AndyNevalaMusic Jazz, Latin. International touring Artist

Director of Jazz Studies at Jacksonville State University, Dr. Andy Nevala has maintained an active international performance schedule as well as growing the JSU Jazz program to more than double in size during his time at JSU. His recent performances with his quartet include the Grenada International Music Festival, the MIT Jazz Festival (Spain), The Gouvy Blues and Jazz Festival (Belgium), Dazzle Jazz in Denver, Colorado, Boise State University, the Universty of Wyoming, and the DeSoto Theater in Rome GA, to name a few.

Andy has been recognized by Downbeat magazine on 10 different occasions, winning individual Downbeat Music Awards for composition (2002), arranging (2003), and performing/directing (2000, 2001, 2002, 2015, 2023).

Andy has recorded on over 20 CDs released in the US, Europe, Asia, and South America. Most recently “El Rumbon”, released on the ZoHo record label out of New York, spent 6 months on the Jazz Weekly top 50 US playlist. He also recently appeared on the New West Records “Big Band of Brothers”, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Jazz Charts, and “Three Times Two”, released on the Girod record label out of New Orleans.

The latest JSU Jazz CD, “First Circle”, was released in January 2018, and features Jazz Ensemble I, the JSU Steel Band, and the JSU Latin Ensemble. The first CD “Everything In It’s Right Place” was released in 2015 and was recognized in Downbeat Magazine for “Outstanding Performance, Undergraduate Jazz Ensemble”.

Professionally, Dr. Nevala has toured with the Glenn Miller Orchestra (US Touring Orchestra, 1 Tour of Japan, 2 tours of Canada), Steve Lippia (2 US tours, Fresno CA Symphony, Las Cruces NM Symphony, Corpus Christie TX Symphony, Mobile AL Symphony), Eddie Turner (3 tours of Europe), The ProJazz Trio (Bassist Gonzalo Teppa, Drummer Tyer Hornby; two Venezuelan tours, tour of Canada), and his own groups (Denver, CO, Boise, ID, Boulder, CO, Aspen, CO). He currently can be seen with the Atlanta Latin Jazz Orchestra, Orchestra MaCuba (Atlanta, GA), and his own groups. He has performed with the Pensacola Symphony (vocalist Dee Daniels), Mazacote (San Francisco, CA), Orquesta Borinquen (San Francisco, CA), Conjunto Colores (Denver, CO), Nelson Rangell (Denver, CO), Mart Avant and Nightflight (Birmingham, AL), and many more.