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Paul Gill
Born in Baltimore, MD, Paul had established himself as a local mainstay in the Balto-DC area from 1984-1994 by both working with fellow hometown musician Gary Bartz, and backing artists that came to town such as Benny Golson, Rosemary Clooney, Stanley Turrentine, and Sonny Fortune.
Immediately upon moving to New York, Gill began working with legendary vocalist Jon Hendricks. In 1999 he left Hendricks to embark on a year long world tour with singer Diana Krall. Following Diana Krall in 2001 he joined the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra. The second half of the 2000’s found Paul touring with either vocalist Elvis Costello or guitarist Pat Martino.
Gill has worked in every major venue in New York City and has also performed or recorded with artists such as Hank Jones, Joe Henderson, Wynton Marsalis, Lou Donaldson, Bill Charlap, Jimmy Cobb, Al Foster, The Vanguard Orchestra, George Coleman, Harold Mabern, Lew Tabackin, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and Louis Hayes.
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Spike Wilner Trio Contrafactus: The Children & The Warlock
by Jack Bowers
A parodist might quip that Trio Contrafactus is simply another name for a quartet, as that is what pianist and entreprenuer Spike Wilner is leading on his new recording, The Children & the Warlock, wherein Wilner and his rhythm section (Paul Gill, bass; Anthony Pinciotti, drums) are flanked by renowned tenor saxophonist George Garzone. Wilner writes that the album is a tribute to one of his teachers, the late pianist and composer Harry Whitaker, who wrote its ...
Continue ReadingDwayne Clemons: Center of Gravity: Live at Smalls
by Jack Bowers
On Center of Gravity, veteran trumpeter Dwayne Clemons displays his astuteness and savvy in a generally impressive session recorded in September 2023 at Smalls Jazz Club in New York City, leading a sextet in which he shares the front line with alto saxophonist Amanda Sedgwick and tenor Aaron Johnson. This is a colorful and broad-shouldered date wherein everyone more than pulls his (or her) weight, with the horns adeptly supported from end to end by pianist JinJoo ...
Continue ReadingDwayne Clemons: Center of Gravity: Live at Smalls
by Pierre Giroux
Copenhagen-based trumpeter Dwayne Clemons is an accomplished musician whose US career trajectory hit a speed bump in the 1990s when he was incarcerated for a narcotics conviction. Fortunately, he caught the attention of pianist and club owner Spike Wilner who encouraged him to come to New York to play. In time, the result was that, in many ways, Smalls became like the home base for Clemons. Center of Gravity: Live at Smalls is the second live album he has completed ...
Continue ReadingSpike Wilner Trio: Contrafactus
by Pierre Giroux
Pianist Spike Wilner, bassist Paul Gill and drummer Anthony Pinciotti have crafted an exquisite jazz listening experience in their release Contrafactus. Recorded in a single session, with only one take at GB's Juke Joint, the spontaneity and cohesion of the trio are manifest throughout the eleven compositions which seamlessly blend Wilner's original compositions with some better-known standards. The album opens with a Wilner original, “At First Blush," which is a lively and infectious swinger. Wilner dashes ...
Continue ReadingJill McCarron Trio: Gin
by Jack Bowers
Gin, pianist Jill McCarron says of the title of her second recording as leader of the Jill McCarron Trio, refers to the card game of that name, and not to the alcoholic beverage. She balances the joy of winning with the luck of the draw in her entrancing three-part suite. While McCarron leads an admirable threesome (Paul Gill, bass; Andy Watson, drums), this is a trio album with an asterisk, as saxophonist Vincent Herring sits in on four numbers (including ...
Continue ReadingJoe Magnarelli: Hoop Dreams
by C. Andrew Hovan
As Duke Ellington would often remind us, music comes in two varieties, that which is good and that which is bad. This suggests that genre and category are really of little concern and that overall quality is really the defining factor in considering the validity of any musical expression. Taking this axiom one step further, let me suggest that good music comes in assorted varieties. On one end of the spectrum you have music brimming with complex structures and technical ...
Continue ReadingKevin O'Connell Quartet: Hot New York Minutes
by Jack Bowers
Although Hot New York Minutes is Chicago-based pianist Kevin O'Connell's date, it could well be saxophonist Adam Brenner's, as the two share roughly equal time soloing and contribute their talents as writer and/or arranger on half a dozen of the album's ten numbers. In fact, the subtitle reads “Featuring Adam Brenner," and the album, O'Connell writes, was actually Brenner's idea after they had reunited in Chicago for a pair of impromptu jam sessions. To make it a ...
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