Back
 | Johnny O'NealOn The Montreal SceneLabel: Justin Time | Jazz | May 12, 1996Format UPC Order # Unit Price |
Credits Russell Malone guitar Tarus Mateen bass Wali Muhammad drums Johnny O'Neal piano and voice (on tracks 03, 05 and 09) Production Credits | TracksNo Title Duration Excerpts 04 Happy Days Are Here Again 00:05:33 05 Just Loving You 00:05:22 06 Over Joyed 00:07:41 07 Come Sunday 00:06:14 08 While The Blood Is Running Warm 00:03:58 09 Homeboy Blues 00:06:09 Liner NotesMontreal producer Jim West was minding his own business one day last summer when a tip came down the pipeline."You should really get to Biddles tonight," the message read. "I think you'll like what you hear." West took the advice to heart. Hours later, he was seated at his customary spot in the city's premier jazz club, listening to veteran American pianist and singer Johnny O'Neal seduce the house with the kind of easy showmanship that only consummate craft allows. West remembers being impressed with the way O'Neal swung effortlessly between hard bop, lounge tunes and the kind of ballads people fall in love over in bars like Biddles. There were traces of Art Tatum in his style, elements of the blues, bebop, and whatever influence a hometown of Detroit, Michigan and apprenticeship in Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers will bring to a guy's art and act. But it wasn't until O'Neal leaned into the first of a number of gospel pieces that West felt the hair on his arms rise up, and the spirit take hold. He wasn't alone. People who know and love jazz enough to spend their lives with it are notoriously sparing in their praise - cool is the rule. But O'Neal turned the club into a revival hall, offering almighty praise where all praise is due, and receiving it in kind from a crowd that knew some kind of magic was working its joyful spell that night. From there, it took only time and the right kind of talent to fit O'Neal and his hectic international schedule into a Montreal studio. Time can be organized. When the players are O'Neal, bassist Tarus Mateen, guitarist Russell Malone and drummer Wali Muhammed, the talent takes care of itself. But the chemistry, that's something else. It can't be manufactured. It can only be encouraged. And there's a regular cheering section behind the record you hold in your hands right now. "There wasn't a game plan behind the session," West says. "Johnny wanted to go and have some fun, playing with people he's known for years. It was extremely relaxed. I think it shows." Amen to that. "On The Montreal Scene" is proof. John Griffin John Griffin writes about entertainment for the Montreal Gazette |
© 1996 - 2006 Justin Time Records
