Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers - Oh-By The Way

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1982
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:08
Size: 101,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:30)  1. Oh-By The Way
(6:01)  2. Duck Soup
(4:54)  3. Tropical Breeze
(5:20)  4. One By One
(7:09)  5. Sudan Blue
(8:15)  6. My Funny Valetine
(5:56)  7. Alicia

When the Marsalis Brothers left The Jazz Messengers in early 1982, Wynton suggested that Art Blakey take a close listen to trumpeter Terence Blanchard (then 19) and 21-year old altoist Donald Harrison. The drummer took his advice, and after also adding young pianist Johnny O'Neal, Blakey soon had an exciting new version of The Jazz Messengers. Tenor saxophonist Bill Pierce and bassist Charles Fambrough were still present from the older band for this excellent LP. In the Blakey tradition, this set has five new compositions from bandmembers in addition to Wayne Shorter's "One by One" and the standard "My Funny Valentine"; the music is a fine example of high-quality hard bop.~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/oh-by-the-way-mw0000526449

Personnel: Art Blakey (drums); Donald Harrison (alto saxophone); Bill Pierce (tenor saxophone); Terence Blanchard (trumpet); Johnny O'Neal (piano).

Oh-By The Way

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Johnny O'Neal - In The Moment

Size: 167,5 MB
Time: 71:39
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front & Back

01. Sweet Monk (4:10)
02. Guilty (5:14)
03. Churchill Grounds (2:11)
04. Savings All My Love For You (6:07)
05. After The Love Is Gone (3:17)
06. She Doesn't Know (I Love Her) (5:39)
07. Slow Hot Wind (5:30)
08. Please Be Kind (3:55)
09. The Folks Who Live On The Hill (4:22)
10. Cgls (3:42)
11. People Make The World Go Round (5:21)
12. Sunday In New York (6:25)
13. Trav'lin' Light (3:17)
14. Just A Dream (On My Mind) (3:37)
15. Being In Love With You (3:54)
16. Tropical Breeze (4:53)

While every great jazz musician knows the value of spontaneity, few understand the true value of being in the moment quite like Johnny O’Neal. A rising star in the early 1980s, O’Neal left New York after a mugging in 1986. Performing and recording in Atlanta, St. Louis, Montreal and his native Detroit, he experienced another setback after he was diagnosed as HIV positive in 1998. Since returning to New York in 2010, however, both his life and his health have been on an upswing, cementing that long-promised star status at the age of 60. His new album, In the Moment, is his most vivid recording to date, fully capturing the elegant pianism and emotionally gripping voice that have made him such a beloved fixture on the NYC jazz scene ever since his unparalleled comeback.

In the Moment will be released on 2017 by Smoke Sessions Records — appropriately enough, as the label’s namesake club has been one of O’Neal’s home bases for the last seven years. The album features bassist Ben Rubens and drummer Itay Morchi, O’Neal’s regular working trio for the past year. The weightless swing and easy but deeply felt interplay the three share reveal the benefits of their regular residencies, which include late-night every Saturday at Smoke Jazz & Supper Club and Sunday nights at Small’s. Some of the biggest names in jazz stop by to hear O’Neal, and there’s no telling who might sit in during his sets on any given week. True to that policy, two very special guests dropped by the studio for this session — trumpet great Roy Hargrove and tenor-man Grant Stewart.

In The Moment

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Johnny O'Neal - In Good Hands

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 58:27

Size: 133.8 MB

Styles: Post bop, Piano jazz

Year: 2002

Art: Front

[2:44] 1. In Good Hands

[6:54] 2. Born To Be Blue

[4:55] 3. What Is There To Say

[4:51] 4. Tricotism

[3:34] 5. Ghost Of A Chance

[5:09] 6. Mornin'

[8:09] 7. In A Mellow Tone

[7:09] 8. My Ship

[5:50] 9. Half Breed

[4:32] 10. Alfie

[4:34] 11. Nesxt Spring

Pianist Johnny O'Neal's peers have likened his playing to the late, great Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum, which is a heck of an acknowledgement. He's an orchestral pianist, meaning that, like Peterson and Tatum, O'Neal swings across every inch of the piano, hammering chords and tickling melodies. Blues licks lurk beneath the surface of his solos, gospel too, and he sometimes breaks into singing, either seriously or bawdily, in a deep cavernous voice. A late bloomer, O'Neal started playing jazz piano well into his teens and mostly taught himself. His fascination with the mammoth instrument started in church and grew after hearing his dad, Johnny O'Neal Sr. who was popular around town back then sing and play the piano at a neighborhood house party. And young O'Neal wanted to follow in his footsteps.

"He bought me my first piano, and he told me that I had two choices: I was either going to play the piano or I was going to eat it," O'Neal recalled during a telephone interview from his new home in Newark, having recently relocated from Detroit. O'Neal talked about his musical roots and wanderings, and how his return to the New York jazz scene in June  Detroit's loss  has reignited his music career. ~Charles L. Latimer

In Good Hands

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Johnny O'Neal - On The Montreal Scene

