Bill Cunliffe
Encyclopedia
Bill Cunliffe is an American
jazz
pianist
and composer
based in Los Angeles
He has been described by The New York Times
as being in the "modern jazz mainstream" and as an "accomplished pianist and composer." Ernie Rideout of Keyboard Magazine
described Cunliffe's playing as "inventive, melodic, and soulful.".
He has been described by The New York Times
as being in the "modern jazz mainstream" and as an "accomplished pianist and composer." Ernie Rideout of Keyboard Magazine
described Cunliffe's playing as "inventive, melodic, and soulful." He has written books on jazz for Alfred Publications, and teaches at California State University, Fullerton
.
, Massachusetts
. He explained in an interview with All About Jazz
writer Fred Jung that he discovered music at an early age, with particular emphasis on classical music
as well as jazz-oriented music from the 1960s and 1970s:
Cunliffe described himself as having been drawn to "anything with hip harmony in it" with great melodies, and he loved listening to artists such as The Fifth Dimension, Burt Bacharach
and Herb Alpert
. He attended Phillips Academy
, and graduated in 1974 in the school's first co–educational class. His fellow classmates classmates included software financier Peter Currie
, actor Dana Delany
, painter Julian Hatton
, poet Karl Kirchwey
, writer Nate Lee
, political commentator Heather Mac Donald
, restauranteur Priscilla Martel
, TV producer Jonathan Meath
, editor Sara Nelson
, and sculptor Gar Waterman
. Cunliffe initially liked rock–and–roll music, particularly by groups such as Fleetwood Mac
. In college, he performed rock–and–roll gigs at the Prince Spaghetti House in Saugus
, Massachusetts
. He attended Wesleyan University
for several years. During this time, a friend named Michael Zaitchik introduced him to a jazz record of Oscar Peterson, and after listening to this record, Cunliffe became a "jazz player overnight", he recalled later. While in school, he considered careers in medicine and psychology, but in his junior year, he decided finally that "music was it." After graduating from Duke University
, where he studied with Mary Lou Williams, he received his masters degree from the Eastman School of Music
in Wilberforce, Ohio
. He toured as pianist and arranger with the Buddy Rich Big Band
, and worked with major recording artists including Frank Sinatra
. He returned to Southern Ohio
for a few years, where he played piano
in various hotels, and wrote jingles for several music production houses. He was the "house pianist" at the Greenwich Tavern in Ohio. He moved to Los Angeles
and worked with jazz notables including Ray Brown
, Joe Henderson
, Freddie Hubbard
, Benny Golson
and James Moody
. He was the pianist for The Clayton Brothers, the musical group started by saxophonist Jefferey Clayton.
Cunliffe commented on how a jazz piece should be structured:
In the 1990s, Cunliffe wrote educational publications. His book Jazz Keyboard Toolbox was published by Alfred Publications and became a standard reference in jazz. He made an educational DVD
and book on beginning jazz piano for Alfred. He then published Jazz Inventions for Keyboard; short pieces in the style of the Chopin Preludes and Bach Inventions, with an accompanying audio CD. Most recently, he published Uniquely Familiar, a book of through-composed arrangements of jazz standards.
Cunliffe was influenced by numerous musicians, particularly Bud Powell
, who he described as being the first artist to take the music of Charlie Parker
and translate it successfully to the piano
:
Cunliffe made three jazz albums for Warner/Discovery Records
which achieved recognition in nationwide jazz polls. He recorded Bill in Brazil during a stint in Rio De Janeiro
which was well received. He recorded several albums for Azica Records, including several with flutist Holly Hofmann. In 2000, he recorded with Torii Records. There is a sextet session of Earl Zindars
’ music, and the first recording of his Latin octet, Imaginacion, which reached #2 in nationwide radio jazz charts. He described Zindars as being one of the first composers along with Dave Brubeck
to "write songs where the signature changes" such as on the song How My Heart Sings:
Bill documented his working trio of ten years with Live at Bernies which was released on both CD and vinyl
, and which highlighted his work with bassist
Darek Oleszkiewicz and former Bill Evans
drummer Joe LaBarbera
. He commented that LaBarbera was able to impart "a traditional rhythmic approach" which was "avant-garde".
