Press Reviews

• allaboutjazz.com | show/hide snippet

  Soon it becomes apparent that, like Peterson, O’Neal has chops to burn. He’s a two-handed pianist whose left hand frequently doubles the right’s melodies over the entire range of the keyboard, moving in opposite as well as parallel motion. In addition, he shows he’s capable of being a completely autonomous player, a virtual one-man orchestra. On Erroll Garner's “Dreamy” his right hand evokes the rhapsodic romanticism of the composer; on the uptempo stomp tunes he resurrects the spirit of Fats Waller with radar-accurate stride stylings and walking tenths in the left hand. On the traditional gospel hymn “Just a Closer Walk,” his left hand is a blur as he recreates a romping, stomping jubilee at its climactically frenetic, rapturous high. If all that weren’t enough, on the Betty Carter signature piece, “Tight,” O’Neal reveals a pleasant singing voice, reminding me of Dizzy Gillespie's but with more resonance and polish.
  The trio requires no more than a knife-edge instant to switch from pianissimo to fortissimo and vice versa. A single song will employ several different tempos and rhythms, each catching the listener by surprise.
  The audio on the disc is pristine—well-balanced, full-frequencied, spacious yet “present”—and should satisfy even the most fastidious Dolby-ized home-theater audiophile.
  Samuel Chell

• ejazznews.com | show/hide snippet

  Each solo O'Neal takes continues to evolve into a first rate treatise into the art of strong improvisational jazz. This is Johnny's forte & his sidemen are part & parcel of this virtuosic performance with a quicksilver technique reminiscent of Tatum. O'Neal delivers his craft with an effortless familiarity with several jazz styles from bebop to total abstraction.....He brings a fresh dynamism to the art of jazz.
  George W. Carroll/The Musicians' Ombudsman