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 60:22

Size: 138.2 MB

Styles: Piano jazz

Year: 1996

Art: Front

[9:49] 1. Let Me Off Uptown

[9:29] 2. Easy Walker

[6:16] 3. Why Try To Change Me Now

[5:31] 4. Happy Days Are Here Again

[5:19] 5. Just Loving You

[7:40] 6. Overjoyed

[6:12] 7. Come Sunday

[3:56] 8. While The Blood Is Running Warm

[6:07] 9. Homeboy Blues

Pianist Johnny O'Neal displays several sides to his musical personality on this CD. On some tunes, particularly the uptempo romps, he sounds very influenced by Oscar Peterson, yet he also has his own brand of soul, which comes to the forefront on the ballads. During two numbers ("While the Blood Is Running Warm" and, most logically, "Come Sunday"), O'Neal comes across as a top-notch gospel pianist. His forceful and sincere vocalizing on three songs is an acquired taste, but O'Neal is effective on the closing blues. The straight-ahead music, which sometimes co-stars guitarist Russell Malone, has several surprises, including what may be the only instrumental version ever of the Gene Krupa-Anita O'Day hit "Let Me Off Uptown," a somber "Happy Days Are Here Again," and a colorful interpretation of "Come Sunday." Well worth checking out. ~Scott Yanow

On The Montreal Scene

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Various - Rockin' The Spirit

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:26
Size: 138.3 MB
Styles: Boogie woogie, Spirituals
Year: 2001
Art: Front

[6:02] 1. Bob Seeley - St. Louis Blues
[4:29] 2. Johnny O'Neal - Happy Days Are Here Again Jitter Bug Waltz
[3:24] 3. Mark Braun - Pinetop's Boogie Woogie
[5:59] 4. Bob Seeley - Amazing Grace
[6:25] 5. Mark Braun - My Sunday Best
[2:47] 6. Eric Reed - You Took Advantage Of Me
[4:02] 7. Johnny O'Neal - Glory Glory Hallelujah
[5:34] 8. Monty Alexander - Boogie Woogie Keys
[3:24] 9. Bob Seeley - Fourplay Boogie Woogie
[4:20] 10. Eric Reed - Three Hymns
[6:04] 11. Monty Alexander - Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen No Woman, No Cry
[7:51] 12. Eric Reed - Whisper Not

After attending an annual boogie-woogie concert organized by Mark Braun (Mr. B.), Monty Alexander headed a recording project that paid tribute to both boogie-woogie and spirituals. Five pianists participated, performing two numbers apiece, with four of the players (all but Alexander) playing a pair of duets. Alexander, Eric Reed, and Johnny O'Neal are better known nationally than Bob Seeley and Mark Braun, but all five pianists fare well, stretching beyond boogie-woogie and spirituals to include a few swing standards and even a bluish duet on Benny Golson's "Whisper Not." Recommended to boogie-woogie fans and the curious. ~Scott Yanow

Rockin' The Spirit

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Johnny O'Neal - In Good Hands

Size: 135,8 MB
Time: 58:25
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2002
Styles: Jazz: Piano Jazz
Art: Front

01. In Good Hands (2:44)
02. Born To Be Blue (6:54)
03. What Is There To Say (4:55)
04. Tricotism (4:51)
05. Ghost Of A Chance (3:34)
06. Mornin' (5:09)
07. In A Mellow Tone (8:09)
08. My Ship (7:09)
09. Half Breed (5:50)
10. Alfie (4:32)
11. Next Spring (4:32)

A fine pianist influenced by Oscar Peterson, Johnny O'Neal actually started his career playing gospel piano in church while a teenager. Inspired by Peterson, Art Tatum, and Bud Powell, O'Neal started exploring jazz in 1976 and after impressing Ray Brown, found his way into Milt Jackson's group. Other important jobs followed (with Sonny Stitt, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, and Buddy DeFranco), and in 1982, O'Neal moved to New York and soon recorded his debut with Concord. After playing regularly with Clark Terry, he was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (1982-1983) and has mostly led his own groups ever since. Johnny O'Neal has recorded as a leader for Concord, Parkwood, and Justin Time (1995), taking three effective vocals on the latter set. ~Scott Yanow

In Good Hands

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Tine Bruhn & Johnny O'Neal - Nearness

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 49:01
Size: 112.2 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[3:45] 1. I'll Be Seeing You
[7:07] 2. But Beautiful
[3:38] 3. Easy to Love
[7:16] 4. The Nearness of You
[4:48] 5. If I Should Lose You
[5:02] 6. My Foolish Heart
[3:30] 7. Just in Time
[4:04] 8. Never Let Me Go
[4:26] 9. All of You
[5:20] 10. Skylark

Tine Bruhn’s new release "Nearness" is a duo recording of standards with pianist Johnny O'Neal. Tine Bruhn and Johnny O’Neal started working together in the summer of 2011 when her regular pianist had to cancel on short notice and sent Johnny O’Neal as a sub! Since then they have been appearing almost weekly at Robert Restaurant in NYC.Mr. O'Neal has played with Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon, Lionel Hampton to name just a few. He has opened for Oscar Peterson at Carnegie Hall and he played the role of Art Tatum in the Oscar winning movie "Ray" based on Mr. Peterson’s recommendation. In a recent JazzTimes article, O’Neal is named as “one of jazz’s best-kept secrets”.

This recording is a natural ‘documentation’ of the musical relationship between these two very different musicians. Different in the sense of background, age, ethnicity, gender. But musicially they complement each other highly and the listener will hear a relaxedness and comfortness shining through. The music was recorded in only one day with just two takes per song. Johnny O’Neal states “We just went in there and laid it down! It just felt right!” Tenor saxophonist Stacy Dillard is feautured on four tracks. Ben Ratliff (NY Times) calls Dillard “a young saxophonist of serious promise,” and he has played with Wycliffe Gordon, Eric Reed and Roy Hargrove amongst many others.

Nearness

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