Neon Jazz Interviews

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Germany-based Jazz Drummer Xaver Hellmeier .. We got into his new 2023 CD Book’s Bossa and his life in music from his base in Munich. He  grew up in a musical household, learning piano at first and switching to the drums at age 11. After taking private lessons for a couple of years, he started to perform with the Bavarian Youth Jazz O...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Vocalist Angela DeNiro & Legendary Arranger & Saxophonist Ron Aprea .. We opened the door to talk about their new collaboration in the 2023 CD Swinging with the Legends 2 joined by the Big Band .. It serves as a follow-up to their first Legends effort in 1988. The fourteen tunes here are from the Great American Songbook featuring...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran NYC-based Jazz Saxophonist Mike DiRubbo .. We talked about his new 2023 CD Inner Light, surviving COVID, his career in jazz and much more .. Ever since he arrived in New York two decades ago, he has reigned supreme as one of the most durable and dynamic musicians of his generation. What sets him apart from the rest was his app...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Russian-born, Brooklyn-based Jazz Drummer Tima Volozh .. He talked about his new and debut 2023 CD Jubilee .. It’s an album that encapsulates the diverse influences that have shaped his musical journey .. The group came together in March 2022 as a response to the war in Ukraine, with Tima assembling musicians who shared his concern fo...

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series .. On this episode, we talk with Acclaimed Jazz Pianist, Composer, Arranger, Educator & Entrepreneur Peter Martin .. As the founder of the innovative St. Louis-based company Open Studio, he opens up about his new project called 'Peter Martin & Generation S’ out on December 1, 2023. It features a lineup of distinguished artist...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Kansas City Bassist Rick Willoughby .. He has been playing string instruments most of his life. He began playing the violin at age three and discovered his love for the string bass at eleven. In 2004, Rick Willoughby graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music with a B.F.A. in Jazz Performance u...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Portland-based Jazz Singer, Songwriter & Educator Anandi .. She talked about her latest 2023 CD A Better Way .. Born in Los Angeles to a singer/songwriter and a jazz drummer, she ended up in Nova Scotia where she studied vocal jazz performance at St. Francis Xavier University.  After a stint working at Rounder Records in Boston and si...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Danish Jazz Composer & Bandleader Tobias Stavngaard .. We got into his new 2023 CD By the Last Man, his life in music, surviving the pandemic and the future .. This is the second album by the up-and-coming Danish Sextet he leads. The have captivated audiences since 2021 with their refined approach to contemporary jazz composition. Dig...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Brooklyn-based Jazz Saxophonist & Composer Jim Piela .. We caught up with him about his latest 2023 CD It Comes with the Territory on a  set of six original compositions .. Originally from Wisconsin, he cut his teeth early on with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and has gone on to explore the world of jazz .....