Cunliffe played with bassist Martin Wind and drummer Tim Horner in New York City in 2008. He played with Martin Wind as well as saxophonist Scott Robinson in 2007 at the Kitano Hotel in Manhattan. He performed with the Clayton Brothers Quintet at the Kennedy Center. He performed with trombonist Luis Bonilla
at the Jazz Standard in Manhattan in 2009. He played at the Vail Jazz Festival in 2010. He performed with jazz-cabaret singer Ann Hampton Callaway
in Manhattan at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola in March 2011.
His big band compositions have been published by Kendor Music and the University of Northern Colorado
Jazz Press. His choral music was published by Santa Barbara Music Press. He is a Baldwin Pianos artist, and was Marian McPartland
's guest on her famed Piano Jazz radio show in 1998. As a composer and arranger, Cunliffe's music has been performed by many orchestras, including the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
, the Illinois Philharmonic
, the Reading
Symphony, and the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra. He composed Fantasy for piano jazz trio and orchestra which was performed in 2006 by the Manhattan School of Music Symphony
. He composed a festive overture entitled Viva Mexico, which was premiered by the Illinois Philharmonic in 1999. He has composed numerous works for big band, orchestra, chamber groups, and choir. He has written extensively for television
, and his music was in the Miramax feature Comic Book-The Movie, the Susan Sarandon
film The Banger Sisters, and the James Caan television show Las Vegas. His concerto for trumpet and orchestra entitled fourth stream... La Banda was recently premiered by Terell Stafford. It was performed by the Temple University Symphony Orchestra, which was conducted by Luis Biava, at Verizon Hall in Philadelphia
, and at Alice Tully Hall
in New York City. He is playing with singer Melissa Sweeney and produced her first album. In April 2010, his band, termed Bill Cunliffe's Big Band, played with musicians including Rob Lockhart, Willie Murillo, and reviewer Tony Gieske wrote:
Cunliffe played at the Playboy Jazz Festival in Beverly Hills
, California
in May 2010.
In 2010, Mr. Cunliffe has been working on what he calls fourth stream which he defines as "jazz plus classical plus world Latin percussion". He described the piece La Banda as having a salsa vein injecting itself into the orchestra which "ends in a frenzy of double time percussion" and which involves an inversion of a Rachmaninoff melody.
, Musicians Institute
in Hollywood, California State University, Northridge
, the University of Southern California
, and Temple University
.
Interviewer Fred Jung of All About Jazz
asked him about the difference between melody
and harmony
, and Cunliffe explained that melody
is the "top part of the harmonic chord"––what one sings when walking along the street––and the harmony is the "background":
He has conducted numerous workshops and clinics as well. Ongoing residencies include the Skidmore Jazz Institute, and the Vail Jazz Workshop. In 2010 he made a DVD teaching beginning jazz and blues piano. He is composer–in–residence at All Saints Episcopal Church, in Pasadena
, California
. He composes and performs with flutist Holly Hofmann and the Latin jazz group Imaginacion.
for Best Instrumental Arrangement of Oscar Peterson
's "West Side Story Medley". In 2006 he was nominated for a Grammy award for his jazz arrangement of his song Do It Again. He won several Down Beat Awards
for his big band and orchestral pieces. In 1989, Cunliffe won the Thelonious Monk
International Jazz Piano Award. He received stipends from the National Endowment for the Arts
. He won a grant from the New Zealand School of Music
and the Rodger Fox Big Band of New Zealand released a CD of Bill's jazz orchestra compositions. In 2005, he won the Philadelphia Jazz Composer competition sponsored by the American Composer Federation. In the 1990s, he was nominated for two Emmys for best original song on the television shows Another World
and Guiding Light
.
