Michael O'Neill - Never Too Late

The Sidemen of Smooth Jazz
with Michael O'Neill

"It's been a fun ride, but the surprises have been amazing. I have played with so many people.
On stage, our energies come together. Then we all take something from it and take it out into our
careers For me, it's like adding a new tool to my toolbox."

Guitarist Michael O'Neill has played with most everyone in the pop/R&B/smooth
jazz arena. With a long and impressive resume', it's astonishing to
know that many fans out there have not heard of him before.

Born and raised in Santa Monica, California, Michael was influenced by the music in
his family from a very young age. "I am half Mexican and my godfather was one of the
founding members of a very famous trio from Mexico City. They would take trips up
here to Los Angeles to perform and we would have these big extended family parties.
Everybody would put me up there to perform when I was a little boy. Guess I was
supposed to be doing this!" Michael's whole Mexican side of the family not only has
musicians, but a lot of relatives in the arts. There are film-makers and composers, as
well, and Michael describes them as "very much a passionate, arts-oriented family."
Two of Michael's cousins from Mexico City made their way to the U.S. and are
now teaching music. One is a professor at the Berklee School of Music, specializing in
jazz and Latin music. The other is an opera teacher at the New England Conservatory.

Michael started out playing bass when he was about 15 years old, but soon switched to guitar
and was completely self-taught. "Coming up I had a guy in high school take me under his
wing. He was a grade ahead of me and really into the blues masters on guitar, so that was
a basic starting point on how to connect on an emotional level to your instrument. So, I
spent a couple of years following BB King, Albert King, and Freddie King. I would see
these guys as often as possible. That stuff naturally segued into the early invasion of
The Beatles and Stones. Then you had Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck from
the U.K. These guys were essentially from a blues place, but their
songs gave us more of a rock/pop element."

When asked how he ended up in the jazz world, Michael emphatically states, "I ended up
doing jazz because I got bored!" When another friend introduced him to the work of Wes
Montgomery, he was stunned, and ready to take on something new and more of a challenge.
That was his introduction into jazz. At the same time, Michael was also playing in a local
R&B/pop band and was greatly influenced by Stevie Wonder. "To me," Michael notes,
"Stevie is like a modern day Gershwin. So, on one side, I had the love of the jazz guitar,
and on the other side loving the R&B/pop side, so I was enjoying what is
actually today's smooth jazz throughout the years."

And it has been many years. Michael has been playing backup with George Benson for 25 years.
"I have done some great things and been involved in great productions, but living my
dream has been to play with George Benson and with Stevie Wonder. For nearly two years,
I bounced back and forth between George and Stevie. More recently it has been between
George and Natalie Cole." Before living his dream, Michael started out in 1979 with the
Crusaders during their Street Life tour, then came gigs with Ronnie Laws, Gato Barbieri,
Ricki Lee Jones, Natalie Cole, and the smooth jazz core guys of today Boney James, Rick
Braun, Peter White, Richard Elliot, Gregg Karukas, and Michael Paulo. "I think I have shared
the stage with most everybody at one time or another, but I think someone
like Sting or Peter Gabriel would be my next dream!"

With three solo CDs to his credit, Michael is also looking ahead. "Funky Fiesta received
some terrific reviews and it was amazing to work with some fabulous artists. I definitely
want to continue pursuing the solo part of my career. Where I will go with the next project,
I have no idea just yet." What most people don't know about Michael is his incredible
voice. He can be found singing backup at George Benson shows, included several vocals
on his first album, and plans to revisit that on the next project. With his new home
studio ready to go, he can now create any time the calling hits.

So what does this seasoned guitarist do when not on the road? As the father of a 21-year-old
son and 16-year-old daughter, life for Michael is a busy one. "Both of my kids are into
music. No surprise there. My son is into assembling music on the computer. Kind of
like rock-n-roll meets video games. My daughter is extremely focused in theater arts.
She is a beautiful singer in the chamber choir in high school. Besides my kids, I am an
absolute sports nut baseball, football, basketball." Or you may see Michael snorkeling
in the waters off Hawaii, a favorite vacation spot.

Look for Michael O'Neill, currently on tour with George Benson and on various CDs of some
of your favorite smooth jazz artists. And be sure to check out his solo works as well.

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