Michael Abene's guest appearances

Michael Abene

Famous Interviews & Neon Jazz with Joe Dimino

Nikhil Hogan Show

Raul Midón

Roger Kellaway

Lorraine Feather

Austin McMahon

Jeremy Monteiro

Mark O'Connor

Nicholas Payton

Mark Lewis

Chris White

Barrett Martin

Matt Wilson

Greg Murphy

Josh Malerman

David Larsen

Tom Wright

OwlTail

 Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Composer, Arranger &amp; Keyboardist Michael Abene .. And has done great work as the Musical Director-Principal Arranger/Composer of the WDR Radio Big Band of Cologne, Germany - one of the great big bands in Europe. We caught up with him in last April 2020 to discuss the world at hand amidst the COVID-19 lockdown and so much more .. His collective work in the field of jazz from performance to education is huge and impressive .. So please get to know him .. Click here to listen.Neon Jazz is a radio program airing since 2011. Hosted by Joe Dimino and Engineered by John Christopher in Kansas City, Missouri giving listeners a journey into one of America's finest inventions. Take a listen on KCXL (102.9 FM / 1140 AM) out of Liberty, MO. Listen to KCXL on Tunein Radio at http://tunein.com/radio/Neon-Jazz-With-Joe-Dimino-p381685/. You can now catch Neon Jazz on KOJH 104.7 FM out of the Mutual Musicians Foundation from Noon - 1 p.m. CST Monday-Friday at https://www.kojhfm.org/. Check us out at All About Jazz @ https://kansascity.jazznearyou.com/neon-jazz.php. For all things Neon Jazz, visit http://theneonjazz.blogspot.com/

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Composer, Arranger &amp; Keyboardist Michael Abene .. And has done great work as the Musical Director-Principal Arranger/Composer of the WDR Radio Big Band of Cologne, Germany - one of the great big bands in Europe. We caught up with him in last April 2020 to discuss the world at hand amidst the COVID-19 lockdown and so much more .. His collective work in the field of jazz from performance to education is huge and impressive .. So please get to know him .. <a href="http://www.joedimino.com/Famous%20Interviews/The%20Michael%20Abene%20Podcast%20Interview.mp3" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click here to listen.</a>Neon Jazz is a radio program airing since 2011. Hosted by Joe Dimino and Engineered by John Christopher in Kansas City, Missouri giving listeners a journey into one of America's finest inventions. Take a listen on KCXL (102.9 FM / 1140 AM) out of Liberty, MO. Listen to KCXL on Tunein Radio at <a href="http://tunein.com/radio/Neon-Jazz-With-Joe-Dimino-p381685/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://tunein.com/radio/Neon-Jazz-With-Joe-Dimino-p381685/</a>. You can now catch Neon Jazz on KOJH 104.7 FM out of the Mutual Musicians Foundation from Noon - 1 p.m. CST Monday-Friday at <a href="https://www.kojhfm.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.kojhfm.org/</a>. Check us out at All About Jazz @ <a href="https://kansascity.jazznearyou.com/neon-jazz.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://kansascity.jazznearyou.com/neon-jazz.php</a>. For all things Neon Jazz, visit <a href="http://theneonjazz.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://theneonjazz.blogspot.com/</a>

Jazz Composer, Arranger & Keyboardist Michael Abene

I’m so happy to introduce my guest today, GRAMMY Award-winning Composer, Arranger, Keyboardist and Record Producer, Michael Abene! In a prolific career spanning decades, Abene has worked with the biggest names in music. He produced the Grammy winning projects “Digital Duke” featuring the Duke Ellington Orchestra and “The GRP All-Star Big Band-All Blues.” He also produced the Grammy nominated “The GRP All-Star Big Band” and “The GRP All-Star Big Band Live” and received nominations in the arranging category for all three big band recordings. Michael was also nominated for his arrangement of “America” from “Dave Grusin Presents West Side Story.” Some artists Michael has arranged, composed and/or produced for are Maynard Ferguson, Maceo Parker, Take 6, Billy Cobham, Eddie Daniels, Bireli Lagrene, Chick Corea, Buddy Rich, Dick Oatts, Dizzy Gillespie, The Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, Dave Taylor, Patti Austin, The Metropole Jazz Orchestra, The Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, New York Voices, Ronnie Cuber, UMO Jazz Orchestra (Helsinki), Jazz Big Band Graz and the BBC Big Band. In 2008, Abene arranged produced and conducted the music for singer Patti Austin’s album “Avant Gershwin”, celebrating the music of George and Ira Gershwin and picked up his first GRAMMY award for best Jazz Vocal album. From 2004-2014, Abene was the chief composer and arranger for the WDR big band of Cologne, Germany. He is the author of the book “Jazz Composition and Arranging in the Digital Age”, a book co-authored with Richard Sussman and published by Oxford University Press. ----- 2:24 Family background 3:20 Do you have perfect or absolute pitch? 3:29 What records did you grow up listening to? 4:26 Self-teaching sight-reading 5:05 Band experiences as a youth 7:19 Did you have any mentors? 8:25 What sort of advice would they give to you? 9:22 Did you have a sound you wanted to copy or did you strive early on for an original sound? 11:04 Did you see a lot of live music growing up? 13:15 Did you visit NYC to watch the music scene there? 13:51 Describe a vivid musical experience that was formative to your development 15:22 On replacing Jaki Byard in the Maynard Ferguson Band 16:46 On not being happy with the recordings except for the “Blues Roar” 18:22 Was there a compulsion to be a modernist in the 60’s? 19:59 How did you self teach yourself harmony? 21:16 Would you test out your arrangements on the piano? 22:39 On transposed scores 25:09 What is the Michael Abene arranging process? 27:08 How do you grapple with form? 28:39 On integrating great players into your arrangements 30:34 How do you determine if something swings? 31:39 On Drums and the Rhythm section 33:36 What are the common mistakes for new arrangers in the modern age? 36:27 How do you get a Big Band to get the flexibility of a small group like Bill Holman? 39:18 How have you grown as arranger vs 10-20 years ago? 40:37 What is your compositional process? 42:40 Odyssey for Brass 45:20 On Orchestration 46:48 PFP, a Piece for Paquito 48:54 How would you balance an arrangement and a virtuoso player? 51:10 Avant Gershwin 52:24 How long did it take to put all those arrangements together? 54:00 Top 3 Trumpet Players 54:27 Top 3 Saxophone Players 54:46 Top 3 Drummers 54:58 Top 3 Guitar Players 55:05 Top 3 Keyboard/Piano Players 55:34 Top 3 Big Bands 55:51 Top 3 Big Band Arrangers 55:59 Top 3 Classical Composers 56:12 Top 3 Jazz Composers 56:38 Who are some arrangers who are not popularly known but should be known 57:29 Favorite instrument or section to write for? 57:37 Biggest regret in music and proudest musical moment 57:58 If you could work with anyone in history, who would it be? 58:32 What 3 albums should new listeners of yours check out? 59:29 Best advice for a new arranger 1:00:31 Wrapping Up

