Michael O'Neill Sextet at The Sound Room

Michael O'Neill sounds as if he could improvise all night without ever repeating himself once. He hovers between mastery and greatness. His saxophone work is extraordinary. He plays with almost orchestral diction yet with classic jazz chops. It makes him a rare treat - it's almost as if he's not only playing but he's teaching saxophone on stage. A Journey to Oaktown

Raised in San Diego, O'Neill started studying clarinet in grade school, and received early mentoring from a neighbor, the future studio drum star and jazz great John Guerin, who helped ONeill with his first band in junior high. After a stint in the Air Force Band, he enrolled in college, where he majored in biology and minored in music (studying with veteran saxophonist Bud Young). Gigging on weekends after graduation, ONeill found gainful employment as a biologist, which led him to start a doctoral program in insect physiology at Texas A&M University. But after two years the call of music became too powerful, and upon returning to the Bay Area he dedicated himself to a full-time career in music....

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Michael O'Neill sounds as if he could improvise all night without ever repeating himself once. He hovers between mastery and greatness. His saxophone work is extraordinary. He plays with almost orchestral diction yet with classic jazz chops. It makes him a rare treat - it's almost as if he's not only playing but he's teaching saxophone on stage. A Journey to Oaktown

Raised in San Diego, O'Neill started studying clarinet in grade school, and received early mentoring from a neighbor, the future studio drum star and jazz great John Guerin, who helped ONeill with his first band in junior high. After a stint in the Air Force Band, he enrolled in college, where he majored in biology and minored in music (studying with veteran saxophonist Bud Young). Gigging on weekends after graduation, ONeill found gainful employment as a biologist, which led him to start a doctoral program in insect physiology at Texas A&M University. But after two years the call of music became too powerful, and upon returning to the Bay Area he dedicated himself to a full-time career in music.

Studies with tenor legend Joe Henderson and a focus on composition and arrangement put him in the thick of the action. Besides jazz composition, hes written and performed works in orchestral and ethnic musical forms, and composed music for television shows and corporate, industrial and documentary films. Working mostly as a bandleader in recent decades, hes formed a series of stellar bands to perform his original music, while also presenting top-shelf Bay Area vocalists such as Grammy Award-winner Tony Lindsay, Kenny Washington, Jackie Ryan, Denise Perrier, Kim Nalley and Clairdee.

Join Michael and his band:
Michael O'Neill - saxophones
John R. Burr - piano
Dan Feiszli - bass
Alan Hall - drums
Erik Jekabson - trumpet
Tony Lindsay - vocals

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