter John McNeil is a real trooper, battling and overcoming much physical adversity, but nevertheless engaging in long-term projects such as the group Hush Point. Joined by saxophonist Jeremy Udden, with Aryeh Kobrinsky on bass and Anthony Pinciotti on drums, McNeil's somewhat idiosyncratic sense of humor (musical and otherwise) is on display, as is his desire to forge a true group sound and aesthetic. The group's marvelous, and purposefully underwhelming third release Hush Point III is full of ...

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Album Review

Hush Point: Hush Point

Read "Hush Point" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero


Se tra i dieci brani contenuti in Hush Point due portano la firma di Jimmy Giuffre, se la front-line del quartetto pianoless è formato da tromba e sax, e se il trombettista del gruppo ha mosso i primi passi nella California degli anni sessanta, qualche indizio su quello che si andrà ad ascoltare ci viene pur fornito. Ed in effetti siamo dalle parti di celebri connubi quali Jimmy Giuffre/Shorty Rogers, Chet Baker/Gerry Mulligan, ed ancheLee Konitz/Warne Marsh ...

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Extended Analysis

John McNeil: Hush Point

Read "John McNeil: Hush Point" reviewed by Dave Wayne


Anyone who has played music with others on a regular basis understands inherently that, during a live performance, the sounds emanating from the instruments themselves have a way of clashing or canceling each other out. It's all in the frequencies. Bass and toms get mixed up on the low end, cymbals can kill a clarinet or soprano saxophone. It's not a coincidence that many horn players breath a sigh of relief when they see the drummer go to the brushes. ...

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Album Review

Hush Point: Hush Point

Read "Hush Point" reviewed by Mark Corroto


The quartet Hush Point conjures the possibilities of small group hipness. One that quips instead of guffaws, and prefers covertness to the obvious. Led by John McNeil, this quartet of saxophonist Jeremy Udden, bassist Aryeh Kobrinksy, and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza may be new, but McNeil's sage coolness isn't. The sixty-something trumpeter has been delivering hip since the 1970s with the Horace Silver Quintet and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. As with his previous recordings with saxophonists Bill McHenry, ...

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Profile

John McNeil's Backbone

Read "John McNeil's Backbone" reviewed by Ben Waltzer


Like many trumpeters, John McNeil has a unique brand above his upper lip where flesh meets metal. It looks like a setting sun, and was visible from up close, as he removed his instrument from his mouth, rose steadily from his stool, and grasped the microphone. “This is the part of any jazz gig where the band plays a blues and one of us talks over it. That's how you know it's jazz...I think," said McNeil, 62, ...

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Album Review

John McNeil and Bill McHenry: Chill Morn He Climb Jenny

Read "Chill Morn He Climb Jenny" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose


Navigating the wide avenue of American Song can be boring, because the same charts appear on album after album; but when musicians either pick little-known charts of the celebrated composers of the American Songbook, or add little-known composers to that musical tome, things get quirky, but utterly refreshing. This is exactly the case in point regarding Chill Morn He Climb Jenny, the anagrammatic title that would otherwise spell the names of thois quirky duo--trumpeter John McNeil and tenor saxophonist, Bill ...

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Event

New Voices, New Sounds - A New Venue For Jazz In NYC

New Voices, New Sounds  - A New Venue For Jazz In NYC

Source: Susheel Kurien

Following a successful season of First Sunday Jazz Salon at the RIVAA Gallery, the Roosevelt Island Visual Art's Association is pleased to announce NEW VOICES, NEW SOUNDS @ RIVAA NEW VOICES, NEW SOUNDS is an innovative and artistically curated music series that showcases fresh talent that is destined to make their mark on the New York jazz scene. With progressive and contemporary sounds that are rooted in the jazz tradition, these new voices bring fresh perspective and an innovative interpretation ...

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Recording

John McNeil - East Coast Cool (Omnitone)

John McNeil - East Coast Cool (Omnitone)

Source: Master of a Small House

Temperature tags have long since fallen out of fashion as codifiers for coastal jazz differences. But damn if trumpeter John McNeil hasn't struck pay dirt, intended incongruities aside, with East Coast Cool, his third outing for Omnitone. The primary source of inspiration for the project lies in the corpus of the classic pianoless Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker quartet. McNeil's resume even includes an early career stint in Mulligan's employ along with apprenticeships with Horace Silver and the Thad Jones/Mel ...

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Performance / Tour

John McNeil/Bill McHenry Quartet (Fri-Sat) Peter Van Huffel Quintet (Sun) This Weekend at Cornelia Street Cafe

John McNeil/Bill McHenry Quartet (Fri-Sat) Peter Van Huffel Quintet (Sun) This Weekend at Cornelia Street Cafe

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

CORNELIA STREET CAFE 29 Cornelia Street, NYC, New York 212-989-9319 between West 4th and Bleecker Sts, Greenwich Village 1 Subway to Sheridan Square; A, C, E, B, D, V, F to West 4th St. This Weekend At Cornelia Street Cafe Fri Nov 23, 9:00PM & 10:30PM JOHN MCNEIL/BILL MCHENRY QUARTET John McNeil, trumpet;Bill McHenry, saxophone;Ben Street, bass;Jochen Rueckert, drums Sat Nov 24 9:00PM & 10:30PM JOHN ...

