John Purcell (musician)
Encyclopedia
John Raymond Purcell is an American jazz
saxophonist.
, achieving his master's degree in 1978, then formed a 22-piece ensemble based in Westchester; Frank Foster
co-led the ensemble for a time. In 1975 Purcell developed a tumor
on his larynx
, which prevented him from playing for a year; he devoted this time to studying instrument design.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s Purcell worked freelance in many local New York ensembles and in Broadway
pit orchestra
s. He played with Chico Hamilton
, Sam Rivers
, Onaje Allen Gumbs (1983), Muhal Richard Abrams
(1983-90), He recorded with the Roger Dawson
septet featuring Hilton Ruiz
, Claudio Roditi
, John Betsch
, and Anthony Cox
(1983). American Jazz Orchestra (1985-91), Third Kind of Blue with Ronnie Burrage
and Anthony Cox
(1984-87), Tania Maria
(1984), Henry Butler
(1987) He did work as a consultant for film and television shows in the 1980s and 1990s, and appears in the 1985 film The Cotton Club
.
Purcell has taught at Westchester Conservatory (1970-80), Dwight Morrow High School
(1976-79), Lehman College
(1985-89), Rutgers (1987-90) and the Manhattan School of Music
(1987-94). He also taught Jazz and World Music at the California State University at Monterey Bay in Seaside, California during the late 90s.
With Henry Butler
With Jack DeJohnette
With Dennis Gonzalez
With David Murray
With David Sanborn
With World Saxophone Quartet
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
saxophonist.
Biography
Purcell was raised in Westchester, New York, where he started on French horn before switching to saxophone. He attended the Manhattan School of MusicManhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
, achieving his master's degree in 1978, then formed a 22-piece ensemble based in Westchester; Frank Foster
Frank Foster (musician)
Frank Foster was an American tenor and soprano saxophonist, flautist, arranger, and composer. Foster collaborated frequently with Count Basie and worked as a bandleader from the early 1950s.-Biography:...
co-led the ensemble for a time. In 1975 Purcell developed a tumor
Tumor
A tumor or tumour is commonly used as a synonym for a neoplasm that appears enlarged in size. Tumor is not synonymous with cancer...
on his larynx
Larynx
The larynx , commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the neck of amphibians, reptiles and mammals involved in breathing, sound production, and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. It manipulates pitch and volume...
, which prevented him from playing for a year; he devoted this time to studying instrument design.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s Purcell worked freelance in many local New York ensembles and in Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
pit orchestra
Pit orchestra
A pit orchestra is a type of orchestra that accompanies performers in musicals, operas, and other shows involving music. In performances of operas and ballets, the pit orchestra is typically similar in size to a symphony orchestra, though it may contain smaller string and brass sections, depending...
s. He played with Chico Hamilton
Chico Hamilton
Chico Hamilton , is an American jazz drummer and bandleader.-Early life through 1960s:Hamilton was born in Los Angeles, California. He had a fast-track musical education in a band with Charles Mingus, Illinois Jacquet, Ernie Royal, Dexter Gordon, Buddy Collette and Jack Kelso...
, Sam Rivers
Sam Rivers
Samuel Carthorne Rivers , is an American jazz musician and composer. He performs on soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, harmonica and piano....
, Onaje Allen Gumbs (1983), Muhal Richard Abrams
Muhal Richard Abrams
Muhal Richard Abrams is an American educator, administrator, composer, arranger, clarinetist, cellist, and jazz pianist in the Free jazz medium. Abrams compresses both contemporary and traditional ideas into lean, elegant pieces.- Biography :Abrams attended DuSable High School in Chicago...
(1983-90), He recorded with the Roger Dawson
Roger Dawson
Roger Dawson is a jazz percussionist, conga drummer, bandleader and jazz composer. He was a leading jazz and salsa disc jockey in the USA and acknowledged as at the forefront of New York's Salsa music explosion of the seventies and early eighties...
septet featuring Hilton Ruiz
Hilton Ruiz
Hilton Ruiz was a Puerto Rican American jazz pianist in the Afro-Cuban jazz mold, but was also a talented bebop player....
, Claudio Roditi
Claudio Roditi
Claudio Roditi is a Brazilian jazz trumpeter.After arriving in the United States in 1970, he began to study at Berklee School of Music, where he became musically influenced by Clifford Brown and Lee Morgan...
