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Published on YouTube on January 30, 2026,
“Rhythms of Respiration” is an original composition by Dan Neville inspired by his deep immersion in the music of Colombia’s Pacific Coast and his studies with the late maestro Diego Obregón, a multi-instrumentalist and instrument builder from Guapi, Colombia. Recorded live, the intricately orchestrated piece features Neville on vibraphone leading a top-tier New York nonet that includes Alejandro Berti on trumpet and flugelhorn, Geoff Burke on alto saxophone and clarinet, Justin Flynn on tenor saxophone and flute, Carl Maraghi on baritone saxophone and bass clarinet, Alex Pastrana on piano, Trifon Dimitrov on bass, Armando Quiñones on cununo, and on drums, none other than the great Ari Hoenig, a prolific leader and accompanist for figures such as Kenny Werner, Jean-Michel Pilc, and Tigran Hamasyan. “Barrio Cascada,” scheduled for release on February 20, 2026, features special guest Afro-Colombian vocalist Xiomara Torres alongside the nonet, with Neville now on marimba. It is a traditional piece in which Torres also plays the guasá, a percussion instrument, while the opulent arrangement unfolds the four horn voices in call-and-response cadences over a rising tide of percussion. Both tracks were made possible thanks to a New Jersey State Council on the Arts Grant awarded in 2025.
Originally from Sonoma, California, Dan Neville began as a guitarist before discovering the vibraphone in 2012. Trained at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley, he quickly established himself in the San Francisco Bay Area scene, where he won first place in the Jazz Search West competition in 2017 and released that same year his debut album Tenerife with an all-star lineup that included percussionist John Santos and violinist Anthony Blea.
In 2020, Neville traveled to Cali, Colombia, where he spent a year studying Pacific Coast marimba de chonta with maestro Diego Obregón and collaborating with local musicians, an experience captured in the documentary Viaje de La Marimba (2023). That transformative journey resulted in La Voz del Mar (Patois Records, 2022), an album produced by Neville featuring the remarkable vocalist Xiomara Torres. After moving to the New York area in 2021 and pursuing studies at William Paterson University, Neville won first place in the jazz category of the inaugural Springfest Vibraphone Competition in May 2025.
Dan Neville is a dynamic and innovative vibraphonist, recognized for his expressive sound, advanced technique, and ability to unite musical traditions through a forward-looking artistic approach. With his nonet, he now offers a preview of one of the most exciting ensembles on the New York scene, building a bridge between jazz and an Afro-Colombian tradition that deserves to be far more widely known.