September 30, 2025

Dear MSM Community,

We are writing with the sad news that beloved former MSM faculty member Jim McNeely passed away on Friday, September 26, 2025.

Jim was a distinguished member of MSM’s Jazz Arts faculty for 14 years, teaching composition and directing ensembles until his retirement as Professor Emeritus in 2022. He was a devoted mentor, exquisite pianist, and renowned composer/arranger. His career included collaborations with many jazz giants, and his passion for teaching inspired hundreds of young musicians and composers. He lived to see so many of his former students, fellow musicians, and collaborators celebrate him just weeks ago at an unforgettable tribute concert in early September at the DiMenna Center.

His spirit and wisdom will radiate throughout MSM, and his compositions and arrangements will continue to inspire – not just in the School’s own performance halls but in prestigious jazz halls around the world – for decades to come.

We send profound condolences to his family, his former colleagues and students at MSM, and to all those whose lives he so profoundly enriched. Jim’s legacy will leave a deep and lasting impact on Manhattan School of Music.

Please see below for Jim’s bio as well as observations from President Gandre, Provost Griggs, and Dean Saltzman.

At this time, we do not have information about a memorial or funeral services. As this information becomes known, we will communicate details.

President James Gandre:

The great Jim McNeely joined the Jazz Arts faculty in 2008 and was already five years into his illustrious MSM teaching career by the time I returned to the School as President in 2013. His consummate gifts as a pianist, composer, and arranger underscored a deep well of generosity and warmth and erudition that shone through during his time here as a teacher. You could see it in his engagement with students and the Community, in his performances at the School, and during performances of his work. I remember one memorable night in 2017 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club. The MSM Jazz Orchestra was presenting his “Paul Klee Project” – Jim’s compositions inspired by the work of the Swiss artist – and he was leading the orchestra. The bandstand’s backdrop was a view of dusk falling over Central Park and Columbus Circle, and the lush, harmonically rich music, beautifully performed, provided the perfect soundtrack for that memorable moment in time. Jim brought that magic to life, just as he brought so much magic to life throughout his years at the School. He truly was one of the greats.

Provost Joyce Griggs:

Jim McNeely and I first met in the early ’00s, long before either of us had an affiliation with MSM. When we reconnected in 2018, he was the same kindhearted, generous person who demonstrated an indefatigable passion for educating young artists, and he loved that MSM was a place where he could nurture the brightest and most curious students. In his professional life, Jim was equally generous with his gifts, writing charts for top ensembles from New York, Denmark, Germany, and beyond (see bio below). He had an adventuresome creative spirit, connecting influences from visual and literary arts to his musical output. Furthermore, the impact he made on the jazz world will see his name in the hallowed halls of the art form’s giants. We are grateful to Jim for playing such a positive role over the years in the lives so many MSM students, many of whom are now among our esteemed faculty. Jim McNeely was a one-of-a-kind artist and teacher and person, and he will be dearly missed.

Dean Jim Saltzman:

I first met Jim McNeely 25 years ago while I was a graduate student at William Paterson University. I had first become aware of his music in high school through recordings with Phil Woods and Stan Getz. Later, I discovered his large ensemble compositions—namely Lickety Split: Music of Jim McNeely with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and his tentet recording, Group Therapy.  Since that time, I’ve been privileged to get to know him, pick his brain, drink lots of coffee, and laugh often. Like many of my colleagues—several of whom I now work with at MSM—I spent three years learning from and interacting with Jim in the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop.  I can confidently say that this was arguably the most exciting and inspiring period of my life as an aspiring composer: bouncing ideas off other composers and receiving feedback from Jim.  He had a way of making us consider all possibilities—never unjustly judging our music but encouraging us to work and explore. It was Jim who also encouraged me to apply to the DMA program at MSM. In doing so, I was fortunate to spend my time here studying privately with him, working as his doctoral assistant, helping prep/conduct his music, and directing a live recording of his arrangements featuring graduate jazz vocal students.  Jim’s legacy as a jazz composer is undeniable, but I would argue that his influence as an educator and mentor is equally monumental. Countless composers have studied with him at MSM, the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, and other institutions around the world. Frankly, it’s hard to imagine jazz composition without Jim.  I will be eternally grateful to him. Thank you, Jim.