, John Betsch
John Betsch
John Betsch is an American jazz drummer.Betsch began on percussion at age nine, and attended Fisk University, Berklee College of Music and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. After playing in organ trios, he released an album as a leader, Earth Blossom, in 1975...
, and Anthony Cox
Anthony Cox (musician)
Anthony Cox is an American jazz bass player.Played with: Geri Allen, Dewey Redman, Dave Douglas, John Scofield, Pat Metheny, Gary Thomas, Marty Ehrlich, Ed Blackwell, Joe Lovano, Dave King, and others.Lives and plays in Minnesota....
(1983). American Jazz Orchestra (1985-91), Third Kind of Blue with Ronnie Burrage
Ronnie Burrage
Ronnie Burrage is an American jazz drummer. His style draws elements from hard bop, bebop, funk, and soul....
and Anthony Cox
Anthony Cox (musician)
Anthony Cox is an American jazz bass player.Played with: Geri Allen, Dewey Redman, Dave Douglas, John Scofield, Pat Metheny, Gary Thomas, Marty Ehrlich, Ed Blackwell, Joe Lovano, Dave King, and others.Lives and plays in Minnesota....
(1984-87), Tania Maria
Tania Maria
Tania Maria is a Brazilian artist, singer, composer, bandleader and piano player, singing mostly in Portuguese or English. Her Brazilian-style music is mostly vocal, sometimes pop, often jazzy, and includes samba, bossa, Afro-Latin, Pop and Jazz fusion.-Biography:Born in São Luís, Maranhão,...
(1984), Henry Butler
Henry Butler
Henry Butler is an American jazz pianist.He is known for his technique and his ability to play in many styles of music. Referred to by Dr...
(1987) He did work as a consultant for film and television shows in the 1980s and 1990s, and appears in the 1985 film The Cotton Club
The Cotton Club (film)
The Cotton Club is a 1984 crime-drama, centered on a famed Harlem jazz club of the 1930s, the Cotton Club.The movie was co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, choreographed by Henry LeTang, and starred Richard Gere, Diane Lane, and Gregory Hines...
.
Purcell has taught at Westchester Conservatory (1970-80), Dwight Morrow High School
Dwight Morrow High School
Dwight Morrow High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Englewood, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Englewood Public School District. The school also serves students from Englewood Cliffs, who attend as part of a sending/receiving relationship...
(1976-79), Lehman College
Lehman College
Lehman College is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, USA. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, the school became an independent college within the City University in 1968. The college is named after Herbert Lehman, a former New York governor,...
(1985-89), Rutgers (1987-90) and the Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
(1987-94). He also taught Jazz and World Music at the California State University at Monterey Bay in Seaside, California during the late 90s.
As leader
- 1994: John Purcell & Sweeca: Trent Song
- 1995: John Purcell (Mapleshade)
- 1998: Saxello Christmas in Vienna
- 1999: Little Ray of Sunshine
As sideman
With Muhal Richard AbramsMuhal Richard Abrams
Muhal Richard Abrams is an American educator, administrator, composer, arranger, clarinetist, cellist, and jazz pianist in the Free jazz medium. Abrams compresses both contemporary and traditional ideas into lean, elegant pieces.- Biography :Abrams attended DuSable High School in Chicago...
- The Hearinga SuiteThe Hearinga SuiteThe Hearinga Suite is an album by Muhal Richard Abrams released on the Italian Black Saint label in 1989 and features performances of seven of Abrams compositions by an eighteen member orchestra. Abrams dedicated the music on the album to Steve McCall and Raphael Donald Garrett...
(Black Saint, 1989)
With Henry Butler
Henry Butler
Henry Butler is an American jazz pianist.He is known for his technique and his ability to play in many styles of music. Referred to by Dr...
- The Village (1987, Impulse!Impulse! RecordsImpulse! Records was an American jazz record label, originally established in 1960 by producer Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records, based in New York City...
)
With Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. He is one of the most influential jazz drummers of the 20th century, due to extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians like Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett and Sonny...
- Tin Can AlleyTin Can Alley (album)Tin Can Alley is a live album by Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition featuring Chico Freeman, John Purcell and Peter Warren recorded in 1980 and released on the ECM label in 1981. The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow states "The wide-ranging music on this fine set ranges from African rhythms and colors...
