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Joe Magnarelli

Over the course of a 40+ year career, Joe Magnarelli has emerged as one of the premier trumpeters, improvisers, composers, and educators in jazz.

Initially training as a pianist who accompanied songs sung by his father, Magnarelli took up trumpet as a youth in his native Syracuse. He was inspired by lessons with noted trumpeter Sal Amico as well as performances with esteemed tenor saxophonist J. R. Montrose. He also studied briefly with distinguished trumpeter Louis Mucci at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, and others. ​ During his first two years as a student at the State University of New York-Fredonia, where he earned a Special Studies B.A. in 1982, Joe was the choir director and pianist for the Central Baptist Church in Syracuse, which he regards as a pivotal experience. He plays piano to this day, and considers it a key aspect of his creative journey.

Magnarelli, known to friends and fans as “Mags,” moved to New York City in 1986, with the goal of a fulfilling life devoted to music.

Things happened fairly swiftly. That year, he joined vibes innovator Lionel Hampton’s Orchestra. That association led to tenures with organist Brother Jack McDuff’s septet; pianist and composer Toshiko Akiyoshi’s Jazz Orchestra; jazz singer laureate Jon Hendricks’s group; pianist Harry Connick Jr.’s Orchestra; conga dynamo Ray Barretto’s New World Sextet; saxophonist Charles Davis’s quintet; pianist Harry Whitaker’s group; the N.Y. Hard Bop Quintet, a co-op band that also included pianist Keith Saunders and tenorman Jerry Weldon; composer/arranger Marty Sheller’s Nonet; tenor saxophonist/composer Walt Weiskopf’s groups; the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra; and many more. Among his appearances on over 125 recordings, many have been with these artists and ensembles. Additionally, as a freelance trumpet player, Magnarelli has had the opportunity to play engagements in New York and around the world with Aretha Franklin, Rosemary Clooney, Joe Williams, Freddy Cole, Mel Torme, Johnny Mathis, John Pizzarelli, Jane Monheit, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, George Grunz’s European Orchestra, the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, the Smalls Jazz All-Stars, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, Chico O'Farrill, Jimmy Cobb's Mob, and Louis Hayes’s Cannonball Legacy Band. Mags has also performed such jazz and pop luminaries as Dr. John, Leon Russell, Liberace, the Manhattan Transfer, Freddie Hubbard, Art Farmer, Jimmy Heath, Al Jarreau, Jerry Bergonzi, Louie Bellson, Paquito D'Rivera, and Thiago Dimello. ​ This impressive list of affiliations clearly demonstrates that Magnarelli is in demand as a top-tier trumpet stylist with a warm, open sound and stellar technique.

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Liner Notes

Joe Magnarelli: Hoop Dreams

Read "Joe Magnarelli: Hoop Dreams" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


As Duke Ellington would often remind us, music comes in two varieties, that which is good and that which is bad. This suggests that genre and category are really of little concern and that overall quality is really the defining factor in considering the validity of any musical expression. Taking this axiom one step further, let me suggest that good music comes in assorted varieties. On one end of the spectrum you have music brimming with complex structures and technical ...

6
Album Review

Robert Edwards: Up Swing

Read "Up Swing" reviewed by Edward Blanco


Veteran trombonist, educator and bandleader Robert Edwards is a fixture of New York City jazz scene, performing in many of the jazz venues in the city and, as of this writing, becoming the newest member of the famed Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Edwards fronts a marvelous quintet that has been performing regularly at Smalls Jazz Club for many years now. Up Swing celebrates the post-bop sounds the group is known for and covers many of the ensemble's “greatest hits from over ...

6
Album Review

Nick Green: Green On The Scene

Read "Green On The Scene" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Nick Green's latest release, Green On The Scene, is a captivating musical journey which combines masterful instrumentation, intricate compositions and a profound sense of improvisational exploration. Accompanied by trumpeter Joe Magnarelli, pianist Jeb Patton, bassist Mike Karn and the inestimable drummer Kenny Washington, the band embarks on a set list of compositions which are at the intersection of tradition and modernity. The session opens with Charlie Parker's “Red Cross," a contrafact written over the lines of ...

3
Album Review

Mike Melito: To Swing Is The Thing

Read "To Swing Is The Thing" reviewed by David A. Orthmann


A sense of discovery, exhilaration, and depth are not qualities often induced by recent jazz recordings that showcase some of the once innovative, now commonplace styles from the mid-to-late twentieth century. There is no shortage of less-than-stellar releases that land squarely inside the bop/hard bop continuum. One notable exception to the abundance of mere competence is the body of work of drummer Mike Melito. Beginning in the late twentieth century, Melito has led several impressive recording dates ...

36
Album Review

Mike Melito: To Swing Is The Thing

Read "To Swing Is The Thing" reviewed by Jack Bowers


The leader of any group whose credo is To Swing Is the Thing had best enlist some hired hands whose propensity to swing is sure and steady, regardless of mood or tempo. Veteran drummer Mike Melito's talented quintet runs that course without breaking a sweat, lending Melito all the help he needs to keep his eighth album as leader bright and swinging from start to finish. Trumpeter Joe Magnarelli and tenor saxophonist Grant Stewart, past masters to ...

4
Album Review

MIke Melito: To Swing Is The Thing

Read "To Swing Is The Thing" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Rochester NY native Mike Melito is an fine drummer who has been active on the jazz scene for many years. His whose drumming style was inspired by Roy McCurdy, who was an integral part of the jazz groups fronted by both Nat Adderley and Julian “Cannonball" Adderley. With a wide-ride cymbal beat and fluid phrasing, Melito's drumming style shows to full effect on To Swing Is The Thing. Joining him are several standout New York-based musicians including tenor saxophonist Grant ...

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Liner Notes

Adam Shulman Septet: West Meets East

Read "Adam Shulman Septet: West Meets East" reviewed by C. Andrew Hovan


Quiet as it's kept, too many of today's finest jazz artists are given short shrift by an industry that seems to value product of a fleeting nature over true craft and a reverence for the jazz legacy. This makes it particularly challenging for a talent like Adam Shulman to break through to a wider audience. A fixture on the Bay Area scene since 2002, the pianist has a knack for accompanying singers such as Paula West and often performs as ...

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Recording

Marty Sheller and Joe Magnarelli

Marty Sheller and Joe Magnarelli

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

The history of the jazz trumpet backed by strings probably dates back to Louis Armstrong and the Song of the Islands in 1930. But in those days, strings meant a clutch of violins that sounded more like fiddles than an orchestral backdrop. Harry James began including a full string section starting in 1941, but the effect was more drama and movie soundtrack than hip accompaniment. Bebop musicians avoided longhair strings until Charlie Parker's Just Friends and April in Paris became ...

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Recording

Minton Records Releases "I Decided!" - The Amit Golan Quintet Featuring Joe Magnarelli

Minton Records Releases "I Decided!" - The Amit Golan Quintet Featuring Joe Magnarelli

Source: All About Jazz

I Decided! is a classic Hard-Bop album reminiscent of the old days of Lee Morgan, Sonny Clark and others. No Post-Bop, no Progressive Jazz, no apologies. Just good old Hard-Bop! The album features seven of Amit Golan's original compositions and one Gershwin standard. The opening theme “Sari" has a unique form constructed of five different segments, each eight bars in length. The 'A' segment is in B minor with the major seventh on top, which recalls the sound of Horace ...

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Event

Ben Wolfe w/ Rob Scheps, Joe Magnarelli in Portland, Oregon

Ben Wolfe w/ Rob Scheps, Joe Magnarelli in Portland, Oregon

Source: All About Jazz

On Saturday May 7th , Ben Wolfe will lead his stellar bi-coastal 4tet at the Blue Monk, Pdx's newest & best jazz club starting at 8 pm. Featuring Wolfe's swinging original pieces,the group features Joe Magnarelli, trumpet ( Toshiko Akiyoshi, Vanguard Jazz Orch.); Rob Scheps, tenor sax (George Russell, Dave Kikoski,Al Grey, Gil Evans); Ben Wolfe , bass ( Carl Allen ,LCJO,Harry Connick) and Ron Steen on drums. As part of the 2nd Annual Leroy Vinnegar Jazz Week , the ...

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Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

To Swing Is The Thing

Cellar Music Group
2023

buy

Green On The Scene

Cellar Music group
2023

buy

The Proper Time

Persiani Music
2023

buy

Up Swing

Self Produced
2023

buy

It's All Your Fault

Savant Records
2021

buy

I'll Find You

From: Joe Magnarelli: Live at Smalls
By Joe Magnarelli

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