Jazz Articles about Paul Gill

Kevin O'Connell Quartet Featuring Adam Brenner: Hot New York Minutes

by Neil Duggan
June 28, 2023

Finding one's own voice as a musician is never an easy process; extending that to taking the spotlight and leading your own band is another step up. For some, it can take years. Kevin O'Connell is an example of exactly that. He has been a jazz pianist since the 1980s, working with the Clifford Jordan Quartet for six years, Vernel Fournier's trio for eight years and as a sideman in countless other projects. He has finally delivered his long overdue ...

Michael Weiss: Persistence

by Edward Blanco
March 6, 2022

An in-demand veteran of the vibrant New York jazz scene since the '80s, pianist Michael Weiss presents the warm and engaging Persistence, his fifth as a leader and first on the Cellar Live label, as well as being his first since the critically acclaimed Soul Journey, (Sintra Records, 2003). The long time span between recordings, despite many other opportunities since then, was primarily due to the artistic and creative terms not being ideal enough until the Cellar Live proposal. One ...

Jim Snidero: Strings

by Jack Bowers
November 14, 2021

Another saxophonist with strings. Ever since Charlie Parker first took the plunge in 1950, a goodly number of disciples has followed suit. Alto player Jim Snidero's deep dive, Strings, was actually recorded two decades ago, in 2001, and released to widespread acclaim on Milestone Records. The remastered edition, on Savant Records, is even better, thanks to enhanced sound and arco bass parts that breathe new life into Snidero's engaging compositions (he wrote and arranged every number save the lone standard, ...

Jim Snidero: Strings

by Dan McClenaghan
August 26, 2021

The initial recording of Jim Snidero's Strings ran into a roadblock. The session was scheduled at System Two Studios in Brooklyn, New York, on September 11th 2001. That was the date the world changed, with airplanes flying into buildings in New York City. Strings was postponed. The music eventually came together in October and November of that year, and saw its release on Milestone Records in 2003. Now, in 2021, after nearly a decade out of print, the ...

Jill McCarron Trio with Will Anderson: Jazz Motif

by Jack Bowers
June 27, 2021

Pianist Jill McCarron's latest recording, Jazz Motif, gets off to a flying start with Will Anderson's irrepressible alto saxophone setting the pace on a fiery rendition of “All God's Chillun Got Rhythm" and his radiant flute showcased on John Lewis' groovy “Concorde." Alas, Anderson isn't heard again until Tracks 7 (Clare Fischer's “Ontem a Noite") and 9 (Antonio Carlos Jobim's “Chovendo Na Roseira"), both on flute, and uncases the alto only one more time, on Horace Silver's buoyant “Cool Eyes." ...

Joe Magnarelli: Hoop Dreams

by David A. Orthmann
September 15, 2006

Over the past dozen years trumpeter Joe Magnarelli has gradually transformed a bebop-derived vocabulary into a highly personal style. Utilizing a full-bodied tone that never turns strident, Magnarelli invites the listener to focus on the substantive dimensions of his playing, rather than drawing attention to technique, velocity and influences. Beautifully crafted melodies spring from his horn in varying shapes and sizes. Sometimes he'll sustain a chain of thought for several measures; in other instances he'll parcel out a complete idea ...

Jim Snidero: Strings

by David A. Orthmann
October 7, 2003

By staying in touch with his roots as a hard blowing alto saxophonist and leader of razor-sharp small bands, Jim Snidero has successfully married a ten-piece string section and a conventional jazz quartet. His arrangements of six original compositions (including the three-part “River Suite”) and two standards entail a constant shifting between the relative freedom of improvisation, and the tighter organization made necessary by the larger ensemble.

The recording’s primary soloist, Snidero consistently radiates excitement and a ...