Jazz Articles about Bill Cunliffe

About Bill Cunliffe

Album Review

Los Angeles-based guitarist Doug MacDonald just happens to be one of the most active recording musicians in the country, with three releases in 2021 alone and at least two more dating back to 2019. Add to that list, this 2022 recording of Overtones and you can understand MacDonald's devotion to producing music as evidenced by his large discography. A prolific composer, MacDonald's eight-track repertoire consist almost entirely of original compositions, with the only exception being a fine rendition of Ram ...

Album Review

Doug MacDonald and the L.A. All-Star Octet: Overtones

Read "Overtones" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
February 23, 2022

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 ...

Album Review

Patitucci, Colaiuta, Cunliffe: Trio

by Jim Worsley
March 29, 2021

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. ...

SoCal Jazz

Bill Cunliffe: Always Doing It The Right Way

by Jim Worsley
March 18, 2021

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 ...

Album Review

The Jazz All Stars: The Jazz All Stars Volume 1

Read "The Jazz All Stars Volume 1" reviewed by Jim Worsley

by Jim Worsley
February 25, 2021

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 ...

Album Review

Bill Cunliffe: BACHanalia

Read "BACHanalia" reviewed by Jerome Wilson

by Jerome Wilson
July 25, 2017

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. ...

Big Band Report

Los Angeles Jazz Institute Festival "Big Band Spectacular" 2017, Part 2-4

by Simon Pilbrow
July 18, 2017

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 ...