Tobin Mueller

Tobin Mueller

Musicians | Instrument: Piano | Location: United States

Tobin Mueller proves his originality, his inquisitiveness as a musician and a thinker, and his fluid, full throttle energy as a pianist. One continually has the sense that the piano is Mueller’s alter ego, and when he sits down to play, to arrange or improvise, he is engaging in an exciting dialogue of discovery with his inner self.

—Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold, Fanfare Magazine

Updated: December 27, 2023

Born: December 3, 1955

Tobin Mueller is a composer, playwright and interpretive pianist living in Connecticut. His musical compositions range from Jazz Fusion to Progressive Rock, Broadway musicals to Old-School Funk, Jamband classics to Classical ballet. In the late 1970s he was one of several composer-pianists who developed what became known as New Age music, although Tobin's style identifies more closely with complex modal/post-bop jazz. Mueller is a NYC Dramatist Guild playwright/lyricist, a member of ASCAP, and has appeared on over 35 albums.

2023-2024 saw the release of several volumes from Mueller's highly anticipated Best Of Tobin Mueller series. Volume 1 (upbeat) and Volume 5 (chill) include his best original jazz ensemble & small combo recordings, all remastered, plus a few recordings never heard before. Volume 2  includes his best arrangements of Jazz/Fusion Classics, redefining standards. Volume 3 focuses on progressive rock & jazz fusion forays. (Volume 4 are of his pop vocals recordings.)

His 2022 release, a high energy jazz fusion collection, Prestidigitation, barely missed a Grammy nod. It's breakout single, "What Is Hip?", debuted at #5 on NACC radio chart. "Birdland/Long Distance Runaround", called "the best cover of 'Birdland' ever recorded" by All About Jazz, debuted at #8. The album reached #13 on the Jambands chart, #14 on the College Radio chart, and several tracks have made Spotify's Best Of 2022 playlist. An homage to the founders of jazz fusion, it is a follow-up to his 2018 2-Volume opus, Standard Deviations, which reached #16 on the FM Jazz Radio charts and #18 on Independent Radio. Both recordings feature Grammy-wining guitarist, Paul Nelson, who displays his progressive blues-funk-fusion chops with magical dexterity.

In between these two successes, Mueller released three well-reviewed albums: two in 2021 - Instead of Heaven, a solo piano album inspired by Greek myths, and Puzzle People, spoken word recordings that combine his music and award-winning poetry. In 2020 he released a double album, What Survives, featuring a 9-piece contemporary big band jazz ensemble. "One of the freshest and most sheerly entertaining, intriguing and exciting recordings I've come across," wrote Brad Walseth, Chicago Jazz. What Survives are jazz arrangements of original tunes from Mueller's Broadway musical "Creature" (1995-1998).

In addition to Paul Nelson, Tobin has recorded with Grammy winners Dave Brubeck, Ron Carter, Michael Hedges, Donny McCaslin (last collaborator with David Bowie), Jon Anderson (from Yes), Brian Welch ("Head" from Korn), as well as Grammy nominees Dane Richeson (Blue Note Records), Ken Schaphorst, Entcho Todorov, Janet Planet and more. His albums have included contributions from drummers Scott Rockenfield (Queensrÿche), Lamar Moore (Lettuce), Mike Nappi (J Geils Band) and countless other musicians from around the globe. Early in his career, he had the honor of playing with Maynard Ferguson.

Read more

Tags

All About Jazz Articles

16
Year in Review

Popular Jazz Songs: 2023

Read "Popular Jazz Songs: 2023" reviewed by Michael Ricci


All About Jazz tracks how often a featured song is heard, and the following represent the most popular in 2023. Of course these lists tend to favor songs featured earlier in the year so we identified five hard chargers (in the comments section) that would have cracked this list with more time. Click the album covers below to listen. Enjoy! Contemporary Insanity From: Best of Tobin Mueller, Vol. 3: Prog Fusion By Tobin Mueller ...

14
Take Five With...

Take Five with Tobin Mueller

Read "Take Five with Tobin Mueller" reviewed by AAJ Staff


Meet Tobin Mueller Connecticut-based composer, arranger, playwright and pianist Tobin Mueller has just released his 35th album: Prestidigitation, drawing on a long career of innovation and artistry. Mueller's compositions range from Jazz Fusion to Progressive Rock, Broadway musicals to Old-School Funk, Classical ballet to video games. His jazz ensemble recordings have featured legendary bassist Ron Carter, saxophonist Donny McCaslin (last collaborator with David Bowie) & Grammy-winning guitarist Paul Nelson. His piano recordings have won several Fanfare Magazine's Critics Choice awards, ...

