Paul Neufeld     bio

Paul has been on the international music scene since 1995 with the release of his first recordings, and first major award – a Juno for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. Since then he has been given five Juno nominations, two Vibe Awards, a Jazz Report award, a National Jazz award. His activities have included NOJO (Neufeld-Occhipinti Jazz Orchestra), Rhythm & Truth, Paul Neufeld Group and many more ensembles, international, Canadian and American touring.

Primarily a keyboardist, Paul performs on piano, Hammond organ, and a collection of vintage and modern keyboards. His side career as a tuba and sousaphone player has taken him in some directions that keyboard players don’t get to go.

Paul’s influences are wide and his range of activity nearly matches. He was an adolescent music hound that soaked up pre-war blues and modern orchestra music along with Afro-beat, reggae, jazz, and rock, and everything else that came in the path. He has spent his adult life trying to sort it all out and use it. Subsequently we have bands dedicated to different angles of that pursuit. NOJO is the most wide ranging with its sound moving from Fela Kuti to Charles Ives and many other centres. Rhythm & Truth can be a traditional New Orleans brass band, or a rocking Gospel shout, or straight up soul-jazz. The PN Group has recorded an album of African-American Spirituals but might do a night of Paul’s originals and move from jazz to reggae, or a night of Duke Ellington. Polskatonic? Polkas, ska, and classic rock. The PN Society Orchestra - could be the orchestra of the Paul Neufeld Society or it could be PN’s Society Orchestra, either way it plays chamber music and ragtime. Then there is the electric stuff, The Triodes especially. All in all, a lot of activity and still he always says there are too many ideas and not enough time and energy to do them all.

Composing, teaching, and performing, Paul lives with his family north of Toronto. He has written music for TV, film, and theatre and played on many albums by other artists in addition to the eight CDs of his own.