, loves watching television but he doesn't do it on a TV set, but rather uses his computer. He has been described by fellow faculty members at California State University as "charming, witty, warm, and humble."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz
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...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
based in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
He has been described by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as being in the "modern jazz mainstream" and as an "accomplished pianist and composer." Ernie Rideout of Keyboard Magazine
Keyboard Magazine
Keyboard Magazine is a magazine that originally covered electronic keyboard instruments and keyboardists, though with the advent of computer based recording and audio technology, they have added digital music technology to their regular coverage, including those not strictly pertaining to the...
described Cunliffe's playing as "inventive, melodic, and soulful.".
He has been described by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as being in the "modern jazz mainstream" and as an "accomplished pianist and composer." Ernie Rideout of Keyboard Magazine
Keyboard Magazine
Keyboard Magazine is a magazine that originally covered electronic keyboard instruments and keyboardists, though with the advent of computer based recording and audio technology, they have added digital music technology to their regular coverage, including those not strictly pertaining to the...
described Cunliffe's playing as "inventive, melodic, and soulful." He has written books on jazz for Alfred Publications, and teaches at California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton is a public university located in Fullerton, California. It is the largest institution in the CSU System by enrollment, it offers long-distance education and adult-degree programs...
.
Early life
Cunliffe was born in AndoverAndover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1646 and as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,201...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He explained in an interview with All About Jazz
All About Jazz
All About Jazz is a leading jazz music website for enthusiasts and industry professionals based in Philadelphia in the United States.Founded by Michael Ricci in 1995, the Web-Site is maintained by a volunteer staff of writers, editors, and musicians, and provides coverage of all genres of jazz from...
writer Fred Jung that he discovered music at an early age, with particular emphasis on classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
as well as jazz-oriented music from the 1960s and 1970s:
My mother was a good pianist ... I started just copying little things that I would hear my mom play and I would sit next to her and listen.––Bill Cunliffe
Cunliffe described himself as having been drawn to "anything with hip harmony in it" with great melodies, and he loved listening to artists such as The Fifth Dimension, Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
and Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert
Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...
. He attended Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
, and graduated in 1974 in the school's first co–educational class. His fellow classmates classmates included software financier Peter Currie
Peter Currie
Peter L. S. Currie is a business executive notable for being the chief financial officer for Netscape during the 1990s. Currie was described by Wall Street Journal reporter Jessica Vascellaro as one of the "Silicon Valley wise men". He advised Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg about business matters in...
, actor Dana Delany
Dana Delany
Dana Welles Delany is an American film, stage, and television actress, producer, host and health activist.After various roles in the early career, Delany garnered her first leading role in 1987 in the short-lived NBC sitcom Sweet Surrender and achieved wider fame in 1988–1991 as Colleen McMurphy...
, painter Julian Hatton
Julian Hatton
Julian Burroughs Hatton III is an American landscape abstract artist from New York City whose paintings have appeared in galleries in the United States and France. The New York Times described his painting style as "vibrant, playful, semi-abstract landscapes" while New York Sun art critic John...
, poet Karl Kirchwey
Karl Kirchwey
Karl Kirchwey is a prize–winning American poet who has lived in both Europe and the United States and whose work is strongly influenced by the Greek and Roman past. He often looks to the classical world for inspiration with themes which have included loss, loneliness, nostalgia and modern...
, writer Nate Lee
Nate Lee
Nate Lee is an American author and former senior editor at Chicago's Newcity weekly magazine who advocated passionately for live theater. At Newcity, Lee wrote features, a weekly column called Urbanitie, theatre and film reviews as well as stories on architecture and historic preservation, and at...
, political commentator Heather Mac Donald
Heather Mac Donald
Heather Lynn Mac Donald is an American political commentator and thinker notable for her advocacy of secular conservatism. She has advocated her positions on numerous subjects including crime prevention, immigration reform, academia, the art world, and politics. She is a prolific essayist...
, restauranteur Priscilla Martel
Priscilla Martel
Priscilla Martel is an award–winning American chef, food writer, and consultant notable for desserts, baking, pastries and fireplace-cooked meals. Her recipes appear in magazines such as Food & Wine. She is a contributing writer at Flavor and the Menu Magazine. She teaches and has written...
