Jim McNeely (born May 18, 1949) is a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist, composer, arranger and faculty.

Biography

Jim McNeely was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He earned a

Bachelor of Music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...

degree from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

, and moved to New York City in 1975. In 1978, he joined the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band. He spent six years as a featured soloist with that band and its successor, Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra (now the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra). In 1981, he began a four-year tenure as pianist/composer with the

Stan Getz Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...

Quartet. From 1990 until 1995, he was the pianist in the

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began t ...

Quintet. In 1996, he re-joined the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra as pianist. He is still associated with the Vanguard Orchestra as composer-in-residence. From 1998 to 2002, McNeely was chief conductor of the DR Big Band in Copenhagen, Denmark. , he was chief conductor of the HR (

Hessischer Rundfunk (; "Hesse Broadcasting"), shortened to HR (; stylized as hr), is the German state of Hesse's public broadcasting corporation. Headquartered in Frankfurt, it is a member of the national consortium of German public broadcasting corporations, A ...

) Big Band in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, Germany. He is currently their Composer-in-Residence. He has appeared as guest with many of Europe's leading jazz orchestras such as the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw (the Netherlands), the WDR Big Band (Cologne, Germany), the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra (Sweden) and the Swiss Jazz Orchestra. McNeely also leads his own tentet, his own trio, and appears as soloist at concerts and festivals worldwide. He has recorded more than 20 albums as leader, receiving twelve

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nominations between 1997 and 2019. As part of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, he received a Grammy Award for the album '' Monday Night Live at the Village Vanguard'' in 2008. McNeely is professor emeritus at

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

, and is former musical director of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop. A former resident of

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a commercial and cultural hub of North Jersey and a diverse ...

,Wise, Robert
"Eclectic Sounds of New Jersey, Echoing From Coast to Coast"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', February 8, 2004. Accessed August 18, 2012. "Nominated in various jazz categories are the saxophonist and Newark native Wayne Shorter; the pianist Keith Jarrett, from western New Jersey; the percussionist and Newark resident Stefon Harris; and the pianist, composer and arranger Jim McNeely, of Montclair, has been nominated for best instrumental arrangement for an album by Renee Rosnes and the Danish Radio Big Band." and

Maplewood, New Jersey Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's popula ...

he now resides in

Owls Head, Maine Owls Head is a New England town, town in Knox County, Maine, Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,504 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A resort and fishing area, the community is home to the Knox County Regional ...

Selected discography

As leader * ''Rain's Dance'', (

SteepleChase SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, ...

, 1976) * ''The Plot Thickens'', (

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

, 1979) * ''From the Heart'', (Owl, 1984) * ''Winds of Change'', (SteepleChase, 1989) * ''East Coast Blow Out'' (w/

WDR Big Band WDR Big Band is the jazz big band of German public broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) in Cologne, Germany. History Origins After World War II, the ''Kölner Rundfunk-Tanzorchester'' (''Cologne Radio Dance Orchestra'') was active from ...

), (Lipstick, 1989) * ''Jigsaw'' (w/Stockholm Jazz Orch.), (

Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

, 1991) * '' Jim McNeely at Maybeck'', (Concord, 1992) * ''Sound Bites'' (w/Stockholm Jazz Orch.), (Dragon, 1997) * ''Lickety Split'' (w/Vanguard Jazz Orch.), (

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

, 1997) * ''Nice Work'' (w/ Danish Radio Big Band), ( Dacapo, 2000) – recorded in 1998 * ''Group Therapy'' (Jim McNeely Tentet), (OmniTone, 2001) * ''The Power and the Glory: A salute to Louis Armstrong'' (w/Danish Radio Big Band, feat. Leroy Jones), ( Storyville, 2001) * ''Play Bill Evans'' (w/Danish Radio Big Band), (

Stunt A stunt is an unusual, difficult, dramatic physical feat that may require a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually for a public audience, as on television or in theaters or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Befo ...

