Paul Nagel

Paul Nagel

p, US
Musician of Jazz and R&B/Soul

American Pianist After graduating high school in 1970, Paul left Cubberley High in Palo Alto, CA and moved to Santa Cruz, CA to study music at Cabrillo College and play in the Jazz Band under the direction of Lile Cruse. He also studied briefly with pianist Tom Coster. He moved from Santa Cruz to Hollywood to play with guitarist Robben Ford from 1971 to 1972, backing blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon. Job highlights were the Monterey Jazz Festival 1972 and a benefit at Madison Square Garden, New York for Angela Davis. With Robben Ford, he also backed various artists such as Charlie Musselwhite, Chuck Berry, Al McKibbon and Eric Burdon. In 1973, he returned to Santa Cruz and formed a quartet (The Hytones) with Stan Poplin and Jim Baum (from the Cabrillo and Ford band) and sax player Paul Contos. The Hytones played the opening of the Kuumbwa Jazz Center that year. Kuumbwa provided opportunities for Paul to play with visiting artists in need of a pianist (Dave Liebman, Richie Cole, Eddie Henderson, David Schnitter, Eddie Moore....to name a few.) He met bassist Ray Drummond and became a member of his quartet which featured Eddie Marshall on drums and Manny Boyd on saxophone. In 1979, Paul received a performance grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. He also played a few dates with bassist Ray Brown. After moving from Santa Cruz to Oakland, CA. in the winter of ’79, Paul played with various Bay Area musicians; Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Sonny Stitt, Hadley Kaliman, Ray Obiedo, Larry Schenider, Larry Grenadier, Glenn Chronkite, and many more. In 1980, he met vocalist Bobby McFerrin and performed with him regularly at the Great American Music Hall in SF, as well as opening for Chick Corea for the first annual KJAZ Jazz Festival at Davies Hall. (CHECK OUT http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/bobby-mcferrin/concerts/great-american-music-hall-september-05-1982.html and stream a set from the Great American Music Hall recorded Sept. 5, 1982....Bobby McFerrin - vocals, Paul Nagel - piano, Jeff Carney - bass, Bobby Rosenstein - drums and Paul Chico - percussion) In 1982, he joined sax player and vocalist Cornelius Bumpus and recorded two albums (“Clear View” & “Beacon”) followed by a national tour. Through the remainder of the eighties, Paul worked with various singers and instrumentalists such as Kitty Margolis, Madeline Eastman, Rhiannon, Harvey Weinaple, Jim Grantham, Bruce Forman. In ’93, Paul rejoined Bobby McFerrin to form the band, “Bang! Zoom!” which played a week at the Blue Note in NYC and various jazz festivals (Montreux, North Sea, Monterey, Istanbul, Madrid and Vienna). “Bang! Zoom!” also performed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Israeli Philharmonic and the National Symphony. Paul also plays Rhodes on Bobby’s “Bang! Zoom!” Blue Note recording, released in 1995. Before moving to the east coast in 2000, Paul formed the trio “NLS” with drummer Jason Lewis and bassist John Shifflett. “NLS” worked as a rhythm section for various singers and instrumentalists; Anton Schwartz, Kitty Margolis, Harvey Weinaple and many others. In Sept. of 2000, Paul performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival (with NLS) in the “Tribute to Bay Area Pianists” Concert which also featured the late Smith Dobson and Ed Kelly. After meeting singer/guitarist Boz Scaggs while doing a demo with Cornelius Bumpus, Paul and Boz started work on standards from the Great American Songbook. “But Beautiful - Standards Vol.1” (Paul - pianist and arranger) was released in ’03 (which debuted #1 on the Billboard Jazz Charts) and Boz, NLS, vocalist Monet and saxophonist Eric Crystal toured the U.S., Japan, Europe and Australia. Paul joined Boz’s “Hit’s” band in ’04 and toured throughout the U.S. and Japan through ’08. Paul played a week’s tour in Canada with Michael Zilber, Steve Smith, Dave Liebman and John Shifflett. He also did a two week east coast tour with vocalist/guitarist Madeline Peyroux in ’05. Currently living in the Southcoast of Massachusetts, Paul plays frequently in neighboring Providence and Newport Rhode Island as well as Boston and Cape Cod. You can catch him with John Allmark, Greg Abate, Dan Moretti, Dave Zinno, Phil Grenadier, Steve DeConti, Marty Ballou, Dick Lupino, George Masso and numerous others.