Ed Neumeister

Jazz trombonist, composer, and arranger Ed Neumeister is a highly inventive performer whose sound can straddle the line between avant-garde free jazz, swinging post-bop, and modern classical. Often recognized for his big band work, Neumeister came up on the vibrant West Coast scene of the mid-'70s before establishing himself in New York as a member of the Mel Lewis Big Band. It was with the Lewis band that he gained early recognition, picking up a Grammy nomination for his 1992 arrangement of "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square." Neumeister also has deep ties to Europe, where he taught for almost 20 years at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz and worked with such esteemed performers as the late pianist Fritz Pauer, singer Jay Clayton, drummer John Hollenbeck, and others. His own albums have showcased his diverse interests, moving from adventurous small group dates like 2002's New Standards, to large ensemble sessions like 2017's Wake Up Call with his NeuHat Ensemble, to solo trombone albums like 2019's One and Only. Born in 1952 in Topeka, Kansas, Neumeister grew up in Fremont, California, where he first became interested in playing music at age five after discovering his father's trumpet. Around age nine, he joined the local Weldonian marching band and switched to the trombone. Along with marching band performances, he eventually joined the group's stage jazz band, where he was introduced to jazz, playing the music of Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, and Count Basie. He also began learning how to improvise, inspired by players like J.J. Johnson, Curtis Fuller, and Frank Rosolino. By his teens, Neumeister was gigging regularly in the Bay Area and playing in a rock & roll band, backing luminaries like Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, and Chuck Berry. After high school, he enrolled at the University of California in San Jose, where he studied privately with Bob Szabo and took composition and orchestration courses with noted composer Lou Harrison. Looking to expand his world view, he moved to Paris in 1973 and eventually found his way to Amsterdam, where he spent two years playing with a Latin jazz ensemble, investigating various African, Afro-Cuban, and Brazilian musical traditions. Moving back to San Francisco in 1975, he studied with Mitchell Ross and found work playing for the San Francisco Ballet and Opera. He also earned the first chair position in the Sacramento Symphony Orchestra. It was during this period that he greatly expanded his jazz and classical technique, digging deep into the music of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane, along with modern classical composers like Bela Bartok and Gustav Mahler. He began seeking out more jazz work, playing in a jazz and blues group led by the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia and forming a quartet with Michael Formanek, Jerry Granelli, and Mark Levine. He also worked in the house band at a local theater, where he backed touring singers like Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, and others. In 1980, Neumeister relocated to New York City and built a reputation as a first-call big-band player, working with bandleaders like Lionel Hampton, Buddy Rich, and Mel Lewis, as well as the Duke Ellington Orchestra and the Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band. He also began focusing more on composing and arranging, studying with Manny Albam and Bob Brookmeyer. In 1992, he earned a Grammy nomination for his arrangement of "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" off the Mel Lewis Orchestra album To You: A Tribute to Mel Lewis. As a leader, Neumeister made his debut in 1996 with The Mohican and The Great Spirit, a drummer-less trio date featuring guitarist Peter Eigenmann and bassist Hami Hammerli. He followed in 1997 with Metro Music, again showcasing his small group arrangements for a quintet and quartet with players like Kenny Werner, Jim McNeely, Dennis Irwin, and others. It was also during the '90s that Neumeister began working more in Europe. From 1999 to 2017, he held the position of professor of jazz trombone at the University of Performing Arts in Graz. He also taught composition courses at the Swiss conservatory in Lucerne. In 1999, he collaborated with the Jazz Big Band Graz on Here & There, an album showcasing his jazz compositions and arrangements. Two years later, the same ensemble recorded his extended work "Fantasy for Cello & Big Band" featuring cellist Friedrich Kleinhapl. Neumeister also continued his exploration of classical music, premiering an arrangement of music by Béla Bartók with the New York Trombone Quartet at the 1997 International Trombone Festival in Austria and later featured on the album Collage. In 2005, Neumeister featured his quartet with pianist Fritz Pauer, bassist Drew Gress, and drummer John Hollenbeck on the album New Standards. The same group returned the following year with Reflection. Suite Ellington (recorded in 2010) arrived in 2016 and found the trombonist exploring the work of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn in a group with saxophonist/clarinetist Billy Drewes, trumpeter Jim Rotondi, bassist Peter Herbert, drummer Jeff Ballard, and pianist Pauer, who passed away in 2012. It was around this time that Neumeister returned to the United States full-time, taking on teaching positions at the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music at The New School, New York University, William Paterson University, Rutgers, and City College of New York. In 2017, he released Wake Up Call, a politically and environmentally conscious album recorded in Brooklyn with his NeuHat Ensemble. Two years later, he issued One and Only, his first-ever solo trombone album. An archival album, 3 for the Road, also appeared in 2020 and captured Neumeister in a 2001 trio session with singer Jay Clayton and pianist Pauer.
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