John Purcell

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John Raymond Purcell (* 1952 in New York City ) is an American multi-instrumentalist (alto, soprano and baritone saxophone, clarinets , saxello , English horn, flutes , synthesizer) and music teacher of avant-garde jazz .

Live and act

John Purcell graduated from the Manhattan School of Music at the age of 23 . Because of a tumor, he was initially unable to continue playing the saxophone, but developed his own method of playing on a wide variety of wind instruments. At the beginning of his career he worked with Lionel Hampton , Benny Golson , Dizzy Gillespie , Benny Carter , Elvin Jones and many other musicians, played six years in the American Jazz Orchestra , with Archie Shepp ( Attica Blues , 1980), Peter Warren (1981) and with Chico Freeman ( Tangents , 1984).

Purcell recorded several albums for the ECM label from 1980 with Jack DeJohnette's Formation Special Edition , including album album on which he played soprano saxophone. He also played in a clarinet quartet with Douglas Ewart , Edward Wilkerson and JD Parran . In the second half of the 1980s he played in the bands of Muhal Richard Abrams , Lawrence "Butch" Morris , Dennis Gonsalvez and Hamiet Bluiett . He also worked on big band productions by Julius Hemphill (1988), David Sanborn and David Murray (1991/92), such as David Murray Big Band Conducted by Lawrence "Butch" Morris . From the late 1990s he was a member of the World Saxophone Quartet and played on the outstanding tribute album for Miles Davis , Selim Sivad 1998. In the 1990s, he recorded several albums under his own name. In addition to his work as a musician, which he had to limit during his illness, John Purcell works as a music teacher at the Manhattan School of Music and as a sound consultant.

Discography (excerpt)

As a leader

  • 1986: Third Kind Of Blue (with Ronnie Burrage and Anthony Cox )
  • 1994: John Purcell & Sweeca: Trantsong
  • 1995: John Purcell ( Mapleshade )
  • 1998: Saxello Christmas in Vienna
  • 1999: Little Ray of Sunshine

As a sideman

  • Muhal Richard Abrams: The Heringa Suite ( Black Saint , 1989)
  • Jack DeJohnette: Tin Can Alley (ECM, 1980), Album Album (ECM, 1984), Inflation Blues (ECM, 1982)
  • Dennis Gonsalves: Stefan (Silkheart, 1986)
  • David Murray: David Murray Big Band ( DIW Records , 1991), South of the Border (DIW, 1992)
  • David Sanborn : Upfront (Elektra, 1992), Hearsay (Elektra, 1995), Pearls (Elektra, 1995)
  • World Saxophone Quartet: Four Now ( Justin Time , 1995), Takin 'It 2 The Next Level (JustinTime, 1996), Selim Sivad - A Tribute to Miles Davis (JustinTime, 1998), Requiem for Julius (JustinTime, 2000), The New Chapter (JustinTime, 2001), Steppenwolf (JustinTime, 2002)

literature

Web links