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Saxophonist Shawn Maxwell on his new 2023 album called J-Town Suite .. It’s something that has been in his mind for some time and now it’s a reality .. we cover when this album means, surviving COVID, the future, live shows and so much more .. Dig ..    For More Famous Interviews: Subscribe via Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/c...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Dublin-born, Austria-Raised, Boston-based Jazz Bassist Ciara Moser .. She talked at length about her new 2023 CD Blind? So What. As a professional bassist and someone who has been blind since birth, her identity has shaped her unique journey through life and music in a profound way. The songs on Blind. So what? explore topics such as...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Percussionist, Composer & Educator Dylan Jack .. He opened up about his new 2023 CD Eine Quartett Des Grauens .. Live music accompaniment for silent films was born out of necessity over 100 years ago, but today it’s a choice, a creative modality of its own. For Dylan this lost art seemed a potential way to reach new audiences and...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Award-Winning Jazz Pianist & Composer David Lopato .. He opened up at length about his new 2023 CD Short Stories.  It is an eclectic assemblage of eight original compositions and one cover that spans 4 decades of writing containing a wide range of musical genres and styles. His influences run far, wide and deep, from traditional jazz,...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Kansas City-based Veteran Jazz Guitarist Scott Emmerman .. He opened up about his new 2023 CD Spheres. It is music inspired by the love of iazz-fusion and the influences imparted while growing up in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago during the 1970s. His compositions feature dynamic guitar playing incorporating elements of R&B,...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Guitarist/ Singer Chance McColl & Keys/Organ/Singe Beth Moore of The Moore-McColl Society .. They get into their new 2023 CD Up and Gone .. Even though there’s a strong pop/rock vibe throughout the album, their jazz intentions are woven into the development of the tracks as different musical genres being seamlessly blended. Full of a...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Singer & Keyboardist Lydia Dudley .. We caught up with her about her new 2023 CD Rise Up .. It's a jazz-based music that sometimes crosses over into soulful r&b. She leads Jazz Xpression, a versatile group based in Raleigh, North Carolina. This new project came about through a grant from Chamber Music America for female bandleaders th...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Israeli-born, Brooklyn-based Jazz Guitarist, Composer & Educator Shai Jaschek … He reached out to Neon Jazz to talk about his new and debut 2023 CD called First Fall .. It features mostly original music in a trio setting of guitar, bass and drums and packs a good initial punch into the jazz world .. After first picking up the guitar a...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Ukrainian Ambient Music Artist Igor Yalivec .. We caught up with him from his base in Ukraine to talk about his new 2023 album Etudes .. His music is a beautiful reminder of why we love ambient music - both as a genre and as an emotional processing tool. The music on Etudes feel necessary in a time of conflict. It is under these war t...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Singer CeCe Gable on Her November 2023 NYC Show & New Spring 2024 Album .. She is a regular around the Neon Jazz world and she is back on tour in this festive November time of year. We spoke abut her upcoming New York City show at Pangea with a wonderful cast of musicians in Bassist Harvie S and Guitarist Roni Ben-Hur .. We also...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Pianist, Composer, Orchestrator & Producer John Herberman .. He opened up about his new new 2023 CD Spring Comes Early that stands as his second record of original jazz tunes. Almost two years in the making, it was during the time that COVID hit that he made the decision to return to his ‘roots’ and his passion for the jazz of...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Veteran Jazz Pianist Michael Weiss  on the 2023 CD Homage .. We get into his 6th album over all and his second trio release .. As a very seasoned pianist, he has been a top-call sideman to many bandleaders during his career .. From a 15-year tenure with tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin to extensive tours, club dates, or recordings wit...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Toronto Jazz Drummer & Composer Ilios Steryannis .. He opened up about the new 2023 CD Babylonia Suite .. Recorded in June of 2023 at the renowned Canterbury Music Company in Toronto featuring ten original tracks that encompass Middle Eastern, Indo-jazz fusion, funk and hard bop styles, along with a traditional Iraqi Jewish song .. We...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Spain-based Jazz Saxophonist Gorka Garay & Violinist Marina .. We talked at length about their new project in the 2023 CD Third Moon of Jupiter .. Together, they tie in the worlds of jazz and classical together .. We get into their collaboration, teaching, performing, loving jazz and so much more .. Enjoy ..  The Home of Famous Interv...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Legendary Jazz Drummer Dave Mancini … He has most recently toured and performed as the drummer for the legendary trumpet player and former Tonight Show Bandleader, Doc Severinsen. He has also toured with jazz artists Maynard Ferguson, playing drums, and Chuck Mangione, playing percussion .. We caught up with him about his life in musi...

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Saxophonist & Composer Quinsin Nachoff on the 2023 CD Stars & Constellations .. This new album draws inspiration from mythology that seeks to make sense of the unfathomable cosmos. Uniting a chordless jazz trio – Nachoff, bassist Mark Helias and drummer Dan Weiss – with both the Bergamot Quartet, and on one track by The Rhythm Me...