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Michael Kocour

Michael Kocour is a jazz pianist, organist and composer. He also serves as Director of Jazz Studies in the School of Music at Arizona State University. An active performer for more than three decades, Kocour has appeared at venues around the world and has been a guest on Marian McPartland's internationally syndicated NPR program "Piano Jazz." Among the many artists and ensembles with whom he has appeared with are Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Lovano, Eddie Harris, James Moody, Eddie Daniels, Randy Brecker, Benny Golson, Ira Sullivan, Carl Fontana, Dewey Redman, Lew Tabackin, and the Chicago Symphony. His recorded work as a studio musician includes soundtracks to two major motion pictures, and numerous television commercials. Kocour has also released six critically acclaimed CDs as a leader.

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5
Album Review

Matt Olson: 789 Miles

Read "789 Miles" reviewed by Mark Sullivan


Wisconsin-born tenor saxophonist/composer Matt Olson has traveled 789 miles from his childhood home to his current home in South Carolina, where he teaches at Furman University. His original compositions here aim to capture influences from his upbringing, but the present is well-represented by compositions from five Furman University students (graduates and current students). The format is a tight, funky organ trio with two of Olson's band mates in the Unhinged Sextet, last heard from on Don't Blink (OA2 Records, 2017): ...

7
Album Review

Matt Olson: 789 Miles

Read "789 Miles" reviewed by David A. Orthmann


One of the most interesting things about tenor saxophonist Matt Olson's 789 Miles is something it lacks: An anxious, overriding eagerness to impress or knock the listener out at every turn. Instead, the record virtually looks you in the eye, shakes your hand, and then cordially invites you along for the ride. Olson, Hammond B-3 organist Mike Kocour and drummer Dom Moio, who comprise one-half of the notable collaborative ensemble, Unhinged Sextet, are middle-aged jazzmen whose artistry and craft runs ...

5
Album Review

Michael Kocour: East Of The Sun

Read "East Of The Sun" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Here's another well-planned and immaculately recorded solo album by pianist Michael Kocour, his second such enterprise for OA2 Records (the first, Wherever You Go, There You Are, was released in 2015). As its title suggests, East of the Sun consists almost entirely of gems from the Great American Songbook with one zircon (guitarist Don Gibson's “I Can't Stop Loving You," a signature song for the late Ray Charles) thrown in at the end for a diverting change of pace.

3
Album Review

Michael Kocour: East Of The Sun

Read "East Of The Sun" reviewed by Mark Sullivan


Pianist Michael Kocour--a longtime member of the Chicago jazz community, now on the faculty of Arizona State University--presents his third solo piano album. His previous solo album Wherever You Go, There You Are (OA2 Records, 2015) was a mix of originals, jazz and popular standards, even including a few electric piano tracks. This one (which Kocour describes as “the most traditional" of his solo piano albums) is entirely devoted to standards, mostly from the 1920s and 1930s. The ...

3
Album Review

Michael Kocour: East Of The Sun

Read "East Of The Sun" reviewed by David A. Orthmann


Michael Kocour's solo piano recital is comprised of great American songs, most of which were popular in the early-to-mid twentieth century. There's nothing dated or anachronistic about the ways in which he handles the material. Throughout the record's ten tracks, Kocour establishes a state of equilibrium between a fealty to traditional song forms and jazz practices; a resourceful, imaginative streak; and a great deal of facility on the instrument. While he often incorporates elements of early jazz piano styles, such ...

5
Album Review

Michael Kocour: East Of The Sun

Read "East Of The Sun" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


The ease of expression with which pianist Michael Kocour unspools standards tends to belie the greatness of his playing. With extreme comfort and control he lays out one beautiful performance after another, all the while presenting a fine balance between technical accomplishment and creative bent. East Of The Sun--the sixth leader (or co-leader) date from Kocour, and the third to offer a detailed look at his solo piano work--largely focuses on songs from the '20s and '30s. ...

4
Album Review

Michael Kocour: Spiffy

Read "Spiffy" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Spiffy is the third album as leader this year (2015) for pianist Michael Kocour who has chosen the occasion to set aside the piano in favor of a Hammond B3 organ. It proves to be an auspicious choice, as does his decision to work as part of a quartet. Kocour's sidemen (saxophonist Eric Schneider, guitarist Bruce Forman, drummer Dom Moio) are splendid, as is the leader's stout and nimble Hammond. The four had played together as a unit only once ...

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“Mike Kocour’s careful yet fearless choice of notes and intervals come from the deepest grotto of his heart, and his extraordinary ability enables him to give life to things that had no prior existence. Mike's playing is a breath of fresh air in an asphyxiating world. Listen to him —as I do.” – BENNY GOLSON

“He plays with remarkable creativity and a technique to die for. Sparkling ideas fly from his fingers making harmonic sophistication the order of the day.” –MARIAN MCPARTLAND

“...one of the most sophisticated pianists in jazz.” -HOWARD REICH, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

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Primary Instrument

Piano

Willing to teach

Advanced only

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

East Of The Sun

OA2 Records
2019

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789 Miles

OA2 Records
2019

buy

Clarity

Origin/OA2
2015

buy

Wherever You Go,...

OA2 Records
2015

buy

Spiffy

Self Produced
2015

buy

Speaking in Tongues

Self Produced
2007

buy

Da Good Stuff

From: Spiffy
By Michael Kocour

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