I’d like to add my voice to the many wonderful postings on social media and elsewhere in tribute to the great Jim McNeely. His passing has had a huge impact on so many of us. He was a true master of the arts of jazz performance, composition, arranging, teaching and he was, even more significantly, a wonderful person who was generous in sharing his knowledge and experience. Like so many, I counted him as a friend, a teacher and a continual source of inspiration.
A couple of memories:
I was adjudicating at a festival in Greeley, Colorado some time in the 1990s and Jim was there, perhaps doing workshops and clinics. We had not met at that point, but I was an admirer of his recordings. One evening I went to a local club to hear Jim and John Clayton and Adam Nussbaum play. First off, I was appalled at the condition of the piano there. It was horribly out of tune and I’m not sure if all keys were operational. (This reminds me of a story told on FB by Chuck Owen and the account of the piano used at Keith Jarrett’s legendary Köln Concert). As a pianist, I felt sympathy pains for Jim. It can be so de-motivating to have to play such an instrument. But it was a revelation to hear Jim and John play a magnificent set (possibly 2). It was inspiring in every way and Jim’s tremendous musicality brought that poor instrument to life. I vowed to never again I let a bad piano get in the way.
I finally met Jim in 2000 when I arranged for him to do a week-long residency at the University of Toronto. He was an ideal choice. He gave lectures and rehearsed ensembles, he talked improvisation, composition and arranging and performed a duo concert with the great bassist/pianist/vibraphonist, Don Thompson. Later, he was featured in a concert of his music with the U of T Jazz Orchestras (2). In every possible way, these lectures/ rehearsals and performances were a highlight in the history of that program.
The final night concert included some of the music from the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra’s “Lickety Split” CD. For many students, this was their introduction to Jim’s music. Many have thanked me for having done that.
During that visit, my wife, Trish Colter and I had Jim over for dinner. It was the night of the 2000 US election where the presidency was contested by Al Gore and George Bush. During dinner we kept the TV on with low volume to keep tabs on the results. When I drove Jim back to the hotel, Gore appeared to have won – a result we celebrated. But by the time I picked him up in the morning to go back to the university, Bush had been declared the victor. Jim and I often recalled that “historic” evening when we saw each other.
Years later, I asked Jim for a lesson and went to his home in Montclair NJ after sending him some scores and recordings of a few of my efforts. That lesson (which lasted nearly 5 hours) has stayed with me as I experienced Jim in the many ways that others have spoken of. He was generous, encouraging, insightful and helpful in many profound ways.
Over the years, I purchased (from him) so many of his scores. Armed with these, and the many recorded performances, on recordings, YouTube, etc, there were countless lessons I learned while listening to his inspiring and utterly original work.
And there are his many appearances on JazzComposersPresent (www.jazzcomposerspresent.com) where he generously shared his wisdom and ways of working. [Thanks to Dan Jamieson for this important resource.]
The last time we saw each other was at the ISJAC Composers Summit in Nashville in 2024 ( https://isjac.org/summit). I spoke with him briefly at one of the sessions and, as always, he made me feel as though I was the most important person in the room. I know a lot of us felt that way in his presence.
RIP, my friend