Johnny O'Neal Trio - One Night Only!
Sat, Mar 09
|Chicago
Johnny O'Neal - piano, voice; Joey Raneri - bass; Neil Hemphill - drums
Time & Location
Mar 09, 2024, 7:30 PM – 11:00 PM CST
Chicago, 465 N McClurg Ct, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
About The Event
[ All tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable -- please order carefully and be sure all details are correct before completing purchase. 1-Drink minimum purchase of $10 per person, per set applies to all guests and all shows. ]
* * Ticket prices below INCLUDE a $2.75/ticket fee, no other fees added. * *
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Johnny O'Neal - piano, voice
Joey Raneri - bass
Neil Hemphill - drums
"Keyboard wizardry and good-time vocalizing...There aren't many who do what he does, or who do it as well." - The New Yorker
"An unerring sense of swing" - San Francisco Classical Voice
"A voice like maple syrup on pancakes" - The Wanderer Online (Edmonton)
A consummate pianist, vocalist and entertainer, Johnny O’Neal is considered a “master” by fellow musicians and audiences the world over. No wonder he was selected to play the part of piano virtuoso Art Tatum in the 2004 Academy Award-winning film Ray. He has performed in some of the world’s most renowned music venues, making his Carnegie Hall debut in 1985 on solo piano, opening for Oscar Peterson, and was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1998.
A Detroit native, Johnny’s enormous musical gifts were immediately apparent to jazz icon Ray Brown and led to his 1983 debut album “Coming Out.” Stints with Ray Brown, Milt Jackson and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers soon followed. While playing with Blakey, he accompanied some of the great jazz divas, including Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae. Johnny has also been tapped for appearances by Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Pass, Nancy Wilson, Anita O’Day, Lionel Hampton, Kenny Burrell, Sonny Stitt, Benny Golson, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis and Clark Terry, among others. Performances on the festival circuits in Europe, Australia, Japan and South Africa have gained him an international following.
Johnny admits to loving to shout the blues, but calls himself a piano player first. Astonishingly, he is largely self-taught. His playing evokes the influences imbued in him by his idols Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum, and he has reshaped these elements into his own very swinging and melodic approach. In live performances, he is apt to catch his audience off-guard with his soulfully rendered yet unpretentious vocalizations.
Johnny explains, “I’m a tune guy. I know 1,500 songs. My father was a pianist and singer who emphasized that learning lyrics creates dynamics and a better interpretation of melody. I rehearse so that the bassist, drummer and I can get familiar with each other’s styles—not to set the songs we’ll play. Jazz is the highest level of performance because it’s instant composition. I like to be spontaneous and respond to cues from the audience.”
“I just want to play and preserve the style of the jazz masters,” emphasizes Johnny. Dedication to that mission statement is evident in his innovative interpretations of the jazz classics and his own lyrical compositions.
TICKETS
7:30 - General Admission
$30.00Sale ended7:30 - VIP Seating
$40.00Sold Out9:30 - General Admission
$30.00Sale ended9:30 - VIP Seating
$40.00Sale ended
Total
$0.00