Michael O'Neill

Michael O’Neill is a contemporary jazz guitarist and vocalist based in Los Angeles. His first tour took him across the US and Europe with the Crusaders on their Street Life tour, and in 1981 he joined George Benson’s band. Apart from a few years away in the early 1990s he has played alongside Benson ever since, and he was associate producer on Benson’s album Songs and Stories. Benson himself has praised his technique and versatility.

Beyond that partnership his credits take in Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, Al Jarreau and Natalie Cole, and he composes music for film and television. As a solo artist he released Never Too Late on Merrimack in 2000, with guests including Carl Anderson, Gregg Karukas and Bobby Lyle, and Funky Fiesta came out on Green Bean Records in 2005, a set one reviewer heard as blending jazz and funk with soul and R&B. His album Arrival, which he wrote, arranged and produced himself, followed in 2024.