I’m so happy to introduce my guest today, GRAMMY Award-winning Composer, Arranger, Keyboardist and Record Producer, Michael Abene! In a prolific career spanning decades, Abene has worked with the biggest names in music. He produced the Grammy winning projects “Digital Duke” featuring the Duke Ellington Orchestra and “The GRP All-Star Big Band-All Blues.” He also produced the Grammy nominated “The GRP All-Star Big Band” and “The GRP All-Star Big Band Live” and received nominations in the arranging category for all three big band recordings. Michael was also nominated for his arrangement of “America” from “Dave Grusin Presents West Side Story.” Some artists Michael has arranged, composed and/or produced for are Maynard Ferguson, Maceo Parker, Take 6, Billy Cobham, Eddie Daniels, Bireli Lagrene, Chick Corea, Buddy Rich, Dick Oatts, Dizzy Gillespie, The Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, Dave Taylor, Patti Austin, The Metropole Jazz Orchestra, The Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, New York Voices, Ronnie Cuber, UMO Jazz Orchestra (Helsinki), Jazz Big Band Graz and the BBC Big Band. In 2008, Abene arranged produced and conducted the music for singer Patti Austin’s album “Avant Gershwin”, celebrating the music of George and Ira Gershwin and picked up his first GRAMMY award for best Jazz Vocal album. From 2004-2014, Abene was the chief composer and arranger for the WDR big band of Cologne, Germany. He is the author of the book “Jazz Composition and Arranging in the Digital Age”, a book co-authored with Richard Sussman and published by Oxford University Press. ----- 2:24 Family background 3:20 Do you have perfect or absolute pitch? 3:29 What records did you grow up listening to? 4:26 Self-teaching sight-reading 5:05 Band experiences as a youth 7:19 Did you have any mentors? 8:25 What sort of advice would they give to you? 9:22 Did you have a sound you wanted to copy or did you strive early on for an original sound? 11:04 Did you see a lot of live music growing up? 13:15 Did you visit NYC to watch the music scene there? 13:51 Describe a vivid musical experience that was formative to your development 15:22 On replacing Jaki Byard in the Maynard Ferguson Band 16:46 On not being happy with the recordings except for the “Blues Roar” 18:22 Was there a compulsion to be a modernist in the 60’s? 19:59 How did you self teach yourself harmony? 21:16 Would you test out your arrangements on the piano? 22:39 On transposed scores 25:09 What is the Michael Abene arranging process? 27:08 How do you grapple with form? 28:39 On integrating great players into your arrangements 30:34 How do you determine if something swings? 31:39 On Drums and the Rhythm section 33:36 What are the common mistakes for new arrangers in the modern age? 36:27 How do you get a Big Band to get the flexibility of a small group like Bill Holman? 39:18 How have you grown as arranger vs 10-20 years ago? 40:37 What is your compositional process? 42:40 Odyssey for Brass 45:20 On Orchestration 46:48 PFP, a Piece for Paquito 48:54 How would you balance an arrangement and a virtuoso player? 51:10 Avant Gershwin 52:24 How long did it take to put all those arrangements together? 54:00 Top 3 Trumpet Players 54:27 Top 3 Saxophone Players 54:46 Top 3 Drummers 54:58 Top 3 Guitar Players 55:05 Top 3 Keyboard/Piano Players 55:34 Top 3 Big Bands 55:51 Top 3 Big Band Arrangers 55:59 Top 3 Classical Composers 56:12 Top 3 Jazz Composers 56:38 Who are some arrangers who are not popularly known but should be known 57:29 Favorite instrument or section to write for? 57:37 Biggest regret in music and proudest musical moment 57:58 If you could work with anyone in history, who would it be? 58:32 What 3 albums should new listeners of yours check out? 59:29 Best advice for a new arranger 1:00:31 Wrapping Up

79: Michael Abene