Led by pianist and composer Jim Funnell, post-bop/ethno jazz fusion band “Word Out” offers a repertoire of jazz compositions that revels in mixed breeds. Playfully blossoming through constant dialogue, their music draws from diverse traditions from around the world in a true spirit of celebration.
With Word Out, Jim has released three albums (Word Out, Spirit of the Snail, and Live in Japan), a reggae/jazz single (Lesser Vice) featuring dub activist Umberto Echo, a microtonal jazz fusion single featuring guitarist David Fiuczynski (Bitcorn Soup), won the Composition Prize in 2011 at the “TrophĂ©es du Sunside” (Paris), and toured internationally, appearing at festivals and venues such as ShapeShifter Lab, Rockwood Music Hall (NY), Paris Music Festival, Sunset-Sunside, Improphile, Baiser SalĂ©, Jazz Ă Vanves, Jazz de Mars, Jazz en Touraine (France), SOMETIME KichijĹŤji, JZ Brat, Royal Horse (Japan), and the Malta Jazz Festival.
Inspiration from literary sources (Ellul, Kundera, Musil, Orwell, Saint-ExupĂ©ry, MĂ©rimĂ©e, Sartre…) often pervades Jim’s music. In resonance with Rilke’s perception of poetry, jazz composition and improvisation are apprehended as ideal vehicles for infinite shades of emotion:
“Most experiences are unsayable, they happen in a space that no word has ever entered.”
Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
A third studio album featuring Chris Jennings and Jeff Boudreaux is currently in the works… Stay tuned! Word out.
Albums & Singles
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Press Quotes
“Jim Funnell’s Word Out’s melodious and playful neo-bop blends tradition with modernity.”
Bob Hatteau, Jazz à bâbord
“Word Out … takes its name from Rainer Maria Rilke’s observation that “most experiences are unsayable.” Even so, it’s a heck of a lot of fun when they can be played instead.”
Geno Thackara, All About Jazz
“This music is the singular result of a thorough reflection on rhythms, sounds, and colors.”
Guillaume Lagrée, Le jars jase jazz
“These young musicians (Word Out) are simply fresh, alive, curious, open-minded, joyful, and listening to their music does heaps of good.”
Guillaume Lagrée, Le jars jase jazz
“Led by Anglo-French charismatic pianist and inspired composer Jim Funnell, Word Out offers sophisticated yet accessible worlds.”
Basem Shalabi, L’Écho RĂ©publicain
“The mystery of the whole life has a great charm. … but when one wants to explain [ it ] words are not adequate.”
Hazrat Inayat Khan, The Power of the Word