Mourning the loss of trumpeter/composer John McNeil

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Mourning the loss of trumpeter/composer John McNeil

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of trumpeter John McNeil in New York City on September 27, 2024 due to Hypertensive Cardiovascular Disease.

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.

John McNeil Full Bio

John 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.

Outstanding Distinctions and Honors

The prestigious week-long Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT) culminated on September 25, 2016 in “Honoring John McNeil” during which John received the FONT Music Award of Recognition and gave a performance of his music.

John was a judge for the Laurie Frink Career Grant since its inception in 2014. The grant awards $10, 000 to a U.S.-based jazz brass player under the age of 25 every two years.

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