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John McNeil: East Coast Cool
by Michael P. Gladstone
John McNeil may have stumbled onto something worthwhile here. Of late, the trumpeter/leader/composer has been recording for OmniTone, a Brooklyn-based label which specializes in the edgy music that one might encounter in many of New York's downtown jazz clubs. McNeil goes back some time and has been part of the jazz scene there since the 1970s, also having worked with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra and Horace Silver's quintet. I especially liked his dates as a leader on the Steeplechase ...
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by Troy Collins
On East Coast Cool, trumpeter John McNeil set out to reinterpret the classic West Coast cool jazz sound of Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker's piano-less quartets. McNeil's career stretches back almost three decades, playing alongside Horace Silver, Slide Hampton, and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, as well as Mulligan himself. As a member of Gerry Mulligan's group in the 1980s, McNeil comes at this material with both knowledgeable authority and respectful appreciation. What he does with it, however, is the ...
Continue ReadingJohn McNeil: East Coast Cool
by Dan McClenaghan
The music called “West Coast Cool" was well-represented by the mid-fifties Gerry Mulligan/Chet Baker Quartet, with Mulligan on the baritone saxophone and Baker on trumpet, backed by bass and drums. Working without a chording instrument--piano or guitar--was quite innovative at the time. The sound, in contrast to the sharper-edged bop of the day, had a loose, fluid feeling, a “cool" flow.Trumpeter John McNeil's resume includes stints with the Horace Silver Quintet and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, as ...
Continue ReadingJohn McNeil: East Coast Cool
by Jim Santella
Celebrating the piano-less quartet sound that Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker brought us over 40 years ago, trumpeter John McNeil reflects on their individual spirit with a free jazz interpretation of his own. As he applies Mulligan's arranging principles to free music, his quartet introduces a unique sound that remains both cool and intense. McNeil, 57, spent some time working with Mulligan, and he was asked to write arrangements for a Gerry Mulligan tribute band after the baritone saxophonist passed ...
Continue ReadingMeet John McNeil
by Craig Jolley
One-of-a-kind trumpeter John McNeil is not as well-known as he might be, but things are looking up for him lately after putting out a couple of varied, personal, and idea-filled CD's. The concept for the second of these, Sleep Won't Come, came out of his long-time battle with insomnia and the sense of frustration that hits him when he sees the sun come up. Of course I interviewed him at 3 A.M. after he'd played a gig at Cornelia Street ...
Continue ReadingJohn McNeil: Sleep Won't Come
by Clifford Allen
In this varied set led by trumpeter John McNeil, ostensibly an homage to his own difficulties with insomnia, the term “chamber jazz" is given a slightly different twist--far from the light counterpoint of the MJQ, passages of intense freedom and effortless propulsion mark the improvisations of McNeil, pianist Jeff Jenkins and bassist Kent McLagan. Like Dave Douglas, McNeil has worked extensively with Horace Silver, and not unlike Douglas, he has a penchant for odd instrumentation (viola, flute and ...
Continue ReadingJohn McNeil: Sleep Won't Come
by Michael P. Gladstone
John McNeil is a veteran trumpeter and composer who has been part of the New York scene since the late 1970s. He was a member of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra and the Horace Silver Quintet and has led his own groups. I have two of his Steeplechase albums in my own collection, and although '03's This Way Out received good reviews, I haven't heard any of his work in some time.
The theme of this album is ...
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