Mike McGinnis

Biography
Articles

Clarinetist/Saxophonist/Composer Mike McGinnis has worked with some of today’s most innovative and influential artists including Anthony Braxton’s Trillium E Orchestra, Steve Coleman's Aquarius Ingress (Ravi Coltrane, Tony Malaby, Miguel Zenon and Chris Speed), the Lonnie Plaxico Group, Stew & Heidi (of Passing Strange/the Negro Problem), Fela! On Broadway (saxophone soloist), Art Lande, Yo La Tengo, the Ohad Talmor/Steve Swallow Sextet, Alice Coltrane, sculptor Martin Kersels (Whitney Biennial 2009) and the Losers Lounge among others. He has released several recordings as a leader and/or co-leader with the four bags, OK|OK, DDYGG and Between Green.

Gear

Selmer Paris clarinets and saxophones Bill Street (Gorham, ME) mouthpieces

Jeff Lederer: There's a Yearnin'

Read "There's a Yearnin'" reviewed by Jerome Wilson

by Jerome Wilson
July 19, 2026

Jazz and classical music have been intersecting for decades. One of the most prominent examples of this was the Third Stream movement of the sixties, where composers and musicians like Gunther Schuller and John Lewis encouraged the efforts of jazz musicians who wanted to experiment in the world of classical music. The music created through the movement is little heard today, but Jeff Lederer has here assembled a selection of works from that period by Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy and Oliver ...

Album Review

ContraPunctus: ContraPunctus

Read "ContraPunctus" reviewed by Bret McCabe

by Bret McCabe
July 9, 2026

The New York quartet ContraPunctus eases into the third track on its 2026 self-titled debut with about 15 seconds of musical suggestion. Bassist Gui Duvignau and drummer Hamir Atwal respond to pianist Carmen Staaf's gentle Fender Rhodes melody with a tempo that starts at a comfortable clip. Staaf eloquently establishes the melody in the next few seconds--Juan Tizol and Duke Ellington's “Caravan"--that clarinetist Mike McGinnis picks up and continues. McGinnis and Staaf trade the tune's theme as the quartet establishes an elastic, rollicking synergy. ...

Album Review

Mike McGinnis + 9: Outing

Read "Outing" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
April 29, 2024

Il nuovo album di Mike McGinnis si riallaccia a un'incisione del 2013 (Roadtrip, RKM) realizzata con un tentet d'identica strumentazione e un solo mutamento d'organico: Caroline Davis al sax contralto prende il posto di Matt Blostein. Dopo il successo del suo trio del 2017/18 con Steve Swallow e Paul Bley (ricordiamo i due album Sunnyside Recurring Dream e Singular Awakening) il clarinettista torna a evidenziare le sue doti di autore e arrangiatore in un medio organico che ...

Album Review

Mike McGinnis - Elias Bailey - Vinnie Sperazza: Time Is Thicker

Read "Time Is Thicker" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
September 29, 2021

Conclusa la notevole parentesi con Art Lande e Steve Swallow per l'etichetta Sunnyside (Recurring Dream del 2017 e Singular Awakening del 2018), Mike McGinnis conferma la formula del trio con due nuovi partner, privilegiando il clarinetto rispetto al sax soprano. Dopo ricercati lavori con medie formazioni dove ha espresso originalità come compositore e arrangiatore, McGinnis evidenzia l'alto talento strumentale confermandosi l'erede di Jimmy Giuffre e della moderna scuola clarinettistica nata con Buddy De Franco. Anche se ha ...

Album Review

Mike McGinnis: Singular Awakening

Read "Singular Awakening" reviewed by Maurizio Zerbo

by Maurizio Zerbo
April 10, 2019

Ecco un musicista statunitense da noi poco noto, benché meritevole di maggior attenzione presso la stampa ed il pubblico italiani. Mike McGinnis, quarantacinquenne multistrumentista di Sainford è il protagonista di un eccellente CD, contrassegnato dalla felice empatia con i celebri Steve Swallow ed Art Lande. Due generazioni a confronto per esplorare in profondità le composizioni originali del leader, a partire da brevi spunti ritmico-melodico. Si tratta perlopiù di brani improvvisati estemporaneamente, per costruire un percorso caratterizzato dalla volatile ...