TRUMPETER/COMPOSER JOHN MCNEIL
MARCH 23, 1948 – SEPTEMBER 27, 2024
John McNeil was a brilliant trumpeter, composer, arranger, educator and producer whose mark on the music world was indelible and whose acerbic sense of humor and dry wit were legendary. McNeil, who built an accomplished and progressive career in jazz despite a genetic disorder that continuously challenged his abilities, died due to Hypertensive Cardiovascular Disease on Sept. 27. He was 76. McNeil is survived by trombonist Lolly Bienenfeld, his partner of more than 40 years.
Born on March 23, 1948 in Yreka, California, John McNeil hit the New York jazz scene in the mid-70s and soon was playing with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, the Horace Silver Quintet, and saxophone great Gerry Mulligan, as well as leading bands of his own. As one of the world’s most original and creative jazz artists, he also wrote a lifetime’s worth of music and recorded 20 albums as a leader or co-leader. He also served as a producer, composer and arranger for numerous albums. His final recording was on Allegra Levy’s Lose My Number, an album of McNeil’s tunes for which Levy wrote lyrics. “One of the best improvisers working in jazz,” (Ben Ratliff, New York Times), McNeil’s mark on the music was indelible, and his acerbic sense of humor and dry wit were legendary. He was a phenomenal and sought-out jazz coach beloved by his many students.
His accomplishments were all the more extraordinary in light of his chronic struggles with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a debilitating neuromuscular illness with which McNeil was diagnosed early in life. At several points during his career, the muscle weakness and atrophy caused by this hereditary condition required him to virtually relearn how to play the trumpet. When he eventually lost use of his dominant right hand, he taught himself to play with his left, and even recorded an album while playing left-handed, 2001’s Fortuity.
Photo by Eldon Phillips
McNeil was regarded as one of the world’s most original and creative jazz artists and among the most influential trumpet players of his generation. An actively touring and recording jazz trumpeter since the mid-1970s, he never settled into a comfortable stylistic niche, remaining instead consistently on the cutting edge of new music. He also composed and arranged in the jazz idiom with equal passion.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in trumpet performance from the University of Portland (Oregon) in 1971, McNeil worked toward a master’s at the University of Miami (Florida) until he felt ready to support himself as a full-time musician. Upon moving to New York in the early 1970s, he served as a freelance trumpet player in multiple musical genres for several years, eventually focusing exclusively on jazz.
His career took a major upturn when he beat out 10 of New York City’s finest jazz musicians to win the trumpet chair in Horace Silver’s quintet. After touring Europe and the US with Silver, McNeil began to record his own music and had led or co-led his own bands ever since. He toured for many years with his groups, recording critically acclaimed albums for both U.S. and European jazz labels. His working bands included Insomnia, Urban Legend. Hip Deep, Hush Point (a cooperative quartet), and The John McNeil New Quintet. Many of his compositions and arrangements have also been recorded by other jazz artists.
In 2006, McNeil discovered a treasure trove of neglected jazz compositions by a handful of bebop players from the 1950s, including pianist Russ Freeman, drummer Denzil Best and trumpeter Wilbur Harden. He fell in love with this music and re-arranged it for a contemporary quartet featuring Bill McHenry on tenor sax and himself on trumpet. The group performed regularly in Brooklyn, NY for years culminating in a week-long engagement at NYC’s Village Vanguard. It also recorded two CDs of this material for the Sunnyside label. When other musicians became aware of these tunes, a number of them re-emerged as part of the standard jazz repertoire.
The name John McNeil was also well-known in academia. He wrote several popular method books, most notably Flexus: Trumpet Calisthenics for the Modern Improvisor, co-written with Laurie Frink, considered by some to be the most important trumpet method manual of the new millennium. He also co-wrote The Classroom Guide to Jazz Improvisation with trumpeter and clinician Ryan Nielson, published by Oxford University Press in 2024. For nearly 40 years he commuted from New York to Boston as a faculty member in the Jazz Studies Department of New England Conservatory.
In 2016, the annual Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT) culminated in a performance of McNeil’s music, during which he received the prestigious FONT Award of Recognition.
From 2010 to 2018, McNeil also led a regular jam session in Brooklyn, NY, with jazz trombonist Mike Fahey that attracted musicians from all over the world, both established pros and aspiring newcomers. These sessions were a great benefit to players trying to hone their craft and connect with others on the New York jazz scene.
Photo by Zach Kobrinsky
Discography
In addition to recording as a trumpet player, John was a composer, an arranger and a producer of records/CDs. The Discography includes his credits in all of these.
