Bill O'Connell Monk’s Cha Cha CD Release Show

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The musical history of solo piano recordings is long and rich, and contains much emotionally compelling music. Entire albums of solo piano require real skills from the improvising artist to keep the listeners' ears glued to the music. The demonstration is here. Bill O'Connell is woefully under-recorded as a solo artist, given that he has been the rst-call pianist for names like Mongo Santamaria, Sonny Rollins, Gato Barbieri and Jerry González's Fort Apache Band, to name but a few. On this CD, recorded in a beautiful-sounding concert venue in Rockland County, NY he plays his own compositions with some covers of the standards "The Song is You", "It Could Happen to You" and "Afro Blue". O'Connell's playing is very satisfying, not ostentatious or prone to dramatic effects, but is focused on careful development and further expansion of initial ideas. Imaginative in spirit, his improvisations are quite controlled, never wild, never cloyingly sweet, yet very lyrical and impressionistic. A rare and winning combination.

"Bill O'Connell continues to be in the springtime of his career and his last few recordings are wonderful testaments to a gift for composition and performance...Latin Jazz is richer for his contributions as he continues to add volumes to the literature of the earthy dialect."

—Raul da Gama, Latin Jazz Network

Artist: BILL O'CONNELL
Title: MONK'S CHA CHA
Label: Savant Records Artist
Website: www.billoconnel.net
Release Date: FEBRUARY 24, 2017
UPC Code: 6 33842 2161 2 6

Track listing
1. The Song is You 5:59
(J. Kern / O. Hammerstein) (Universal-Polygram International Music) ASCAP
2. Dindi 9:14
(A.C. Jobim / A. De Olivera / R. Gilbert) (Corcovado Music / Ipanema Music) BMI / ASCAP
3. Monk's Cha Cha 5:45
(B. O'Connell) (O'Connell Music) SESAC
4. It Could Happen to You 6:45
(J. Burke / J. Van Heusen) (SONY/ATV Harmony) ASCAP
5. Zip Line 4:49
(B. O'Connell) (O'Connell Music) SESAC
6. Afro Blue 8:12
(R. Santamaria) (Mongo Music) BMI
7. Hither Hills 8:21
(B. O'Connell) (O'Connell Music) SESAC
8. Gibberish 2:39
(B. O'Connell) (O'Connell Music) SESAC
9. White Caps 6:07
(B. O'Connell) (O'Connell Music) BMI

Bill O'Connell
Monk's Cha Cha
CD Release Show
@ MEZZROW
163 West 10th street, basement
Greenwich Village, New York City
10014 Tel: 646-476-4346

Thursday, March 16th
Sets 8 and 9:30 pm

Bill O'Connell- piano
Kenny Davis-bass

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