Neta Raanan, A Jazz Musician Driven By Passion
Courtesy of Neta Raanan
In Search Of Magazine caught up with saxophonist and composer Neta Raanan to discuss her music career, inspirations, and origin story. The New Jersey native was drawn to the mysterious black-and-white photos of Thelonious Monk and Lester Young perched on the walls of magical record stores across New York City as a child. Inspired and intrigued, Neta began attending creative music workshops across the East Coast, participating in youth ensembles, and frequenting local venues like the Village Vanguard, where she was exposed to artists like Paul Motian, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and others.
Neta continued to nurture her musicianship during her education at Berklee College of Music. There, she gathered numerous musical influences and approaches from a diverse and profound community of teachers and peers. Since earning her Masters in Music degree, Neta has been pursuing a life in creative music. Her collaborations supporting other artists span across genres, ranging from Jazz to avant garde, to folk music to accompanying Hip-Hop artists and singer/songwriters, and mixed medium productions.
In Search Of Magazine: So walk me through your origin story. Who is Neta?
Neta Raanan: Okay, well, I grew up in New Jersey, and so New Jersey has always had a history of really individualistic and creative jazz musicians. Wayne Shorter is from there, Sarah Vaughan too. There's a presence of really incredible artists. And I think just growing up there and I being lucky enough that my parents exposed me to music and brought me to live performances. I think I just picked up on that energy. That's a predisposition I have.
I love things that are mysterious and have particular energy and color. And so that was something that I was drawn to. And I think just growing up in New Jersey, it was just ripe for me to be exposed to that energy. And when I was a teenager, I was lucky enough to be in a program called Jazz for Teens at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
And there was a lot of teachers that had been playing with Art Blakey and Freddie Hubbard and all those guys. And they were great storytellers as well. And just the storytelling and the passion and the creativity and the openness about self-expression was just so inspiring as a young person and all the other kids there were really, really deep players. So I was just there trying to hang, and I just got into the community and it was always my favorite place to be. It always felt like you could... Anything in your imagination you could just go for and people would be supportive of it. So it was my favorite place to be and I always tried to stay in those kinds of surroundings.
ISO: When did you fall in love with Jazz and decide you wanted to do it for the rest of your life?
N: Well, honestly, I didn't really think I was talented enough for a long time. It just seemed like so magical. The players around me, the talent, the ability and the skills were just something that almost—it seemed like magic to me. It didn't seem like something that I could see myself doing for a long time. And I was just honored to be present to experience the greatness around me.
So it didn't really hit me until maybe the end of... Well, I fell in love with Jazz when I went to that program really. That community and the creative process, that's when I fell in love with it. I didn't really see myself being capable of being a member of the community long-term until I guess when I was 17 and the fundamentals started sinking in. And then I started having these moments where I would be playing in my friend's basement for hours and hours and hours.
At a certain point it felt like we broke through into another place and it went from playing an instrument to channeling something. When I felt like these moments of where you become, you transfer from a student into a vessel and you feel like it's not just you, but this energy coming through, then it feels like, "Oh, maybe there's something that's coming through me that it can contribute in a positive way to the music scene.” Then it felt like something that I should actually create a lifestyle to commit myself towards that.
ISO: Thats interesting. I read that artists like Thelonious Monk and Lester Young intially piqued your interest to want to open that door to Jazz music. Are there any particular albums from those two or maybe other jazz musicians that you find yourself going back to?
N: Yeah, a thousand percent definitely. Straight No Chaser, by Thelonious Monk. That's just one of my all-time favorite. And his sound, the feeling of the beat. Thelonious Monk was relentless about the feel, I heard. He would just start songs over in a performance if it didn't make him feel like he was going to dance. And you can certainly hear the integrity of that in that album. And just the tone and the feeling and Thelonious Monk's comping is so unique.
Also, some Charles Mingus. Mingus was huge for me, definitely. I always liked things that seem a little bit like they're not trying to fit into a grid perfectly. It's like that raw emotion where the emotion is more powerful than what people imagine the grid of the music is. It just breaks free from that. And harmonically, it's complex and beautiful. It has these rich harmonies. You can hear the influence of some 20th-century classical composers and some Duke Ellington. It's like combining these super rich and complex harmonies with the art of being in the moment. And that true freedom of expressing yourself in the moment...It's—I love these legends.
ISO: I feel like you have a sense of freedom when expressing yourself as well. I listened to your contributions to a couple compositions from Andrew Pereira and Andrew Boudreau on Apple Music. They're absolutely beautiful. Can you walk me through what goes on in your mind when you're in a recording session with other musicians? How was that experience?
N: First of all, I thank you for listening. I appreciate that. And that's a really nice compliment. Thank you. Recording in the studio is a [newer medium] as opposed to playing live for me. So I'm mostly trying to feel that feeling of playing a live show and hold onto that sensation of the energy of playing in a room full of people.
I get the most inspiration really from the musicians I'm playing with. So Simón Willson, the bass player in that group, I've been playing with him for a long time, actually. We've played in a lot of different projects. We both share a mentor, Jason Palmer, who's an incredible trumpet player. So we spent a long time in Boston with Jason Palmer's music, and he had the late set at Wally's Jazz Club, which is a historical establishment in Boston. And so, that late set at Wally's, that was some wild energy. It was always packed, and that was the gig to see. So I feel like that energy is the energy I'm trying to get to in the studio.
It helps me playing with someone that I've played with so much and trying to keep time. Jason Palmer's music, it always had this crazy forward momentum, virtuosity and his endurance is wild. We would play for three hours and he's a trumpet player too, which is not easy physically. And he would be fresh, constantly, always new ideas, always deep connection with the band. So playing with someone who I shared a mentor with, I think that helps a lot when you're in a studio, which is a little bit more of a cleaner environment. But just trying to keep that momentum and the feeling that we have when we're playing in a club and late at night with a lot of people there, I think.
ISO: How do all these experiences prepare you for your live shows?
N: Right on. Yeah, I guess I always try to, for example, one of my mentors from being in the Next Jazz Legacy, Nasheet Waits, he's a king. He's royalty and he's just a creative spirit that is incredible. So yeah, growing up in New Jersey when I was a teenager, I started going to the jazz gallery and the [inaudible 00:14:41], and definitely one was like a life-changing performance for me was seeing Nasheet Waits play with Logan, Richardson's band with Ambrose. And just the feeling of being in the room with that energy. It's hard to put into words. It's very healing and it's very.
You feel like you're in the moment in a way where you really feel the present moment to the fullest, that kind of thing where you forget about the past and you forget about the future, and you're just existing right now. And that's something that was so inspiring. I feel it was one of the best performances I've ever heard, and that's just something that's an aspiration. Being able to hear those shows and hearing so many incredible artists. I had the opportunity to hear Paul Motian playing with Ron Carter when I was a teenager with Bill Frisell. And the feeling that I got, I felt so grateful to be in the room.
When I perform now, I internalize all those experiences as an audience member, and I basically try to replicate that presence. And I want to have that feeling in the room of wonder and connection. I think that's how I prepare for upcoming shows—remind myself how amazing it was to experience that feeling and continue to share that and create that environment.
