American pianist Paul Nagel embarked on his musical journey after graduating from Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California, in 1970. He relocated to Santa Cruz, where he studied music at Cabrillo College and played in the Jazz Band under Lile Cruse's direction. Additionally, he had a brief study period with pianist Tom Coster. From 1971 to 1972, Paul moved to Hollywood to collaborate with guitarist Robben Ford, providing accompaniment for blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon. Notable performances during this time included the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1972 and a benefit concert at Madison Square Garden for Angela Davis. Alongside Ford, he also supported artists such as Charlie Musselwhite, Chuck Berry, Al McKibbon, and Eric Burdon.
In 1973, Paul returned to Santa Cruz and formed a quartet called The Hytones, featuring Stan Poplin, Jim Baum (both of whom were part of the Cabrillo and Ford band), and saxophonist Paul Contos. The Hytones had the honor of performing at the opening of the Kuumbwa Jazz Center that same year. This venue provided Paul with opportunities to collaborate with visiting artists in need of a pianist, including Dave Liebman, Richie Cole, Eddie Henderson, David Schnitter, and Eddie Moore, among others. He later connected with bassist Ray Drummond and joined his quartet, which also included drummer Eddie Marshall and saxophonist Manny Boyd. In 1979, Paul received a performance grant from the National Endowment of the Arts and played several dates with renowned bassist Ray Brown.
After relocating to Oakland, California, in the winter of 1979, Paul engaged with various Bay Area musicians, including Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Sonny Stitt, Hadley Kaliman, Ray Obiedo, Larry Schneider, Larry Grenadier, and Glenn Chronkite. In 1980, he met vocalist Bobby McFerrin, with whom he performed regularly at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. He also opened for Chick Corea during the inaugural KJAZ Jazz Festival at Davies Hall.
In 1982, Paul joined saxophonist and vocalist Cornelius Bumpus, recording two albums, "Clear View" and "Beacon," followed by a national tour. Throughout the remainder of the 1980s, he collaborated with various vocalists and instrumentalists, including Kitty Margolis, Madeline Eastman, Rhiannon, Harvey Weinaple, Jim Grantham, and Bruce Forman. In 1993, Paul reunited with Bobby McFerrin to form the band "Bang! Zoom!" which performed at the Blue Note in New York City and various jazz festivals, including Montreux, North Sea, Monterey, Istanbul, Madrid, and Vienna. The band also collaborated with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Israeli Philharmonic, and the National Symphony. Paul contributed Rhodes piano to Bobby's "Bang! Zoom!" Blue Note recording, released in 1995.
Before relocating to the East Coast in 2000, Paul formed the trio "NLS" with drummer Jason Lewis and bassist John Shifflett. The trio served as a rhythm section for various singers and instrumentalists such as Anton Schwartz and Kitty Margolis. In September 2000, Paul performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival with NLS in a concert titled "Tribute to Bay Area Pianists," which also featured the late Smith Dobson and Ed Kelly. After meeting singer-guitarist Boz Scaggs while working on a demo with Cornelius Bumpus, Paul began collaborating on standards from the Great American Songbook. Their album, "But Beautiful - Standards Vol. 1," released in 2003, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Jazz Charts. Paul, along with Boz, NLS, vocalist Monet, and saxophonist Eric Crystal, toured the U.S., Japan, Europe, and Australia. Paul joined Boz's "Hits" band in 2004, touring extensively in the U.S. and Japan until 2008. He also toured Canada with Michael Zilber, Steve Smith, Dave Liebman, and John Shifflett, and completed a two-week East Coast tour with vocalist-guitarist Madeline Peyroux in 2005.
Currently residing in Southcoast Massachusetts, Paul Nagel frequently performs in nearby Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, as well as in Boston and Cape Cod, collaborating with musicians such as John Allmark, Greg Abate, Dan Moretti, Dave Zinno, Phil Grenadier, Steve DeConti, Marty Ballou, Dick Lupino, George Masso, and many others.