ABOUT JIM MCNEELY

A member of Manhattan School of Music’s Jazz Arts faculty for 14 years, Jim McNeely enjoyed a singular, internationally renowned career as a jazz pianist, composer, arranger, conductor, and educator.

The New York Times has called his writing “exhilarating.” DownBeat has said that his music is “eloquent enough to be profound.” He was a Grammy Award-winner with a career total of 12 nominations* to his credit.

He worked on projects with the Danish Radio Big Band (where he was chief conductor for five years), the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, the Metropole Orchestra (Netherlands), the Swiss Jazz Orchestra (Bern/Zürich), WDR Big Band (Cologne), and the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra. He enjoyed a long-standing relationship with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra as pianist and composer in residence and was the current artist-in-residence with the HR Big Band (Frankfurt).

Born in Chicago on May 18, 1949, McNeely moved to New York City in 1975, having received a Bachelor of Music degree in composition from the University of Illinois. He joined the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra in 1978 and then spent six years as a featured soloist with that band and its successor, the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra (now the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra). In 1981, McNeely began his tenure as pianist and composer with the Stan Getz Quartet, later (1990–1995) holding the piano chair in the Phil Woods Quintet.

McNeely led his own tentet and trio and appeared as guest soloist at concerts and festivals worldwide. He recorded a number of albums — trio and quartet — under his own name and also appeared as a sideman on numerous recordings led by major artists such as Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, Stan Getz, Bob Brookmeyer, David Liebman, and Phil Woods.

He appeared at numerous college jazz festivals as a performer and clinician and was involved regularly with summer workshops such as the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Clinics, the Lake Placid Seminar in Jazz Improvisation, and the William Paterson University Summer Jazz Workshop. He also conducted clinics and had major residencies at dozens of institutions in the U.S., Canada, Europe, China, and Australia. For 24 years McNeely was involved with the BMI Jazz Composers’ Workshop and served as Musical Director from 1999 through 2015.

McNeely taught at Manhattan School of Music from 2008 until his retirement as Professor Emeritus in 2022. A special tribute to McNeely was held in NYC on September 10, 2025, bringing together many from the Manhattan School of Music Community and others who paid homage to the esteemed musician and his music. The concert at the DiMenna Center on West 37th Street in New York featured performances of some of the most iconic compositions from across his career, performed by an 18-piece jazz orchestra stacked with key McNeely associates (among them several MSM alumni and current faculty); special guests included John Scofield (guitar), Dick Oatts (alto sax, former MSM faculty), Ed Neumeister (trombone), Martin Wind (bass), Adam Nussbaum (drums), and John Riley (drums, MSM alumnus). The ensemble was conducted by Rufus Reid, Mike Holober (MSM faculty), Darcy James Argue (MSM faculty), Migiwa Miyajima, and Daniel Jamieson (MSM alumnus), who also organized and produced the event.

*GRAMMY Awards (1) and Nominations (12) for Jim McNeely:

61st Annual GRAMMY Awards
Nomination: Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
Barefoot Dances and Other Visions

51st Annual GRAMMY Awards
Win: Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
Monday Night Live at the Village Vanguard

49th Annual GRAMMY Awards
Nomination: Best Instrumental Arrangement
Up From The Skies
Nomination: Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
Up From The Skies – Music Of Jim McNeely

47th Annual GRAMMY Awards
Nomination: Best Instrumental Arrangement
Sing, Sing, Sing
Nomination: Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
The Way: Music Of Slide Hampton

46th Annual GRAMMY Awards
Nomination: Best Instrumental Arrangement
Black Holes

44th Annual GRAMMY Awards
Nomination: Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
Group Therapy

43rd Annual GRAMMY Awards
Nomination: Best Instrumental Arrangement
Nice Work If You Can Get It (Track)
Nomination: Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
Nice Work (Album)

41st Annual GRAMMY Awards
Nomination: Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance
Lickety Split – Music of Jim McNeely (Album)

39th Annual GRAMMY Awards
Nomination: Best Instrumental Arrangement
Sing, Sing, Sing (Track)

Watch recorded Livestream of Jim McNeely conducting the MSM Jazz Arts Orchestra on February 7, 2023: