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Jazz Articles about Bill Cunliffe
Doug MacDonald and the L.A. All-Star Octet: Overtones
by Jack Bowers
Doug MacDonald's mind is as active as his fingers. The Los Angeles-based guitarist divides his time between writing and playing, and he writes as well as he plays, which is impeccably. Overtones, on which he leads an All-Star Octet (we checked, and all-star is precisely the proper term), is MacDonald's fourth album in the last year or so and twentieth-plus over-all. As is generally the case, most of the songs are his (seven of eight), and they are consistently bright ...
Continue ReadingPatitucci, Colaiuta, Cunliffe: Trio
by Jim Worsley
Pianist Bill Cunliffe was asked if he would be interested in doing a trio record with rhythm section legends {John Patitucci and Vinnie Colaiuta. Naturally he said yes, both immediately and excitedly. “Right now" was the answer when he asked when. Patitucci and Colaiuta were already set-up in a studio at Le Coq Records, and Cunliffe was already there on other business. This impromptu session was void of any rehearsal or sheet music. They played all standards, all from memory. ...
Continue ReadingBill Cunliffe: Always Doing It The Right Way
by Jim Worsley
Most notably a jazz pianist, it comes as more than a surprise that Bill Cunliffe was not in the same orbit as jazz until he was in college. With the sheer volume of top shelf jazz he has written and recorded since, he would seem to have made up for any lost time. That time, those early years, were hardly lost. Instead filled with learning to play classical, pop, and Broadway. Cunliffe is remarkable not just in the ...
Continue ReadingThe Jazz All Stars: The Jazz All Stars Volume 1
by Jim Worsley
The gigless times of 2020--the year of the Covid-19 pandemic--could have brought musicians and the industry to their collective knees, gasping for air. Instead, it resulted in more new music than ever before. It filled our lungs with fresh air. It filled our hearts and souls, not to mention our ears. New businesses opening, defying the odds and pursuing their dreams, is a relevant factor. Le Coq Records, emerging in 2020, boldly presents an all-star ensemble—featuring many of ...
Continue ReadingBill Cunliffe: BACHanalia
by Jerome Wilson
This is another entry in the durable “jazz meets the classics" subgenre with pianist and bandleader Bill Cunliffe leading a large ensemble through a fun program featuring mostly classical works and familiar standards.The classical adaptations start off with Johann Sebastian Bach's “Sleepers Awake" played with crisp, muscular drive by the band. Cunliffe and trombonist Bob McChesney provide tight, intricate solos and Denise Donatelli follows the melody on top with a bubbly wordless vocal that recalls The Swingle Singers. ...
Continue ReadingLos Angeles Jazz Institute Festival "Big Band Spectacular" 2017, Part 2-4
by Simon Pilbrow
Los Angeles Jazz Institute Festival Big Band Spectacular LAX Westin Hotel Los Angeles, CA May 24-28, 2017 Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Jimmy Giuffre's classic, “Four Brothers," has been a much-loved anthem of the Woody Herman band since his Second Herd, and a great jazz landmark. Traditionally a saxophone tour-de-force, this performance was a recasting for big band of Brent's earlier clarinet choir arrangement ...
Continue ReadingBill Cunliffe: BACHanalia
by Jack Bowers
As the title denotes, pianist Bill Cunliffe and his ensemble take a swing (literally) at the great Johann Sebastian on BACHanalia, pivoting as well toward the music of C.P.E. Bach, Sergei Prokofiev, Manuel de Falla, Cole Porter, Oscar Levant and Cunliffe himself. In spite of its classical veneer, this is at its core a jazz session, and as such embodies the essential elements one would expect from such an enterprise. To phrase it another way, Cunliffe transports these masters of ...
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