The other thing that comes to mind [about BSU] is the openness and helpfulness of the faculty. George Thomason (Guitar) and Pat Beiter (Education) invited me to their weekly jam sessions before I could even spell jazz improvisation. I started my musical career in the Morrison Center. It felt great to perform there with the Glenn Miller Orchestra a few years ago, on the same stage and under the same roof that I had spent so many hours of my life. (I still have a key to the practice room I used to spend hours in). Lots of great memories.

SJ: How did you decide to settle in Denver, CO pursuing both a Master’s degree and a Doctorate?
AN: When I was playing in the BSU jazz choir, the director, Jim Jirak took us to the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) Greeley Jazz Festival. I saw opportunities…the students there were playing on such a high level. They had a huge jazz program, and I wanted to go learn and play with those guys. I almost didn’t go- I had started playing at Hannah’s with the Rocci Johnson Band (and quit after 4 months) and then started playing with Rebecca Scott; I stayed in Boise an extra year to play with her and the guys in her band (I played on her CD ’United’). I graduated in 2000 with a Master of Music from UNC, after winning awards and being a Jazz Teaching Assistant.

Going to University of Colorado (CU) Boulder was easy. They had a great jazz piano teacher (Chip Stephens) and the director of the program was my old boss from UNC. Boulder is a great environment for the creative arts. There is a unique blend of different cultures and people, music everywhere, it was great. I was playing with everybody I could. Now, in the past year, I spent two months touring Europe (on two different tours), a month on the road with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, and six weeks with Steve Lippia. I’ve spent a total of two weeks at home during the last seven months.

SJ: You played at the Gene Harris Jazz Festival in 2003, how was that experience? What are you hoping to accomplish this time around?

 

AN: That experience was great…it was a good week. I played the gig, then jumped on a plane the next day to join the Glenn Miller Orchestra for the first time in San Francisco. Talk about having a good week! It was great to come back under those circumstances. I played with some old friends, and it was like old times. It was fun, but kind of loose.

This time, it’s for real. These guys I’m bringing are some of the best players in the country- they all have their own groups and tour as well. Boise has not heard this music played in this way in a long time.
Andy’s band members include: Kim Stone on bass (currently with the Rippingtons), Mike Marlier on drums (currently with Nelson Rangell), Jeff Nathonson on sax (currently with Louis Miguell), Darren Kramer on trombone (toured with Tom Jones and Matchbox 20), Victor Nieves on congas (native of Puerto Rico), Tim Libby on trumpet, and Andy Nevala on piano.

SJ: So how did you and your current band members meet?
AN: I met all of these people playing in the different Latin groups in Denver. Most of us play together regularly…well not too regularly with me being on the road so much. Musicians that are drawn to the Latin scene generally have a lot of other common interests…some reasons for this could be the high level of talent required to play the Latin stuff correctly, not to mention the infectious grooves. It’s fun to play. Drums and rhythms are something that has affected people for thousands of years. A good groove strikes a nerve somewhere in the guys that play it, and it is this that makes musicians want to play with each other.

SJ: Describe your sound, or what it is that makes you different from any other jazz band.
AN: One: Latin. Two: Latin. Three: Latin. And then a little bit of jazz. I like to play high energy music. The styles of Latin we play are definitely high energy. We are different from the other bands because we play arrangements I wrote (I keep them for myself), we play my compositions, and we are also different because of the combination of the musicians. Not in instrumentation, but I hand picked these guys because I was looking for specific things and knew they would bring it to the table. You won’t hear this type of music played like this from any other group.

 

SJ: Speaking of composing, how has it influenced you as a musician and performer?
AN: It’s all a part of the big picture. It takes a lot of little things to make a whole. Composition and arranging are two skills that go hand and hand with listening to music (a must for musicians. You wouldn’t learn to speak French or Spanish without hearing what it is supposed to sound like). Analyzing what happens and picking it apart helps me learn what it is made of and how things are used. Then I just take those principles and apply them to my music. Every situation is different, but I’m amazed at how all the different genres and groups and styles all have so much in common.

SJ: Tell me about some of the amazing times you’ve had on tour.
AN: Getting paid to tour foreign countries like Japan, Europe, and South America is pretty amazing. All the traveling has opened my mind to new things and experiences, and has helped shape who I am and how I look at and interpret things. Some cool moments [were]: playing to sold out crowds in concert halls in Japan, playing jazz piano with a symphony orchestra, playing small clubs in Europe where the people are just happy to have something come to their small town…they literally sit right on top of you. Seeing all of the history in those countries… and Amsterdam (I’ll leave it at that).

SJ: How do you think the places you visit and the people you meet influence your music?
AN: Everything is an influence. Some things you learn from, some things you copy some things you vow to never do, but everything is an influence. Going to Venezuela, and seeing people living in huge shanty towns, well, obviously that influences you. Playing private functions in a billionaire famous actor’s residence influences you the other way. [It] makes me feel grateful about certain things like running hot water and showers and food, then it also drives me to succeed because I know there is more out there.

SJ: Why should BSU students come see you at this year’s Gene Harris Jazz Festival?
AN: I look at it like this: I went to the same classes as them…psychology, introduction to art, the whole deal. I took what I needed from BSU and then moved on to follow my dream. If I can do it, so can they and they should. Musically, they should come to hear these guys play. They are masters of their instruments. They’ve played and toured with pop artists, jazz artists, classical symphonies, you name it. It’s not the local jazz group. It’s high energy, fun music that will make you dance. It’s the best kind of jazz to play. Students should bring their dancing shoes…

Andy was gracious enough to speak with me via e-mail while on tour. You can see Andy and his band at the Gene Harris Jazz Festival, April 2-4. You should also become his friend on Myspace because he’s pretty friendly after all: http://www.myspace.com/andynevala.