Rediscovery

John McNeil, Trumpet
Bill McHenry, Tenor Saxophone
Joe Martin, Bass
Jochen Rueckert, Drums

available for purchase at:
Amazon.com

John McNeil: REDISCOVERY

Sunnyside SCC 1168

Bill McHenry and I started a band in 2005 or thereabouts. Most of the music we played was free jazz or at least leaned heavily in that direction.

In February of 2006 we had the opportunity to begin a regular Sunday night gig at a restaurant/jazz room in Park Slope, Brooklyn. We started taking long-neglected tunes from jazz composers like Russ Freeman and George Wallington and playing them in a contemporary style.

The concept seemed to catch on, and over the next couple of years more gigs followed, including a stint at the Village Vanguard in 2007. We signed a contract with Sunnyside records, and recorded Rediscovery in November, '07.

We like this CD a lot. We recorded it with everyone in the same room, so it has some of the feel of a live recording. (This meant that it was impossible to fix any mistakes by editing. The clam factor was not too great, however, so we feel good about what got on the CD.)

Michael Perez-Cisneros was the engineer, and a genius one, at that. He did the mastering, as well.

Jochen Rueckert and Joe Martin should actually get equal billing with Bill and me. The whole concept of the band is completely dependent upon their playing and musical input. Without them, this CD would not have been successful.

Thanks, both of you, and I promise to stop talking trash about your families. Sometime soon, at least.

John McNeil, 2008