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Photograph of Michael McNeill
Photograph of Michael McNeill and Paul Smoker
Another photograph of Michael McNeill and Paul Smoker.
"I think some of the most creative music that's happening right now in the country is the new jazz --- Ken Vandermark, Joe McPhee, Paul Smoker. I think Mike McNeill, a young, local jazz pianist, is going to be a star."
Tom Kohn (owner of The Bop Shop), in an interview with Ron Netsky
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McNeill Quartet with Paul Smoker
"...The music that McNeill's quartet makes with Paul Smoker walks the line between abstraction and melody, and their work together is both challenging and palatable, leaning, perhaps, more toward the challenging side. When drummer Tony Hiler's complex, active patterns brush up against McNeill's elegance (which is also quite active), they create a kind of static cloud that sounds as if it's about to burst forth with melody and rhythmic drive. In turn, Smoker's individual brand of boundary-pushing fits in perfectly, but he also weaves in traditional harmony --- and switches back again --- with the suppleness and dependability of a pendulum."
Saby Reyes-Kulkarni, in City Newspaper |
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