Nick Colionne Interview Page 3

Oh, I tell ya, I think that was one of the top hits of the cruise. Everyone talks about the jam sessions with Nick Colionne.  So if you weren’t on the cruise, you really missed some fantastic improvisational music, that’s for sure.

NC:  Yeah, those jam sessions were really great.  I enjoyed the jam sessions so much.  I mean, on that Thursday night, I was about to pass out from being up so long every night, but I wasn’t gonna miss a jam session. I was like “Oh, I gotta get over to the jam session,” you know. That’s where I was.

Smitty:  Oh Yeah.

NC:  That way everybody could come together and just play loose, you know, and have fun.

Smitty:  It was fun.  I think everyone enjoyed that.  I will tell you, the fans…I think you were the overwhelming favorite, not just the jam sessions, but the cruise itself. It was overwhelming that it was always those comments from the fans over the last month or so; “We just loved Nick Colionne on the cruise.  He was always everywhere.” And I noticed everywhere you walked, you had fans with you. If you were sitting by the pool, there were fans talking to you.  If you were walking, they were with you.  If you were walking on the top deck late at night, they were there. And you were always there for them and I think that’s a very cool thing when the fans know that you’re that accessible.

NC:  Well, that was one of the things I was looking forward to with the cruise, was to be able to be accessible like that, to talk to people, or so that they could get to know me personally as well as musically, and it all worked out.  I wasn’t gonna be in my room all day, you know.  I didn’t need that much rest. So I was out there looking for fans.  “Hey, were you at the show?  Did I do okay?”  (Both laughing) I was having a good time.

Smitty:  So let’s tell your fans now.  Nick Colionne gonna do a cruise this year?

NC:  Yep.

Smitty: All right.

NC:  2007 All Star Jazz Cruise.  Brian Culbertson is the host.

Smitty:  All right.  So you better get your tickets early.  Nick’s going to do the next cruise.

NC:  And I’m hosting the jam sessions again.

Smitty:  Oh…I think they’ll come in droves.

NC:  The crazy times will continue (Both Laughing).

Smitty:  You had a great band there and the band really shines on this new CD as well.  Talk about these guys in the band that you have and what they’ve meant to you and your career the last few years.

NC:  Well, I’ll start with Dave Hiltebrand, who I dubbed “Hollywood.”  Now everybody calls him “Hollywood.”  He’s been with me for five years now and he’s not only like a great bass player, great musician, he’s like one of my closest friends. You know, he and I talk every day, we hang out together, and he brings a lot to the table musically, in writing and in performance. He’s just a real deep cat.  John Blasucci, who does most of the co-writing with me, keyboard player. John’s been with me three years and from day one we just kind of clicked, you know. I mean, I brought him in to produce a song on my last CD, and I liked what he did and we said “Well, let’s sit down and write a song together,” and that song was “High Flyin’.” That turned out to be the hit song from that album and that collaboration. So he’s been with me ever since. Chris has been with me...John brought Chris. He told me “You need to go see this drummer.”  So Chris “The Wild Man”, I call him the Wild Man because he’s just too crazy and he’s the kind of drummer that I like because he lives and plays like I do, on the edge. He pushes me constantly. I have Brian Danzy, who’s been with me since I first embarked on a solo career and, I mean, as you’ve seen, Brian’s just phenomenal with his playing keyboards.  He is one of the most premiere keyboard players that I’ve ever seen, and I’m like…I look at him sometimes and say “Why are you working side with me,” you know, because he’s just awesome.

Smitty: You cats seem to really gel so well together.

NC:  The thing is, it’s like people always, your band and you and your show is this, and your show is that.  It’s because we not only like playing together, we like each other.

Smitty:  That’s very cool!

NC:  I think that comes across in the music, that we genuinely like each other, we like being together, because I don’t consider them as people who work for me, they work with me.

Smitty:  I can totally feel that.

NC:  They’re my friends, you know.  They’re the people that I like to be with.

Smitty:  Oh yeah, and I think that says a lot about, like you said, how the music comes across. When you have that rapport with each other and you have that close knit atmosphere between the band, everything else flows.

NC:  Right! Because we’re a family. We’re together. Wherever we go, we go together.  I figure like this: When we go to a town, we don’t know nobody but each other.

Smitty:  Well, that’s very cool. Well, I must say that this new record really speaks a lot for you and your playing as well as the band. It’s got every element of smooth vibes, it’s got some rock, R&B, it’s just got a lot of improvisational grooves, and it’s just a beautiful record from start to finish.

NC:  Well, thank you.

Smitty:  Yes.

NC:  Thank you so much Smitty. It really means a lot.

Smitty:  Well, you’re more than welcome, man, and I mean that from the heart. Tell me about the release of this record.  When’s the release?

NC:  Add date for radio is the 16th of January and the record will be in stores the 21st of February.

Smitty:  Very cool.  So people really need to line up for this record because if you miss this one, you’ve really missed something.  This is a great record, man.  This is…I think this is your best work.  I know this is so cliché-ish, but this is……

NC:  (Laughing).

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