As Leader
1978 Embarkation (SteepleChase) – 4 of the 6 tunes are McNeil compositions
1979 Faun (SteepleChase) – all 6 tunes are McNeil’s originals
1980 The Glass Room (SteepleChase) – 5 of the 6 tunes are McNeil’s
1981 Clean Sweep (SteepleChase) – all 6 tunes are McNeil’s
1983 Things We Did Last Summer (SteepleChase) – 2 of the 8 tunes are McNeil’s
1983 I’ve Got the World on a String (SteepleChase) – standards & jazz standards
2001 Fortuity (Steeplechase) – 7 of 10 by McNeil, 2 others he arranged
2003 This Way Out (OmniTone) – 8 of 12 are McNeil’s
2004 Sleep Won’t Come (OmniTone) – 7 of 11 are McNeil’s
2006 East Coast Cool (OmniTone) – 10 of 12 are McNeil’s
As Co-leader
1979 Look to the Sky with Tom Harrell (SteepleChase) – no McNeil originals
1996 Hip Deep with Kenny Berger (Brownstone) – 6 of 10 are McNeil’s
1998 Brooklyn Ritual with Kenny Berger (Synergy) – 8 of 12 are McNeil’s
2006 Jam Session Vol. 17 with Ryan Kisor & Brad Goode (SteepleChase)
2008 Rediscovery with Bill McHenry (Sunnyside) –jazz tunes arr. by McNeil
2010 Chill Morn He Climb Jenny w/Bill McHenry (Sunnyside) – arr. by McNeil
2013 Hush Point with Hush Point (Sunnyside) – 3 of 10 are McNeil’s
2014 Blues and Reds with Hush Point (Sunnyside) – 4 of 10 are McNeil’s
2017 Hush Point III with Hush Point (Sunnyside) – 6 of 9 are McNeil’s
2017 Plainsong with Mike Fahie (Destiny Records) – 4 of 12 are McNeil’s
Composer/Arranger for Other Artists
1996 Tony D’Aveni / Broken Hip (Brownstone) (several arrangements)
1997 The Montgomery-Hill Sextet / Got Eyes For You (Sea Breeze) (Arr. all 10 tracks)
1997 Tony D’Aveni / Hip Displacement (Brownstone) (Arr. “Giant Steps”)
1998 Sylvia Cuenca / The Crossing (Arr. “Granted,” “Think On Me,” “The Crossing” & “Favela”)
1999 Diva / I Believe in You (Arbors) (Arr. “I Believe in You,” “’Tis Autumn, “The Claw”)
1999 Five Play Quintet / On the Brink (Arbors) (Arr. all 13 tracks)
1999 Darryl White / Ancient Memories (with 1 McNeil composition-arrangement)
2002 Darryl White / In the Fullness of Time (with 3 McNeil compositions-arrangements)
2002 Diva Jazz Orchestra / Live in Concert (Arbors) (Arr. “Did You Do That” “I’ve Got the World On a String”)
2007 The Montgomery-Hermann Quintet / On the Brink (Summit) (Comp. “Game Boy” & Arr. 4 tracks)
2007 Cindy Bradley / Just A Little Bit “Manhattan Rain” & “Out Of Service”
2008 Noah Preminger / Dry Bridge Road (NOWT-002)
2010 Mike Fahie / Anima (BJU Records BJUR 014)
2014 Allegra Levy / Lonely City (SteepleChase) (Arr. 5 tracks)
2017 Allegra Levy / Cities Between Us (SteepleChase) (Comp. “Down Sunday” & Arr. 3 tracks)
2020 Allegra Levy / Lose My Number: Allegra Levy Sings John McNeil (SteepleChase)
As Producer for Other Artists
1993 Randall Conners / Randall Conners Quartet (Billy Hart drums, Cecil McBee Bass, James Williams piano)
1993 Les Arbuckle / No More No Les (AudioQuest)
1996 Tony D’Aveni / Broken Hip (Brownstone)
2005 Ken Walker Sextet / Terra Firma (Synergy)
2005 Schumacher-Sanford Sound Assembly / Edge of the Mind (Beauport Jazz)
2008 Noah Preminger / Dry Bridge Road (NOWT)
2009 Nicholas Urie Large Ensemble / Excerpts from an Online Dating Service (Red Piano Records)
2010 Mike Fahie / Anima (BJU Records)
2014 Allegra Levy / Lonely City (SteepleChase)
2015 John Raymond / Foreign Territory (FreshSound)