, 2002) * ''In This Moment'' (w/Adam Nussbaum, Lennart Ginman), (Stunt, 2003) * ''Up From the Skies'' (w/Vanguard Jazz Orch.), ( Planet Arts, 2006) * ''Dedication Suite'' (w/Danish Radio Big Band), (Cope, 2006) – recorded in 2002 * ''Paul Klee'' (w/Swiss Jazz Orch.), (

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

, 2006) * ''Boneyard'' (w/Kelly Sill, Joel Spencer), (

Origin Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics and manga * ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002 * ''The Origin'' (Buffy comic), a 1999 ''Buffy the Vampire Sl ...

, 2006) * ''Remember the Sound'' (w/George Robert Jazztet), (TCB, 2008) * ''A Single Sky'' (w/Dave Douglas & Frankfurt Radio Big Band), ( Greenleaf, 2009) * ''Quest for Freedom'' (w/David Liebman, Richie Beirach & Frankfurt Radio Big Band), ( Sunnyside, 2010) * '' Barefoot Dances and Other Visions'' (w/Frankfurt Radio Big Band), ( Planet Arts, 2018) * ''Rituals'' (Frankfurt Radio Big Band and Chris Potter), ( Double Moon Records, 2022) * ''Threnody'' (Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw), ( Challenge Records, 2022) With

Ted Curson Theodore Curson (June 3, 1935 – November 4, 2012) was an American jazz trumpeter. Life and career Curson was born in Philadelphia. He became interested in playing trumpet after watching a newspaper salesman play a silver trumpet. Curson's fath ...

* '' Blue Piccolo'' (

Whynot Whynot may refer to: Media * WHYNOT, an affiliate of Radio Free Asia Place * Whynot, Mississippi, U.S. * Whynot, North Carolina, U.S. Jazz * Whynot Records, a Japanese jazz record label * WhyNot Jazz Room, a jazz club in New York City Pe ...

, 1976) * '' Jubilant Power'' (

Inner City The term inner city (also called the hood) has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Soc ...

, 1976) * '' I Heard Mingus'' (Interplay, 1980) * '' Snake Johnson'' (

Chiaroscuro In art, chiaroscuro ( , ; ) is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to ach ...

, 1981) With

* '' Blue Skies'' (Concord Jazz, 1982

995 Year 995 (Roman numerals, CMXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies. * 3 June: Fujiwara no Michikane gains power and becomes Rege ...

* '' Pure Getz'' (Concord Jazz, 1982) * '' Stan Getz Quartet Live in Paris'' ( Dreyfus, 1982

996 Year 996 ( CMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Emperor Kazan. * 2 March: Emperor ...

* '' Line for Lyons'' (

Sonet Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) are standardized protocols that transfer multiple digital bit streams synchronously over optical fiber using lasers or highly coherent light from light-emitting diodes ...

, 1983) with

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

* '' The Stockholm Concert'' (Sonet, 1983

989 Year 989 ( CMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperor Basil II uses his contingent of 6,000 Varangians to help him defeat Bardas Phokas (the Younger), who suffe ...

With

Mel Lewis Melvin Sokoloff (May 10, 1929 – February 2, 1990), known professionally as Mel Lewis, was an American jazz drummer, session musician, professor, and author. He received fourteen Grammy Award nominations. Biography Early years Lewis was ...

*'' Mellifluous'' (Gatemouth, 1981) With

Rufus Reid Rufus Reid (born February 10, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American jazz bassist, educator, and composer. Biography Reid was raised in Sacramento, California, where he played the trumpet through junior high and high school. Upon graduation ...

* ''Seven Minds'' (Sunnyside, 1984) With

* ''Flowers for Hodges'' (Concord Jazz, 1991)

References

External links

The Official Jim McNeely WebsiteThe Vanguard Jazz Orchestra The HR Big Band
by Ronan Guilfoyle
Jim McNeely interview
by

Ethan Iverson Ethan Iverson (born February 11, 1973) is a pianist, composer, and critic best known for his work in the avant-garde jazz trio The Bad Plus with bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King. Biography Iverson was born in Menomonie, Wisconsin. ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:McNeely, Jim 1949 births Living people American jazz composers American male jazz composers American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists American jazz bandleaders Musicians from Montclair, New Jersey SteepleChase Records artists Muse Records artists Concord Records artists 20th-century American pianists DR Big Band members 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians