Never too Late by Michael O'Neill

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Smooth Jazz | Latin Jazz

12 tracks | 51 minutes

Released Apr 2003
on Merrimack Records

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sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:43 Never Too Late lyrics FREE 04:43 Never Too Late lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:43 Never Too Late

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:00 Visions lyrics BUY MP3 05:00 Visions lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:00 Visions

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:51 Echoes of Seville lyrics BUY MP3 04:51 Echoes of Seville lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:51 Echoes of Seville

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:22 I Ain't Lyin' lyrics BUY MP3 04:22 I Ain't Lyin' lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:22 I Ain't Lyin'

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:12 Always Love lyrics BUY MP3 04:12 Always Love lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:12 Always Love

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:34 For You lyrics BUY MP3 04:34 For You lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:34 For You

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:00 Winds of Summer lyrics BUY MP3 05:00 Winds of Summer lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:00 Winds of Summer

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:58 Dreams of Love lyrics BUY MP3 04:58 Dreams of Love lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:58 Dreams of Love

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:31 Passages lyrics BUY MP3 04:31 Passages lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:31 Passages

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:48 Sidewalk Strut lyrics BUY MP3 03:48 Sidewalk Strut lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:48 Sidewalk Strut

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:37 Cruisin on Down lyrics BUY MP3 02:37 Cruisin on Down lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:37 Cruisin on Down

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:52 Yesterday lyrics BUY MP3 02:52 Yesterday lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:52 Yesterday

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Contemporary Jazz Guitar inside Grooves flavored with R&B,Latin,Pop.

Editorial review

Like most guys who make a great living jamming behind bigger stars, guitarist Michael O'Neill -- whose resume boasts a few years in the '80s with Stevie Wonder and a nearly nonstop two decades with George Benson -- took years to find the time amidst the world tours to compose and produce an entire album's worth of material. It's easy to identify each these influences on a track-by-track basis on Never Too Late. The title track, co-written with Gregg Karukas, finds O'Neill approximating the crisp electric "breezin'" of Benson, darting high-fluttering tones off the main melody as wah-wah click textures call out in the background. Ditto on the mid-tempo retro-soul ballad "Winds of Summer," which opens with a brisk hook that features a higher tone than the verse sections, very much like "Breezin'." Pianist Dave Witham (another vet from the Benson crew) chimes in at one point with a quick but playful solo before O'Neill digs into a deeper tone on a solo that runs like trickling water. O'Neill pays homage to Stevie Wonder, too, opting to play things fairly close to the vest on a thoughtful cover of Stevie Wonder's "Visions," with vocals by Carl Anderson. "I Ain't Lyin'" dips into that Crusaders vibe O'Neill mentions, opening with a dense high-hat percussion swirl by Land Richards and Dio Saucedo's tambourine and easing into a rocking electric guitar melody over the bluesy organ harmony of Chris Ho with plenty of Wayne Henderson-like horn splashes by Walt Fowler. Just as the Crusaders at times crossed from R&B to jazz, O'Neill breaks at one point for heated guitar and piano improvisations. Mid-tempo meditations like "Sidewalk Strut" and the Brazilian-flavored acoustic piece, "Cruisin' on Down" (featuring O'Neill's lively scatting), offer more evidence of the guitarist's ability to both people please and stretch stylistic boundaries ever so slightly. ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide

Bio / Background

This CD is a culmination of 25 years of experience that Los Angeles based guitarist,Michael O'Neill has lived in the music industry.Starting in 1979 touring with the Crusaders on their "Street Life" tour to a 2 decades relationship working with guitar great, George Benson in his band (still currently with Benson)

O'Neill serves up 12 tunes which cover a wide range of styles that reflect the versatility he has acquired backing up some of the greats in the industry.Along the way Michael has supported such greats as Stevie Wonder,Rickie Lee Jones,Natalie Cole,Joe Sample,Ronnie Laws,Hubert Laws,Gato Barbieri,Sadao Watanabe,Boney James,Rick Braun,Peter White,Freddie Ravel,Gregg Karukas,Carl Anderson,Sheila E.,Gerald Albright,Kirk Whalum,Eric Marienthal among others.