Jim McNeely talks his Compositional Process | From Sketch to Score

Legendary composer Jim McNeely joins us to discuss his process for writing a new composition. Enjoy his thoughts on creativity, and developing ideas for large jazz ensemble.
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Pianist, composer and arranger Jim McNeely is Chief Conductor of the Frankfurt Radio (HR) Big Band, and Composer-in-Residence with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. His work as a writer has earned him ten Grammy nominations, in addition to past work with the Danish Radio Big Band, Carnegie Hall Jazz Band and the Metropole Orchestra (Netherlands). As a pianist, McNeely has recorded with Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, Stan Getz, Bob Brookmeyer, David Liebman and more.
Website: www.jim-mcneel...
TH-cam: / jim mcneely - topic
Facebook: / jimmcneelyofficial
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AUDIO CREDITS
Intro: “Chance Encounter”, composed by Daniel Jamieson. Performed by Danjam Orchestra, on the album “Sudden Appearance” (2011) OA2 Records. danjam.ca/
Example 1: “Martijn”. Composed by Jim McNeely for the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, to feature drummer Martijn Vink.
Closing: “Crunchy Peanut Butter”, composed by Daniel Jamieson. Performed by Danjam Orchestra, on the album “Sudden Appearance” (2011) OA2 Records. danjam.ca/
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PHOTO CREDITS
Jim McNeely photo by Suresh Photos

[@gregbush608]

Usually I’m not one to employ hyperbole but this isn’t just gold, it’s diamond studded platinum.
Thank you Maestro Jim.

[@JazzComposersPresent]

Thanks Greg - completely agree. Jim is doing a feature event on this topic on the site in July - we're excited to hear his extended thoughts.

[@sarahjerrom]

Pure gold. Huge thanks, Jim and Jazz Composers Present! Curious as to what happens to the “save as” drafts after the piece is finished- do you keep the digital files as sketches or discard?

[@JazzComposersPresent]

Thanks for watching as always Sarah! Plenty of great stuff from Jim (and others) on the website -- www.jazzcomposerspresent.com/archives
(He's doing another masterclass in November, so you can ask him your question live!)

[@sarahjerrom]

@@JazzComposersPresent Nice! Thanks and looking forward!

[@paulashwell9680]

Can we get ten more hours of this please???

[@JazzComposersPresent]

Thanks Paul! Don't think the full event will *quite* reach 10 hours, but yeah, could listen to Jim discuss his process for days. Lots to consider!

[@DEAN3R]

Pencil and paper? What are those?!?!?! Seriously great to see Jim's process.

[@JazzComposersPresent]

I know, right? (Seriously though, I thought Jim's reason why made a *ton* of sense)

[@jessepassenier]

Great, Dan, thanks for hosting this, and great, Jim! Thank you for sharing this example of your writing process, I'm always pushing my students at Maastricht Music Academy towards longer and a more "open development" way of sketching, messing around with our composer's toolboxes, this will be a great inspiration video for that!

[@JazzComposersPresent]

Hey Jesse, Jim is of course amazing! We're so glad you enjoyed the video and we hope your students enjoy it too. We are looking forward to Jim expanding on this topic at his full length Composer Spotlight in July!

[@kellysill7077]

Jim McNeely - Great exposition - I love you the most! - Kel

[@JazzComposersPresent]

Thanks for watching Kelly! We (obviously) love Jim as well.

[@ErikVeldkampMusic]

Great stuff, I love this channel. We are going to record this music next week with Jim. I'm looking forward to that!

[@JazzComposersPresent]

Thank you Erik! We can't wait to hear the music - please let us know when it's publicly available!

[@tobias_meinhart]

So great!!!

[@JazzComposersPresent]

Thanks Tobias! Stay tuned for more videos from the Maestro!

[@kareleriksson9045]

Great initiative! Thanks!

[@JazzComposersPresent]

Thanks Karel! Glad you enjoyed it. (More to come!)

[@gilevansinsideout]

Great video!

[@JazzComposersPresent]

Thanks! Lots of great stuff from Jim and others, with hour-long sessions on our website. (Just browsed your blog, nice work)

[@gilevansinsideout]

@@JazzComposersPresent Thank you! It's a labour of love :D