PETER MCGUINNESS - VOICE LIKE A HORN

As both a trombonist and a singer, Pete McGuinness is in an enviable position. There may be no greater accolade that a jazz musician may receive than the claim that he or she successfully emulates the human voice on their instrument, thus achieving a direct line of communication with a listener. And the reverse can be true as well. A jazz singer who can transform vocalizing into a form of virtuosic improvisation, reminding the listener that the voice is as flexible an instrument as any other, is equally worthy of praise. McGuinness scores on both accounts. As an acclaimed trombone player he is known for his skillful, elegant, and communicative improvisations. And now, with Voice Like a Horn, (July 9, Summit Records) McGuinness turns the spotlight on his compelling and extraordinarily dexterous singing. As both a sensitive interpreter of lyrics and as a daring improvising scat singer, McGuinness proves himself a force to be reckoned with.


Although he may be best known in jazz circles for his exceptional playing, arranging and composing with the Pete McGuinness Jazz Orchestra, as well as his appearances on over 40 recordings, McGuinness has always maintained a keen interest in jazz singing. The seriousness with which McGuinness approaches vocalizing can be determined in official recognition, including a first prize win at the 2010 Jazzmobile Vocal Competition (judged by the late Dr. Billy Taylor and Barry Harris); a 2008 Grammy nomination for his arrangement - complete with the leader's vocal - of "Smile" (on the McGuinness orchestra's First Flight); his inclusion as a semi-finalist at the Thelonious Monk Jazz Vocal Competition; and his featured appearances as a singer with the Jimmy Heath big band, the Smoke Big Band, and the Manhattan Vocal Project..

While his trombone playing and imaginative arranging is well on display, McGuinness makes full use of Voice Like a Horn, to present himself as a "horn-minded, jazz oriented singer." Drawing on beloved standards ("Yesterdays," "Never Let Me Go," "Tea For Two" and "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face"); less familiar fare ("Oh, You Crazy Moon," "Who Cares") and jazz originals including Dizzy Gillespie's "Birks Works" and Bill Mobley's "49th Street," McGuinness places his affecting singing and agile scatting front and center on every track.

To be sure, the music is jazz; by emphasizing vocals McGuinness isn't positioning himself for cabaret acceptance or pop visibility. "I've always loved to scat sing -- I have perfect pitch, which helps me sing more the complicated stuff - and I get more serious about it each year," he says. "That's why I used a small band rather than a large ensemble for this album, that way there would more focus on the vocals." In addition to the leader, Voice Like a Horn employs the core members of the Pete McGuinness quartet: pianist Ted Kooshian, bassist Andy Eulau, and drummer Scott Neumann. Special guests include saxophonist Jon Gordon and trumpeter Bill Mobley (in whose big band McGuinness was featured as a singer and trombonist every Monday night for over three years at the NYC jazz club, Smoke.)

While there are echoes of his influences still to be heard - Chet Baker chief among them, as McGuinness readily admits - he has used his extensive experience and open ears to hone a vocal sound all his own. "Back at the Thelonious Monk Competition, one of the judges, Abbey Lincoln I believe, told me that although I didn't win, she thought I was the best scat singer competing that year," McGuinness remembers, " but that I had to distance myself from Chet Baker, my hero at the time, and find my own voice." With Voice Like a Horn, McGuinness most assuredly has.

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