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John McNeil: East Coast Cool
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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 instrumentpiano or guitarwas 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 well as work with Mulligan himself. McNeil was hired to write arrangements for a Mulligan truibute band after the baritone saxophonist/composer's death; and what better way to get inside the music.
McNeil's association with Mulligan and the man's music inpired East Coast Cool. With the same piano-less quartet instrumentationin this case McNeil on trumpet, Alan Chase on baritone sax, John Hebert on bass, and the ubiquitous Matt Wilson on drumsthe West Coast Cool sound gets an infusion of East Coast freedom, a bit more of an edge, and a slightly higher level of intensity and abstraction.
McNeil, who wrote most of the tunes here, has more bite in his trumpet tone compared to Baker's. He and Chase blow loose unison lines that melt into wandering solos and sinuous conversations, much the way Baker and Mulligan did it. A big difference is in the bass/drum approach of Hebert and Wilson; they are more integrated into the quartet, more vibrant, adding much to the more modern sound of the band.
East Coast Cool freshens the Mulligan/Baker cool sound with an East Coast edge.
Trumpeter John McNeil's resume includes stints with the Horace Silver Quintet and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, as well as work with Mulligan himself. McNeil was hired to write arrangements for a Mulligan truibute band after the baritone saxophonist/composer's death; and what better way to get inside the music.
McNeil's association with Mulligan and the man's music inpired East Coast Cool. With the same piano-less quartet instrumentationin this case McNeil on trumpet, Alan Chase on baritone sax, John Hebert on bass, and the ubiquitous Matt Wilson on drumsthe West Coast Cool sound gets an infusion of East Coast freedom, a bit more of an edge, and a slightly higher level of intensity and abstraction.
McNeil, who wrote most of the tunes here, has more bite in his trumpet tone compared to Baker's. He and Chase blow loose unison lines that melt into wandering solos and sinuous conversations, much the way Baker and Mulligan did it. A big difference is in the bass/drum approach of Hebert and Wilson; they are more integrated into the quartet, more vibrant, adding much to the more modern sound of the band.
East Coast Cool freshens the Mulligan/Baker cool sound with an East Coast edge.
Track Listing
Deadline, A Time to Go, Brothr Frank, Bernie's tune, Duet #1, Delusions, Wanwood, Internal Hurdles, Duet #2, Waltz Helios, Schoenberg's Piano Concerto, GAB
Personnel
John McNeil
trumpetJohn McNeil: trumpet; Alan Chase: baritone saxophone; John Hebert: bass; Matt Wilson: drums
Album information
Title: East Coast Cool | Year Released: 2006 | Record Label: OmniTone
Comments
Tags
John McNeil
CD/LP/Track Review
Dan McClenaghan
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
OmniTone
United States
East Coast Cool