We spend an hour with Grammy Award winning pianist, composer & arranger Bill Cunliffe. At the time of this program (1994) Bill Cunliffe’s career as a serious jazz musician was beginning to pay dividends. His studies with the great Mary Lou Williams, tours with Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard and Joshua Redman & his winning of the 1989 Thelonious Monk Piano Competition all helped in making him a much sought after artist.
We visit this Los Angeles-based musician and sample his 1993 Discovery Records release, A Rare Connection. The CD includes 7 Cunliffe originals & utilizes some of L.A.'s top musicians (Bob Sheppard on tenor and bass clarinet, trumpeter Clay Jenkins, trombonist Bruce Paulson, bassist Dave Carpenter, drummer Peter Erskine, and percussionist Kurt Rasmussen).