(ECM, 1980), - Album AlbumAlbum AlbumAlbum Album is a 1984 jazz album by Jack DeJohnette’s Special Edition featuring five compositions by DeJohnette and a cover of Thelonious Monk’s “Monk’s Mood”.-Side one:#“Ahmad the Terrible” – 6:08#“Monk’s Mood” –7:41...
(ECM, 1984), - Inflation BluesInflation BluesInflation Blues is an album by Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition featuring Chico Freeman, John Purcell, and Rufus Reid, with Baikida Carroll added on four tracks, recorded in 1982 and released on the ECM label in 1983. The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow states "this is a particularly strong outing...
(ECM, 1982)
With Dennis Gonzalez
Dennis González
Dennis González is a jazz musician, poet, visual artist and music educator based in Dallas, Texas....
- Stefan (Silkheart, 1986)
With David Murray
- David Murray Big BandDavid Murray Big BandDavid Murray Big Band conducted by Lawrence "Butch" Morris is an album by David Murray released on the DIW/Columbia label. It is the third album to feature his Big Band and was released in 1991 featuring performances by Murray, Hugh Ragin, Graham Haynes, Rasul Siddik, James Zollar, Craig Harris,...
(DIW, 1991), - South of the BorderSouth of the Border (David Murray album)South of the Border is an album by the David Murray Big Band released on the Japanese DIW label. Recorded in 1992 and released in 1993 the album features performances by Murray, Rasul Siddik, James Zoller, Hugh Ragin, Craig Harris, Frank Lacy, Al Patterson, Vincent Chancey, Kalil Henry, John...
(DIW, 1992)
With David Sanborn
David Sanborn
David Sanborn is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975, but has been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school...
- Upfront (Elektra, 1992),
- Hearsay (Elektra, 1995),
- Pearls (Elektra, 1995)
With World Saxophone Quartet
World Saxophone Quartet
The World Saxophone Quartet is a jazz ensemble founded in 1977, implementing elements of free funk and African jazz into their musical routines.-History:...
- Four NowFour NowFour Now is the thirteenth album by the jazz group the World Saxophone Quartet and their first on the Canadian Justin Time label. The album features performances by Hamiet Bluiett, John Purcell, Oliver Lake and David Murray, with guests Chief Bey, Mor Thiam, and Mar Gueye on African drums.-Track...
(JustinTime, 1995) - Takin' It 2 the Next LevelTakin' It 2 the Next Level-Track listing:# "Wiring" - 6:28# "Soft Landing" - 1:11# "Rio" - 7:30# "The Peace Before" - 1:23# "Blues for a Warrior Spirit" - 13:08# "The Desegregation of Our Children" - 12:35...
(JustinTime, 1996), - Selim Sivad: a Tribute to Miles DavisSelim Sivad: a Tribute to Miles Davis-Track listing:# "Seven Steps To Heaven" - 6:12# "Selim" - 7:30# "Freddie Freeloader" - 6:48# "The Road To Nefertiti" - 9:59# "Tutu" - 6:52# "Blue in Green" - 5:31# "All Blues" - 9:50-Personnel:...
(JustinTime, 1998) - Requiem for JuliusRequiem for Julius-Track listing:# "Ebony" - 7:45# "Free and Independent Thought" - 3:01# "All Praise" - 5:57# "Requiem for Julius" - 6:46# "Le Sport Suite" - 7:50# "Hurricane Floyd" - 10:46# "Potato Vamp" - 3:42...
(JustinTime, 2000) - 25th Anniversary: The New Chapter25th Anniversary: The New Chapter-Track listing:-Personnel:*Hamiet Bluiett — baritone saxophone*John Purcell — alto saxophone*Oliver Lake — alto saxophone*David Murray — tenor saxophone...
(JustinTime, 2001) - SteppenwolfSteppenwolf (WSQ album)-Track listing:# "Intro" - 1:05# "The Crossing" - 12:39# "Intro" - 2:07# "Li'l Poki" - 15:23# "Intro" - 0:27# "Sunrise " - 9:14# "Giant Steps" - 3:15# "Intro" - 0:13# "Color for Duke" - 8:34...
(JustinTime, 2002)