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Performance / Tour

South American Women Series (Mon-Tue) Malaby/Lightcap/Wilson (Wed) John McNeil/Bill McHenry Quartet (Fri) This Week at Cornelia Street Caf

South American Women Series (Mon-Tue) Malaby/Lightcap/Wilson (Wed) John McNeil/Bill McHenry Quartet (Fri) This Week at Cornelia Street Caf

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

CORNELIA STREET CAFE 29 Cornelia Street, NYC, New York 212-989-9319 between West 4th and Bleecker Sts, Greenwich Village 1 Subway to Sheridan Square; A, C, E, B, D, V, F to West 4th St. This Week At Cornelia Street Cafe Mon Nov 19, 8:30PM SOUTH AMERICAN WOMEN SERIES: VOCALISTS CREATING IN NY Sabrina Lastman, voice;Emilio Solla, piano;Pablo Asln, bass;Sofia Tosello, voice;Gabriel Hermidas, guitars;Julian Santillan, guitar;Jorge Roeder, bass;Dave Silliman, ...

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Performance / Tour

John McNeil & East Coast Cool at Firehouse 12

John McNeil & East Coast Cool at Firehouse 12

Source: All About Jazz


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Performance / Tour

John McNeil East Coast Cool (Fri.) Mark Helias/Ray Anderson Duo (Sat.) Malaby/Sanchez/Rainey (Sun.) & More This Weekend at Cornelia St. Cafe

John McNeil East Coast Cool (Fri.) Mark Helias/Ray Anderson Duo (Sat.) Malaby/Sanchez/Rainey (Sun.) & More This Weekend at Cornelia St. Cafe

Source: All About Jazz

To: Listings/Critics/Features From: JAZZ PROMO SERVICES Press Contact: JIM EIGO, [email protected] Cornelia Street Cafe 29 Cornelia Street Greenwich Village, NY 10014 Tel: 212-989-9319 Fax: 212-243-4207 Web: corneliastreetcafe.com between West 4th and Bleecker Sts, Greenwich Village 1,9 Subway to Sheridan Square; A, C, E, B, D, F to West 4th St. This Weekend at Cornelia Street Cafe Dec 16 - Dec 18 Friday Dec 16 6:00PM PINK PONY POETRY Poez Jackie Sheeler, host This is what the press has said about ...

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Performance / Tour

John Mcneil's Insomnia Band (Tonight) Louise Rogers/Rick Strong (Sun) Serial Underground (Mon) at the Cornelia Street Cafe

John Mcneil's Insomnia Band (Tonight) Louise Rogers/Rick Strong (Sun) Serial Underground (Mon) at the Cornelia Street Cafe

Source: All About Jazz

October 8, 2005 To: Listings/Critics/Features From: JAZZ PROMO SERVICES Press Contact: JIM EIGO, [email protected] Cornelia Street Cafe 29 Cornelia Street Greenwich Village, NY 10014 Tel: 212-989-9319 Fax: 212-243-4207 Web: corneliastreetcafe.com between West 4th and Bleecker Sts, Greenwich Village 1,9 Subway to Sheridan Square; A, C, E, B, D, F to West 4th St. “a culinary as well as a cultural landmark" Mayoral Proclamation, City of New York 1987 Sat-Sun-Mon Oct. 8 thg Oct. 10 This Week at Cornelia Street Cafe ...

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Performance / Tour

John McNeil Quartet w/Bill McHenry Saturday, Feb. 5th at One Station Plaza

John McNeil Quartet w/Bill McHenry Saturday, Feb. 5th at One Station Plaza

Source: All About Jazz

Saturday, Feb. 5th John McNeil Quartet featuring John McNeil-trumpet Bill McHenry-tenor saxophone Ron Vincent- bass Mike McGuirk-drums at One Station Plaza 38 Division St Peekskill, NY 10566 (914) 736-1053 http://www.onestationplaza.com/ First set at 9:00 p.m. John McNeil's Sleep Won't Come (OmniTone) was named one of the Top 10 jazz releases of 2004 by David Adler of All About Jazz and Virginia Schaefer of Jazz Improv Magazine. The album received a four-star review in Downbeat and was given honorable mention by ...

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Performance / Tour

John McNeil's Urban Legend at The Cornelia Street Cafe Thursday, October 14th 8:30 - 11:00 PM

John McNeil's Urban Legend at The Cornelia Street Cafe Thursday, October 14th  8:30 - 11:00 PM

Source: All About Jazz

JOHN MCNEIL'S URBAN LEGEND at The Cornelia Street Cafe 29 Cornelia Street NYC 10014 212-989-9319 www.corneliastreetcafe.com 8:30 - 11:00 PM Cover $10 featuring John McNeil, trumpet; Bill McHenry, tenor saxophone; Steve Cardenas, guitar; Mike McGuirk, bass; Matt Wilson, drums What the critic's have to say about John McNeil's 2004 release (OmniTone 15208) Sleep Won't Come “...the merging of classicism, freedom and eclecticism ...

"...plays his horn with a soulfulness that is rarely heard these days. [His] poetic, dusky-toned trumpet is very close to song." —Chicago Tribune

"McNeil's solos were by and large the most incisive features of the night." —London Daily Mail

"John McNeil's music is not a dim echo of someone else. He thinks for himself." —Milwaukee Journal

"Mr. McNeil's trumpet work is full and rich with a bright, clear tone. His improvisations showed a sensitivity and lushness few can match." —Kansas City Star

"...a balance of understatement and uninhibited swinging." —Washington Post

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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Hush Point III

Sunnyside Records
2017

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John McNeil: Hush...

Sunnyside Records
2014

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Hush Point

Sunnyside Records
2014

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Hush Point

Sunnyside Records
2013

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Chill Morn He Climb...

Sunnyside Records
2011

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Chill Morn He Climb...

Sunnyside Records
2010

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Brother Frank

From: East Coast Cool
By John McNeil

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