A journey rooted in a quest for artistic sincerity.
Jean-Luc, Mazik
Anglo-French pianist/composer Jim Funnell began performing at Parisian jazz clubs in his early teens. After graduating from Berklee College of Music, where he received several awards as a student, he went on to win the Composition Prize at the “Trophées du Sunside” (2011).
Besides frequently traveling to Latin America in his twenties to soak up Afro-Latin and Brazilian rhythms, Jim has toured extensively ever since (in the US, UK, Europe, and Japan) and self-produced numerous albums and singles, recently recording with musicians such as Chris Jennings, Jeff Boudreaux, Akiko Horii, Tomoko Omura, Nino Wenger, Franck Vaillant, David Fiuczynski, Asaf Sirkis, Ryoichi Zakota, Ryo Noritake, Dominique Muzeau, and Umberto Echo.
Word Out’s melodious and playful neo-bop blends tradition with modernity.
Bob Hatteau, Jazz à bâbord
As a bandleader, Jim has appeared at festivals and venues such as ShapeShifter Lab, Rockwood Music Hall (NY), Paris Music Festival, Sunset Sunside, Baiser Salé, Jazz à Vanves, Jazz de Mars, Jazz en Touraine (France), Salt Peanuts, SOMETIME Kichijōji, JZ Brat, Royal Horse (Japan), the Malta Jazz Festival, and garnered reviews from outlets such as All About Jazz, jazzLife, Jazz à bâbord, and Le jars jase jazz.
The pleasure of playing shines through every moment.
Patrick Dallongeville, Paris Move
“Word Out” is a musical adventure unfolding from within, a place where speech is often inadequate, where experiences are unsayable… Silence, sounds and rhythms, on the other hand, can sometimes reveal far more: Jim’s unique strand of jazz, tinged with elements of classical and world music, will take you to the fringes of post-bop (Live in Japan), fusion (Bitcorn Soup) and even, at times, microtonal territories (Aquarius Funk).
Word Out offers worlds that are accessible yet sophisticated.
Basem Shalabi, L’Écho Républicain
Inspiration from literary sources (Rainer Maria Rilke, Hazrat Inayat Khan, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Jacques Ellul, Milan Kundera, René Guénon…) often pervades Jim’s music, in which jazz composition and improvisation are apprehended as ideal vehicles for infinite shades of emotion. His latest studio album, New Dream, was released on 8 November 2024.
Audio & discography
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More press, interviews…
A lot of living goes into making each of Jim’s works.
Geno Thackara, All About Jazz