Newell's 'Midwestern Vibe' Meshes Bebop, Lyricism

Downbeat March 1994 -By Howard Reich After nearly 15 years of jobbing and jingle dates, Chicago alto saxophonist Jeff Newell is becoming an "overnight" success. Newell's quartet recently took second prize - and a $2,500 check - in the 1993 Hennessy Cognac Best of Chicago Jazz Search, held at Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase. Last summer, Newell's group played the Chicago Jazz Festival for the first time, drawing healthy ovations and critical praise. All the attention comes as a surprise to Newell, who deserves every bit of it, judging by his playing, composing, and arranging over the past couple of years. "Everything has turned out pretty strangely, considering that I only planned on staying in Chicago for four or five years in the first place," said Newell, who grew up in a small farming town outside of Omaha, Neb., and came to the windy city in 1978 as a tenor player studying under Bunky Green. "I wanted to be in a major city, but I still wanted that Midwestern vibe." In the late '80s, Newell switched to alto and came to the dispiriting conclusion that he was devoting more time to making money than making music. So he cut down on the commercial dates, won a grant to study with reed master Dave Liebman, and spent most of 1990 working the road with organist Charles Earland. He returned to Chicago at the end of '90 and formed his current quartet with drummer Rick Vitek, pianist Steve Million, and bassist Larry Kohut. Merging his early love of bebop with a more lyrical, harmonically freer idiom reminiscent of Wayne shorter, Newell has found his voice. Perhaps Newell's rural upbringing has helped that voice stand out amid the urban din of Chicago. "I've always thought that the subtle beauty of the prairie in Nebraska somehow made its way into my playing," Newell said - though he doesn't want to be thought of as "creating nothing but pipe-and-slippers music." Not surprisingly, Newell's current obsession is getting his quartet recorded. "The quartet has the repertoire, the experience, the out-of-town gigs - I think we're ready now to make that first record," he said. But is the record industry ready for a young lion with something original to say? Kevin Whitehead January 2003 For most of the set, the [Marshall Vente] trio was joined by ex-Chicago, ex-Vente alto saxophonist Jeff Newell. He's a chameleon who can change his tone radically from tune to tune or even within a single phrase while still projection a consistent (and articulate) personality. Like Vente, he also has mastered the playful art of quotation, slipping in phrases cribbed anywhere from "March of the Siamese Children" to "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town." It was good fun that didn't get too cute. (excerpted from a review of the 2003 Marshall Vente Fest) Back to top. To Contact Us Back to Home