Joel Purnell

Saxophonist, composer and jazz educator, Joel Purnell is acknowledged as one of Europe’s finest emerging contemporary jazz musicians. Described by American jazz colossus Jerry Bergonzi as a saxophonist possessing “amazing fire and energy”, Purnell’s hard hitting, fresh, lyrical style has made him one of the most sought after musicians and jazz educators of the moment. With a relentless drive, Purnell’s command of the instrument captivates and enthrals festival, club and theatre audiences throughout Europe.

With an ever growing discography, Purnell has previously toured and recorded with many highly reputable bands and musicians from a wide range of genres. In the Jazz scene, these include amongst others, a critically acclaimed tour with the ‘Rick Zunigar Quartet’, headed by the legendary Los Angeles jazz guitarist (formerly of the Stevie Wonder Band, Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard, Cal Tjader, Elvin Jones, Sarah Vaughan, Jimmy Smith, Ray Charles, Roy Ayers and The Crusaders). Purnell also featured heavily on Zunigar’s album ‘New York Minute’. Currently involved in a number of his own projects, Joel also tours extensively as a member of the highly innovative ‘Jamil Sheriff Octet’, where he is featured on both of the bands highly praised albums, ‘Daydreams’, and the latest release from the Octet, entitled “Backchat”.

In the funk arena, Purnell performs, writes and records with New York’s club scene favourites ‘Capri’, and has also appeared live with the American soul diva Viola Wills. Whilst in the pop idiom, Joel toured with one of the UK’s best selling Indie Rock bands ‘Embrace’, playing some of the largest live music venues in Britain. More recently, another one of Purnell’s projects, the ‘B3 Horns’, has been featured on a number of tracks from the eagerly awaited new album (Sputnik Sweetheart) from Dave Formula (formerly of the bands Magazine, Visage and The Angel Brothers) and R&B sensation 'Lovely Laura' latest album 'My Time'.

Highly regarded in the educational arena by both jazz academics and students alike, Joel has held senior lecturer posts on the faculty at LCM since 2000, lecturing in Performance Studies and Jazz Language as well as leading a number of performance, improvisation and saxophone workshops throughout the UK.

In 2007, Purnell composed 10 original compositions for his quartet and in 2008 released the debut solo album ‘Red Shift’ (GLP Records) by ‘The Joel Purnell Quartet’. This album clearly represents Joel’s varied influences in both his improvisational and compositional styles. From the emotional ballad ‘This Is How I Knew’ to the modern contemporary title track “Red Shift”, the album reveals a strong, tight jazz unit, with a clear understanding of each others individual styles and the music as a whole. Internationally renowned jazz drummer Andrea Michelutti said that this band “swings..!” Featuring a talented and highly respected group of musicians, the quartet consists of Zoltan Dekany (Bass), Jamil Sheriff (Piano) and John Perry (Drums), forming a line up that when combined, display a deep commitment and true passion for jazz, musicality and improvisation.

This critically acclaimed album is now available in all major digital music stores, including iTunes, Napster, Amazon, Rhapsody, Emusic, mTraks, Audio Lunchbox, Sony Connect and Passalong.
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The Joel Purnell Quartet - 'What Would You Do' (Clip)
The Joel Purnell Quartet - 'Meditation' (Clip)