Zuill Bailey – Press

“astoundingly beautiful musicianship”

“Bailey’s range of color and dynamics were amazing, as were the emotional depths he brought out.”

“…a touchingly human reading of this challenging work.”

“Bailey, a Grammy-winning cellist, plays with a passion that creates more than just music with his instrument.”

“Bailey gave a warm-hearted rendition of music that sometimes hides its charms behind a cloak. No such worries here!”

“Bailey not only commanded the stage with the deep rich tones of his opening, but he and Miller were hand-in-glove not just in big tempo changes, but nuances of phrasing.”

“As he plays, it is as intriguing to watch his hands as his bow. His fingers move so rapidly that he could be playing a piano and the sound from his oversize instrument has just a little extra mellowness to it.”

“Bailey’s heavy use of vibrato, expert dynamic contrast, and oral gestures communicate well the dramatic fourth movement…”

“Bailey, whose concert at Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church was arguably the highlight of St. Andrew’s Bach Society’s 30th anniversary season, brought out Bach’s lush harmonies with such warmth that it sounded new, like I had never really, truly heard the Bach No. 1 before.”

“…Despite flashes of power, Bailey approached the concerto, for the most part, with dignity and forbearance, his Goffriller supplying a singing but not overripe radiance.”

“[Bailey’s] reading of the part was brooding and passionate in the outer movements, agile and incredibly precise in the stratospheric moments in the blistering second, and marked by plenty of momentum in the short, lyrical third.”

“Mr. Bailey is a nuanced performer and riveting to watch… …Through the medium of his amber-hued cello, Mr. Bailey gave life to the Don.”

“Zuill Bailey burst upon the consciousness of most of us here by performing the six Suites for Cello by Bach during the festival six years ago, seated in the same spot he occupied on Sunday afternoon. Though it seemed then that his playing could not possibly be improved, it has since grown even more flexible, spontaneous and spellbinding. That such a gifted musician also has the skill, and time, to program a complex music festival with such insight and imagination is truly a cause for celebration, especially in Spokane.”

“The role of Quixote himself is given to the cello, and it runs the gamut of emotion from comical bluster to lofty passion and, ultimately, quiet resignation. Zuill Bailey left all technical challenges in the dust, focusing, rather, on conveying all the tragicomic pathos of Miguel Cervantes’ timeless character. To witness Bailey, one of today’s masters of the instrument, perform this part at a distance of 6 feet, while one sips from a glass of delicious wine, is a pleasure to which life offers few equals.”

“In particular, the Romantic lyricism of the second movement could fall, as it should, like an intimate whisper in the ear of the audience, thanks to the hushed intensity of Bailey’s playing. The range of color and expression he commands in the quietest passages is a continual source of wonder. If you have not heard Bailey in live performance, you have not experienced all that the cello is capable of.”

“Bailey is not known primarily as a chamber musician, but as a celebrated and charismatic soloist, and there were several times during the performance when one’s attention was drawn from the work’s more significant melodic content to the brilliance and magnetism emerging from the second cello.”

“Bailey excited the resonances of the space with a satisfying abundance of tonal pleading and asserting which did as much to advance the cause of Bach’s logic as to compensate for MIA Yings.”

Northwest BachFest artistic director Zuill Bailey’s 10-year relationship with the organization sprouted from an impromptu visit to Spokane that almost didn’t happen.

Zuill Bailey speaks with Robert Woolsey of KCAW about performing for inmates and his two cellos.