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Neal Caine

Neal Caine is a natural, a dyanamic bass player with strong drive and an intuitive feel. Starting with the Suzuki Method on violin at age three, Neal learned music as a native language, and he has the facility and musicality to show for it. By the age of twenty, he was preferred on the New Orleans scene by such notables as Ellis Marsalis, Donald Harrison, and Nicholas Payton, and was asked to join the Elvin Jones group, a position of high honor that he carried with distinction for almost four years. He's been a first pick by vocalists including Diana Krall, Betty Carter, and Harry Connick Jr. He was also a frequent presence on the Smalls scene for many years, performing often with regulars Sherman Irby, Gregory Tardy, Charles Owens, Harry Whitaker, Zaid Nasser, Frank Hewitt, and others. These days, he has dual residency between New Orleans and New York City, and is active on both scenes. He's on a long list of recordings by artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Nicholas Payton, John Hicks, Wess Anderson, Billy Hart, Oliver Lake, and Harry Connick Jr. Neal's debut recording as a leader is Backstabber's Ball on the Smalls Records label.

Neal Caine: Backstabber's Ball

Read "Backstabber's Ball" reviewed by Jim Santella

by Jim Santella
September 28, 2005

It's an odd title for a superb album. The compositions are Neal Caine's, and he leads with a powerful rhythmic stroke from behind his big double bass. Two tenors, Ned Goold and Stephen Riley, give him plenty of lyrical matter, playing it soft and whispery as Caine's quartet emphasizes straight-ahead jazz with a comfortable grasp of its traditional flavors. Jason Marsalis surrounds the session with appropriate percussive textures.

“W.M.D." provides a dramatic impression, both mysterious and exotic. Caine ...

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Album Review

Neal Caine: Backstabber's Ball

Read "Backstabber's Ball" reviewed by Eric J. Iannelli

by Eric J. Iannelli
July 19, 2005

Its title sounds more likely to appear in the heavy metal section of the record store, but sonically Neal Caine's Backstabber's Ball has far more in common with the classic West Coast cool jazz releases of the early '60s than the identikit angst rock of today. As such, it isn't a departure for Smalls Records; rather, it's largely in keeping with the bulk of the label's output. The young New York-based label is fast becoming a favorite among the more ...

Performance / Tour

Neal Caine Live at Smalls - January 13 & 14

Source: All About Jazz
January 12, 2006

Neal Caine Live at Smalls in New York 183 West 10th at 7th Avenue

January 13-14, 2006 10PM to 1AM

Featuring: Neal Caine - bass Anthony Wonsey - piano Ned Goold - tenor sax Stephen Riley - tenor sax, alto clarinet (drummer TBA)

What the critics are saying about Caine's debut release, Backstabber's Ball:

“One of ...
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Performance / Tour

Neal Caine at Smalls, January 13-14

Source: All About Jazz
January 9, 2006

Neal Caine

Live at Smalls in New York

183 West 10th at 7th Avenue

January 13-14, 2006 10PM to 1AM

Featuring:

Neal Caine - bass Anthony Wonsey - piano Ned Goold - tenor sax Stephen Riley - tenor sax, alto clarinet (drummer TBA) “The quiet atmosphere, ghostly harmonizing of the horns, and Neal Caine's knack for writing wistful melodies that sound like half-remembered standards, give his ...
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