, TV producer Jonathan Meath
Jonathan Meath
Jonathan Meath is an award–winning American TV producer based in Boston who is notable for earning numerous Emmy nominations and the coveted George Foster Peabody Award in 1993. He is known for his commitment to children's educational television...
, editor Sara Nelson
Sara Nelson
Sara Nelson is an American publishing industry figure who is an editor and book reviewer and consultant and columnist and who is currently the book editor at Oprah's O Magazine. Nelson is notable for having been editor in chief at the book industry's chief trade publication Publishers Weekly from...
, and sculptor Gar Waterman
Gar Waterman
Gar Waterman is an award–winning sculptor based in New Haven in Connecticut who is notable for large public arts projects which beautify public places as well as creations which mimic sealife. He works in marble, stone, bronze, wood, and sometimes glass. Some of his sculptures resemble "giant...
. Cunliffe initially liked rock–and–roll music, particularly by groups such as Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
. In college, he performed rock–and–roll gigs at the Prince Spaghetti House in Saugus
Saugus, Massachusetts
Saugus is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 26,628 at the 2010 census.-History:Saugus was first settled in 1629. Saugus is an Indian name believed to mean "great" or "extended"...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He attended Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
for several years. During this time, a friend named Michael Zaitchik introduced him to a jazz record of Oscar Peterson, and after listening to this record, Cunliffe became a "jazz player overnight", he recalled later. While in school, he considered careers in medicine and psychology, but in his junior year, he decided finally that "music was it." After graduating from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, where he studied with Mary Lou Williams, he received his masters degree from the Eastman School of Music
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
Career
Cunliffe taught music at Central State UniversityCentral State University
Central State University, commonly referred to as "C-State", is a historically black university located in Wilberforce, Ohio, United States. It is the only public HBCU in Ohio.-History:...
in Wilberforce, Ohio
Wilberforce, Ohio
Wilberforce is a census-designated place in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,579 at the 2000 census. The community was named for the English statesman William Wilberforce, who worked for abolition of slavery and achieved the end of the slave trade in the United Kingdom and...
. He toured as pianist and arranger with the Buddy Rich Big Band
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
, and worked with major recording artists including Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
. He returned to Southern Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
for a few years, where he played piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
in various hotels, and wrote jingles for several music production houses. He was the "house pianist" at the Greenwich Tavern in Ohio. He moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and worked with jazz notables including Ray Brown
Ray Brown (musician)
Raymond Matthews Brown was an American jazz double bassist.-Biography:Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and had piano lessons from the age of eight. After noticing how many pianists attended his high school, he thought of taking up the trombone, but was unable to afford one...
, Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
, Freddie Hubbard
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
, Benny Golson
Benny Golson
Benny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.-Biography:While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and...
and James Moody
James Moody (saxophonist)
James Moody was an American jazz saxophone and flute player. He was best known for his hit "Moody's Mood for Love," an improvisation based on "I'm in the Mood for Love"; in performance, he often improvised vocals for the tune.-Biography:James Moody was born in Savannah, Georgia...
. He was the pianist for The Clayton Brothers, the musical group started by saxophonist Jefferey Clayton.
Cunliffe commented on how a jazz piece should be structured:
I like jazz to have a beginning, a middle and an end ... an arc, like a symphony that builds to a big climax.––Bill Cunliffe
In the 1990s, Cunliffe wrote educational publications. His book Jazz Keyboard Toolbox was published by Alfred Publications and became a standard reference in jazz. He made an educational DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and book on beginning jazz piano for Alfred. He then published Jazz Inventions for Keyboard; short pieces in the style of the Chopin Preludes and Bach Inventions, with an accompanying audio CD. Most recently, he published Uniquely Familiar, a book of through-composed arrangements of jazz standards.
Cunliffe was influenced by numerous musicians, particularly Bud Powell
Bud Powell
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell was an American Jazz pianist. Powell has been described as one of "the two most significant pianists of the style of modern jazz that came to be known as bop", the other being his friend and contemporary Thelonious Monk...
