090 – Nick Mancini: Managing Creativity and Business in the 21st Century, What a Music College Should and Shouldn’t Do, Crafting Your Expression

Vibraphonist Nick Mancini has lived in LA for a decade, and a decade in New York before that. Self-diagnosed with “musical A.D.D.,” he has constantly been involved in a huge number and a huge variety of groups. He never had any interest in being a hired gun for pop or commercial music, and has been at the forefront of creative projects on the LA jazz scene both as a leader and a sideman.

Nick is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and was voted “Best Jazz Percussionist” by DRUM! Magazine in 2014. He has released nine albums as a leader and had a hand in dozens of others as a producer and sideman. He is also on the jazz faculty at two California State University campuses, Northridge and Long Beach.

In this podcast, Nick talks about:

His new record, “The Long Game” with Hammond B3 organist Ty Bailie and drummer Tina Raymond

His college experiences, from starting out at a small community college in Schenectady, NY, to grad school the Manhattan School of Music

What a collegiate music program should do for you, and what you should do for yourself

Why he thinks jazz training produces the best musicians

How the experience of daily life in New York informed his musical experience there, and why LA’s jazz scene suits him better than New York’s

The Jennifer Keith Sextet and how playing jazz for dancers differs from playing for listeners

Nick Mancini endorses Majestic Percussion and Innovative Percussion

This episode is sponsored by Mapex Drums