Read more articles
3

Recording

Tobin Mueller's New Album 'Prestidigitation' Celebrates The Founders Of Jazz Fusion

Tobin Mueller's New Album 'Prestidigitation' Celebrates The Founders Of Jazz Fusion

Source: Powderfinger Promotions

Tobin Mueller’s new album Prestidigitation celebrates the founders of fusion jazz: Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea; plus crossover jazz-funk masters Tower of Power, Stevie Wonder and Sly Stone. Frank Zappa makes the cut, along with other prog-rock fusion bands Yes and Happy The Man. Not to be forgotten, important precursors John Coltrane and Bill Evans supply their own brand of timeless elegance. Lastly, Mueller contributes an original piece, the title track “Prestidigitation." The music is high energy, the arrangements ...

"Snatches energy out of the universe and toss it around like a meteor shower! Fusion jazz at its best. It reminds me of the days when Herbie Hancock’s Headhunter album was blowing our minds. It wreaks of that kind of inspiration." - Dee Dee McNeil, Musical Memoirs "Jazz that takes you on a journey. Skillfully paced and plotted, this is a top notch experience for the instrumental music enthusiast...” - Chris Spector, Midwest Record "STANDARD DEVIATIONS" - An amazing jazz amalgam that showcases the great players Mueller chose to record with. But even more so, it captures at its zenith Mueller’s genius ability to dance in and out of motifs and themes while paying such great respect to the jazz composers he "quotes”

Read more

Yes
band / ensemble / orchestra
John Medeski
organ, Hammond B3

Links

Followers

All About Jazz user Tobin Mueller All About Jazz user Lucia Fodde

First Contact

From: Best of Tobin Mueller, Vol. 5:...
By Tobin Mueller

Come In Funky (feat. Ron Carter & Woody Mankowski)

From: Best of Tobin Mueller, Vol. 5:...
By Tobin Mueller

Contemporary Insanity

From: Best of Tobin Mueller, Vol. 3:...
By Tobin Mueller

Eleanor Rigby (remastered)

From: Best of Tobin Mueller, Vol. 2:...
By Tobin Mueller

God Bless the Child

From: Best of Tobin Mueller, Vol. 2:...
By Tobin Mueller

Fusion of Minds

From: Best of Tobin Mueller, Volume...
By Tobin Mueller

I Wanna Fly

From: Best of Tobin Mueller, Volume...
By Tobin Mueller

Frankenfanny

From: Best of Tobin Mueller, Volume...
By Tobin Mueller

Birdland Runaround

From: Prestidigitation
By Tobin Mueller

Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)

From: Prestidigitation
By Tobin Mueller

Giant Steps

From: Prestidigitation
By Tobin Mueller

Watermelon Man

From: Prestidigitation
By Tobin Mueller

Cliff's Edge

From: What Survives (Radio Edits)
By Tobin Mueller

Windowshade

From: What Survives (Radio Edits)
By Tobin Mueller

Wonder

From: Wonder
By Tobin Mueller

Wonder

From: Wonder
By Tobin Mueller

Come In Funky

From: Come in Funky
By Tobin Mueller

Wonder

From: Wonder
By Tobin Mueller

Wonder

From: Wonder
By Tobin Mueller

Come In Funky

From: Come in Funky
By Tobin Mueller

Wonder

From: Wonder
By Tobin Mueller

Come In Funky

From: Come in Funky
By Tobin Mueller

Let The Rumpus Begin

From: Wonder
By Tobin Mueller

The Long Sleep

From: Wonder
By Tobin Mueller

The Muller's Wheel

From: The Muller's Wheel
By Tobin Mueller

Come In Funky

From: Come in Funky
By Tobin Mueller

The Muller's Wheel

From: The Muller's Wheel
By Tobin Mueller

The Long Sleep

From: Wonder
By Tobin Mueller

Come In Funky

From: Come in Funky
By Tobin Mueller

The Muller's Wheel

From: The Muller's Wheel
By Tobin Mueller

Come In Funky

From: Come in Funky
By Tobin Mueller

Moanin' / Blue Monk

From: Standard Deviation (Tobin...
By Tobin Mueller