, who he described as being the first artist to take the music of Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
and translate it successfully to the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
:
Bud Powell is the most important pianist in jazz and one of the most underrated because he spent over a third of his life in mental and medical hospitals. He was beaten by the police when he was twenty and he never fully recovered from that beating and as a result, he suffered pain and had to take drugs to alleviate the pain ... In spite of that, he created a whole lot of wonderful music. He was really the first guy, before Bud Powell, pianists were playing boom, chuck in the left hand and a lot of melodic figures in the right hand that tended to be arpeggios. -- Bill Cunliffe
Cunliffe made three jazz albums for Warner/Discovery Records
Discovery Records
Discovery Records was a United States-based record label known for its recordings of jazz music.Discovery was founded in 1948 by jazz fan and promoter Albert Marx...
which achieved recognition in nationwide jazz polls. He recorded Bill in Brazil during a stint in Rio De Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
which was well received. He recorded several albums for Azica Records, including several with flutist Holly Hofmann. In 2000, he recorded with Torii Records. There is a sextet session of Earl Zindars
Earl Zindars
Earl Zindars was an American composer of jazz and classical music.-Biography:Chicago-born Earl Zindars graduated from DePaul University and went on to earn a Masters Degree in Music Composition from Northwestern University. He studied with Dr...
’ music, and the first recording of his Latin octet, Imaginacion, which reached #2 in nationwide radio jazz charts. He described Zindars as being one of the first composers along with Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
to "write songs where the signature changes" such as on the song How My Heart Sings:
The first part of the song is in a waltz feel, but the middle part of the tune is in a 4/4, medium, swing jazz feel. That was very, very innovative for the fifties. ... His music is very interesting harmonically as well and he has a really strong melodic sense.––Bill Cunliffe
Bill documented his working trio of ten years with Live at Bernies which was released on both CD and vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, and which highlighted his work with bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Darek Oleszkiewicz and former Bill Evans
Bill Evans
William John Evans, known as Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists including: Chick Corea, Herbie...
drummer Joe LaBarbera
Joe LaBarbera
Joe LaBarbera is an American jazz drummer and composer. He is best known for his recordings and live performances with the trio of pianist Bill Evans in the final years of Evans's career. Prior to joining Evans he worked in the quartet of Chuck Mangione and Joe Farrell.- Early life :He was born...
. He commented that LaBarbera was able to impart "a traditional rhythmic approach" which was "avant-garde".
Cunliffe played with bassist Martin Wind and drummer Tim Horner in New York City in 2008. He played with Martin Wind as well as saxophonist Scott Robinson in 2007 at the Kitano Hotel in Manhattan. He performed with the Clayton Brothers Quintet at the Kennedy Center. He performed with trombonist Luis Bonilla
Luis Bonilla
Luis Bonilla is an American Afro-Cuban jazz and Latin jazz trombonist born in Los Angeles, California of Costa Rican descent. He is a Grammy Award- winning performer, composer, and Music Professor, about whom the New York Times has described as the artist who "explodes the usual musical structures...
at the Jazz Standard in Manhattan in 2009. He played at the Vail Jazz Festival in 2010. He performed with jazz-cabaret singer Ann Hampton Callaway
Ann Hampton Callaway
Ann Hampton Callaway is a multiplatinum-selling singer, composer, lyricist, pianist, and actress. She is best known for writing and singing the theme to the TV series The Nanny, writing songs for Barbra Streisand and starring in the Broadway musical Swing!.-Career:Callaway was described by the New...
in Manhattan at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola in March 2011.
His big band compositions have been published by Kendor Music and the University of Northern Colorado
University of Northern Colorado
-Organization:The University of Northern Colorado offers 100 undergraduate programs and more than 100 graduate programs. The university has a satellite campus in Denver, Colorado...
Jazz Press. His choral music was published by Santa Barbara Music Press. He is a Baldwin Pianos artist, and was Marian McPartland
Marian McPartland
Margaret Marian McPartland, OBE is an English-born jazz pianist, composer, writer, and the host of Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz on National Public Radio, NPR.-Early life:...
