We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stephen Parisi. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stephen below.

Stephen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

This question brought up so many memories, working with my friends on their albums and projects always brings me so much fulfillment, But the the most meaningful project that I have worked on is my first upcoming album “Buddy.”

The album features all original compositions that were written about moving to Chicago from Buffalo. Each song on the album is dedicated to a friend or Family member that helped prepare me to take on life as a musician. All of the songs have a story or a reason why they are dedicated to these people. In addition to the subject matter it meant alot to me to have some of my best friends and mentions involved in the project.

The album features

Josh Achiron- Guitar
Jordan Lerner- Saxophone
Nicholas Olynciw- Piano
Kabir Dalawari- Drums
George Caldwell -Producing

Buddy is both a song and the title of the album, It is dedicated to my father who is a fantastic composer and pianist from Buffalo. He was my first teacher and still to this day is the inspiration for what I do, he’s also a fantastic chef. Whenever I call him for advice, musical or otherwise he answers the phone with a “Buddy!”

The song “Tro” Is dedicated to my mother, because “Tro” means “Faith” in Norwegian. The name has 2 meanings, My mother is very proud of her Norwegian heritage. The bigger reason is that my mother always gives me faith that i’m doing the right thing by pursuing my passion. She was my first and still is my biggest fan!

The Kid is dedicated to my best friend Josh Achiron, Truly the hardest working person I have ever met, Josh and I met at The Eastman School of Music and bonded over our love of Madden, George Benson and a good hang. We continue our friendship still as he is the Guitarist on the Album! This song shows both sides of Josh, the incredibly hard working individual who won’t stop until he achieves what he wants to and also the fun loving child-like joy that he brings to a hang!

Shikata Ga Ni might be my favorite song on the album and is dedicated to my friend Seiji Yamashita, who is an amazing pianist and award winning journalist. I was telling him about a problem of mine and we just kept going around in circles until he finally said “Shikata Ga Ni” which translates to “it can’t be helped.” He explained that situations like the one I was in are out of my control and that whatever will be will be and to focus on what I can do to help and grow rather than solve the problem.

The Italian Space Program is dedicated to my Uncle Angelo Puccio. When I was younger my uncle Ange or “Pooch” as my father called him used to take me to launch model rockets I built. He proudly dubbed the two of us “The Italian Space Program” while holding a lit cigar and glass of wine as we would shoot off the rockets as many times as we could.

Lascialo Is dedicated to my Aunt Maria and Uncle Lew Custode , Lascialo translates to “Leave it alone” in Sicilian, witch is something Lew’s father would say growing up .The Custode’s were like second parents to me growing up and we spent so many holiday’s gathered around there table having an Italian conversation, witch to most people sounds like a bunch of people talking over each other at a loud volume, but to us we hear every word! Nicholas Olyncyw and Josh Achiron reflect this in the composition by trading soloist ideas and improvising together in a way that complements each other so well hearing both what they have to say.

The last tune on the album Upstate Vibe is dedicated to the city of Buffalo, New York. Buffalo has so many people that I look up to both as people and musicians. The memories I have at so many places always bring a smile to my face when I’m down, because as long as I know Buffalo is still a place I will be alright. I was so lucky to have one of my mentors George Caldwell produce the album, the vibe that he brought to the studio and advice and reoccurrence he gave as we recorded was priceless.

I could keep talking about the stories forever, but to answer this question, this project was so meaningful to me because it let me relive some of my fondest memories and make new ones with people that I really love.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My musical journey started young. My Father Steve Parisi Sr is not only my biggest inspiration, but he was my first teacher. One day i asked my dad if I could play guitar he looked at me and said “yea ill get you a guitar.” a couple days later he came home with a “guitar” the only thing was my “guitar” only had 4 really thick strings. I asked him “hey dad doesn’t a guitar have 6 strings” he responded “Yea this is a bass Guitar” learn this one and you will make more money.

So that’s what I did . He taught me about so many of the electric bass greats like James Jameson, Donald “Duck” Dunn and had me start lessons with the legendary bassist and Buffalo hero, Jerry Livingston.

Fast forward I started learning upright bass and studying with another of my hero’s, Bill Staebell. Bill and my dad kept me on a strict practice regimine teaching me classical technique as well as jazz. As a result of their guidance and pushing me to further my abilities I was accepted to The Eastman School of Music.

From there I learned so much from the faculty especially my teacher the great Jeff Campbell and made so many friend’s that I now collaborate with every day. From there I decided to make the move to Chicago to pursue my masters at DePaul University, because of its rich history of not only Jazz, but Blues and all forms of music. After moving to Chicago I have had the pleasure to meet and play with so many more artists that eventually became some of my best friends.

3 days after I moved to the city Pianist and singer Bryan Eng hired me for a gig at the St Charles jazz fest (which I was late to because I got lost trying to get there) and since then we have played all over the country Including Lincoln Center and the Bahamas. Bryan eventually wanted to capture what it is like to see us live in a recording, so we recorded an album entitled “A Few Days With You.” I believe you can hear how much fun we have playing together even thru the CD

During my time at DePaul university Saxophonist Jimmy Farace, Drummer Paul Barrilles and I formed the group Trio Profondo. We bonded over our Italian heritage and our equal love of both modern jazz and swing. We decided to record an album entitled Mosaic that charted in Europe.

After meeting Bryan I started playing with Drummer and composer Kabir Dalawari. Kabir is one of the most ambitious band musicians I know working on his craft as both a drummer and business man and as a result we have played almost every venue in the city of Chicago. In 2023 I had the opportunity to record on his second album “Last Call” that received great reviews.

All of these experiences were not only great musically,but also formed some of my most important friendships. I truly believe that a career in music is dependent on creating REAL friendships with people and I’m so glad I was able to meet these people and achieve that.

Today I am playing with some of my hero’s and best friend’s every day. I am actively composing and arranging and working on furthering my craft like all of my teachers throughout my life have inspired me to do. As of writing this interview you can hear me play with the Bryan Eng Trio, Kabir Dalawari, and various groups in Chicago and across the country when we go on tour!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I believe the best way to support artists is to buy tickets to see live music. The streaming platforms give such an unethical amount of money to artists. The best way to let an artist know you care is see a show and pick up a CD or Vinyl

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The friendships that I have made. Obviously the friendships with musicians, but also the fans that come to see us in the diffrent citys. Its so great to make a meaningful connection with a stranger that turns into a friendship because of the music your playing.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephen_parisi_music/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephen.parisi.75/