Jazz Articles about Bill O'Connell

Bill O'Connell: Rhapsody In Blue

by Dan Bilawsky
December 24, 2010

Pianist Bill O'Connell is no stranger to the world of Latin jazz. O'Connell has played for greats like Mongo Santamaria and Dave Valentin, but his range as an artist has taken him well beyond a Latin-only orbit. He's worked with jazz heavyweights like Sonny Rollins and Chet Baker, too, but his greatest asset isn't his résumé. O'Connell possesses a classicist's touch that, thanks to a melding of his conservatory training with his life experiences, can be altered at will. O'Connell ...

Bill O'Connell: Triple Play

by Douglas Payne
November 25, 2008

Following a three-decade run as a pianistic purveyor of jazz that leans occasionally toward the Latin side and six progressively interesting solo efforts, pianist Bill O'Connell's Triple Play, his first effort for the Savant label, might very well be the best thing he's ever done. Here, he's assembled a trio that includes longtime musical associate Dave Valentin on flute and percussionist Richie Flores on congas, producing a profound, heart-pounding, foot-stomping, hand-clapping document of jazz that's inventive, involving and just plain ...

Bill O'Connell: Triple Play

by Michael P. Gladstone
July 14, 2008

Pianist/Composer Bill O'Connell has long been a vital part of the New York Jazz scene. It is refreshing to see that he is given a rare opportunity to lead an ensemble on Triple Play, an unusual trio setting for O'Connell along with flutist Dave Valentin and Latin percussionist Richie Flores.

O'Connell has only been given this opportunity sporadically and his efforts are preserved on indie labels, Inner City, CTI and two sessions for Random Chance. The pianist has ...

Bill O'Connell: Latin Jazz Fantasy

by Aaron Rogers
August 21, 2004

Latin Jazz Fantasy is the second event of its kind by pianist Bill O'Connell on Random Chance Records. O'Connell is no stranger to playing in Afro-Caribbean style; he played with Latin jazz greats like saxophonist Gato Barbieri and percussionist Mongo Santamaria. O'Connell's Latin Jazz Fantasy features ten original compositions by O'Connell that glisten with Latin rhythms and percussion in front of an orchestral backdrop.

The opening track “Barcelona" has an Afro-Cuban beat, but as the strings come in, the song ...

Bill O'Connell: Latin Jazz Fantasy

by John Kelman
July 22, 2004

Bill O'Connell has been a busy pianist/arranger, mainly in the Latin and Afro-Cuban jazz arenas, for over thirty years, having worked with artists including Dave Valentin, Mongo Santamaria, Jerry Gonzalez and Gato Barbieri. He may not be a household name, but with a large book of songs that have been widely recorded, he deserves to be. And now, with Latin Jazz Fantasy , he has created a work that ought to right that wrong. Firmly planted in the contemporary vein ...

Bill O'Connell Latin Jazz Project: Black Sand

by C. Andrew Hovan
January 1, 2002

Certainly no household name, pianist Bill O'Connell works on the sidelines without much fanfare and his last album was nearly ten years ago for the short-lived return of Creed Taylor's CTI label. But there's something to be said for life experiences and O'Connell's time spent with Mongo Santamaria and Dave Valentin, not to mention subbing for Larry Willis in the Fort Apache Band, helped to endear him to the Afro-Cuban idiom that he manages to luxuriate in throughout Black Sand. ...

Bill O'Connell's Chicago Skyliners Big Band: Contemporary Classics

by Dave Nathan
July 1, 2001

Looking at the song list of Bill O'Connell's fine Chicago Skyliners Big Band latest album, one gets a sinking feeling that the band had regressed to regurgitating big band tunes and arrangements of yore, especially given the album subtitle, Big Band's Greatest Hits. But this concerns goes away when the CD is put into the player. This high flying group doesn't play familiar material exactly the way Artie Shaw, Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey did and especially the way Glenn Miller ...