's guest on her famed Piano Jazz radio show in 1998. As a composer and arranger, Cunliffe's music has been performed by many orchestras, including the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra is a pops orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, founded in 1977 out of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Its members are also the members of the Cincinnati Symphony, and the Pops is managed by the same administration...
, the Illinois Philharmonic
Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra
The Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra also known as IPO, is a 75-member orchestra led by Carmon DeLeone. It is the largest performing arts organization in the Chicago Southland, with administrative offices in Park Forest. It draws audiences from over 68 south and southwest suburbs including Chicago,...
, the Reading
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...
Symphony, and the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra. He composed Fantasy for piano jazz trio and orchestra which was performed in 2006 by the Manhattan School of Music Symphony
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...
. He composed a festive overture entitled Viva Mexico, which was premiered by the Illinois Philharmonic in 1999. He has composed numerous works for big band, orchestra, chamber groups, and choir. He has written extensively for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, and his music was in the Miramax feature Comic Book-The Movie, the Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
film The Banger Sisters, and the James Caan television show Las Vegas. His concerto for trumpet and orchestra entitled fourth stream... La Banda was recently premiered by Terell Stafford. It was performed by the Temple University Symphony Orchestra, which was conducted by Luis Biava, at Verizon Hall in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, and at Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. It is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assisted in the construction of the hall...
in New York City. He is playing with singer Melissa Sweeney and produced her first album. In April 2010, his band, termed Bill Cunliffe's Big Band, played with musicians including Rob Lockhart, Willie Murillo, and reviewer Tony Gieske wrote:
The magnificent Bill Cunliffe orchestra played an interesting encore before leaving the bandstand at Vitello’s Saturday, a classic Count BasieCount BasieWilliam "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
number that you’d think would be hard to mess up. ... Everything was full and ringing. It was the icing on the various baked goods that Cunliffe was offering, keeping the ears a-tingle all evening. ... West Side StoryWest Side StoryWest Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
, in Cunliffe’s Grammy-winning chart, was the evening’s wide-ranging centerpiece, and it was certainly impressive, particularly the I Feel Pretty part, taken at breakneck speed.––reviewer Tony Gieske in The International Review of Music
Cunliffe played at the Playboy Jazz Festival in Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in May 2010.
In 2010, Mr. Cunliffe has been working on what he calls fourth stream which he defines as "jazz plus classical plus world Latin percussion". He described the piece La Banda as having a salsa vein injecting itself into the orchestra which "ends in a frenzy of double time percussion" and which involves an inversion of a Rachmaninoff melody.
Teaching
Cunliffe is Professor of Music at California State University Fullerton, where he was honored as "Destinguished Faculty Member" in 2010. In addition, Cunliffe has taught at such institutions as Central State UniversityCentral State University
Central State University, commonly referred to as "C-State", is a historically black university located in Wilberforce, Ohio, United States. It is the only public HBCU in Ohio.-History:...
, Musicians Institute
Musicians Institute
Musicians Institute is a privately owned for-profit music vocational school located in Hollywood, California. Although not a regionally accredited school, the school offers a variety of unaccredited Bachelor Degree, Associate Degree and Certificate programs in fields including contemporary music...
in Hollywood, California State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge is a public university in Northridge, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, California, United States....
, the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, and Temple University
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
.
Interviewer Fred Jung of All About Jazz
All About Jazz
All About Jazz is a leading jazz music website for enthusiasts and industry professionals based in Philadelphia in the United States.Founded by Michael Ricci in 1995, the Web-Site is maintained by a volunteer staff of writers, editors, and musicians, and provides coverage of all genres of jazz from...
asked him about the difference between melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
and harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
, and Cunliffe explained that melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
is the "top part of the harmonic chord"––what one sings when walking along the street––and the harmony is the "background":
There's two types of background ... Rhythmic background is what the drums are playing primarily. And harmonic background in jazz music is primarily what the pianist is playing. Although, what the pianist is playing is both harmonic and melodic.––Bill Cunliffe
He has conducted numerous workshops and clinics as well. Ongoing residencies include the Skidmore Jazz Institute, and the Vail Jazz Workshop. In 2010 he made a DVD teaching beginning jazz and blues piano. He is composer–in–residence at All Saints Episcopal Church, in Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. He composes and performs with flutist Holly Hofmann and the Latin jazz group Imaginacion.
Awards
Cunliffe won the 2010 Grammy AwardGrammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Instrumental Arrangement of Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
's "West Side Story Medley". In 2006 he was nominated for a Grammy award for his jazz arrangement of his song Do It Again. He won several Down Beat Awards
Down Beat Lifetime Achievement Award
Down Beat Magazine, the most prestigious Jazz publication, has been giving awards for Jazz performance since its inception.-Hall of Fame :The Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame is maintained at Universal Studios' City Jazz club in Orlando, Florida. Current membership, by year, is listed in the following...
for his big band and orchestral pieces. In 1989, Cunliffe won the Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
International Jazz Piano Award. He received stipends from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
. He won a grant from the New Zealand School of Music
New Zealand School of Music
The , located in Wellington, New Zealand, is a joint venture between Victoria University of Wellington and Massey University. Its main goal is to provide a top quality tertiary teaching faculty with programmes in Classical Performance, Jazz Performance, Music Studies, Composition and Sonic Arts...
and the Rodger Fox Big Band of New Zealand released a CD of Bill's jazz orchestra compositions. In 2005, he won the Philadelphia Jazz Composer competition sponsored by the American Composer Federation. In the 1990s, he was nominated for two Emmys for best original song on the television shows Another World
Another World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
and Guiding Light
Guiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
.
Personal life
Cunliffe, according to the Chicago TribuneChicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, loves watching television but he doesn't do it on a TV set, but rather uses his computer. He has been described by fellow faculty members at California State University as "charming, witty, warm, and humble."
Books
- Jazz Keyboard Toolbox, Alfred Publications
- Jazz Piano Inventions, Alfred Publications
- Maxx Blues Keyboard, Alfred Publications
- "Uniquely Familiar", Alfred Publications
Discography
- Live at Rocco
- Live at Bernie's
- Romantic Fantasy with orchestra directed by Jeffrey Schindler
- Bill plays Bud
- Partners in Crime
- Satisfaction
- A Rare Connection
- A Paul Simon Songbook
- Bill in Brazil
- Just Duet with flutist Holly Hofmann
- Imaginacion
- Just Duet volume 2 with flutist Holly Hofmann
- How My Heart Sings
- Warriors with the Rodger Fox Big Band
- The Blues and The Abstract Truth, Take 2
- Three's Company" with flutist Holly Hofmann, trumpeter Terell Stafford, clarinetist Ken Peplowski, and violinist Regina Carter
- Transformation" with the choir of All Saints Church, Pasadena, James Walker, director
- An NPR Jazz Christmas with Marian McPartland II, song God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by Bill Cunliffe
Awards and nominations
| Year | Result | Award | Category | Project | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Nominated | Grammy Award Grammy Award A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry... |
Best instrumental composition | La Banda | |
| 2010 | Won | Grammy Award Grammy Award A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry... |
Arrangement | West Side Story Medley | |
| 2006 | Nominated | Grammy Award Grammy Award A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry... |
Arrangement | Do It Again | |
| 2005 | Won | Kimmel Jazz Center Award | Best Composition | "El Optimista" | |
| 2003 | Nominated | Grammy Award Grammy Award A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry... |
Arrangement | "Angel Eyes" written for Alan Kaplan (trombone) and his orchestra | |
| 1990s | Nominated | Emmy | Best Original Song | ||
| 1990s | Nominated | Emmy | Best Original Song | (two nominations in 1990s) | |
| 1989 | Won | Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Award | $10,000 prize | ||
| 1981 | Won | Down Beat Awards | Big band, orchestral pieces | ||