Meet Andrew Denicola

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Andrew Denicola. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Andrew, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

My resilience as a musician is innate. I was always grabbed by sound and the effect it has on others. When you know what you want to do, you learn to deal with the obstacles that come with it. Being an active professional musician, I am always open to the opportunities that come my way. Each experience has helped me learn what I want more and less. When I was younger, I had some teachers who imparted lessons about what it takes to be a professional. This was to be prepared, show up on time, and always look like you’re enjoying yourself. The audience does not need to know about your struggles, but does the music feel and sound good? This ties into focusing your energy on performance and taking care of yourself. If I don’t perform properly, I have not put the time into working out the details. Resilience gets stronger when you solidify your identity until it is unbreakable. I have always kept with music and it has never steered me wrong. Overall, I got my resilience from my work ethic and from surrounding myself with people who support what I do. If you surround yourself with people who don’t help you, they will hurt your progress. I am excited to do what I do every day, and will not stop anytime soon.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am a full-time professional musician. Since I was young, I have been on my musical journey. My primary instrument is the saxophone but I also play the flute, clarinet, piano, and Native American flutes. I also compose my original music and have done musical arranging for various bands and artists. A few recent projects I have enjoyed over the summer were arranging an Earth Wind & Fire classic for an eleven-piece funk band, and creating backing tracks for a cabaret artist. Besides that, I put on a show in Brooklyn with my jazz quintet in which I played all of my music. For the last four and a half years living in NYC, I have played at least 200 gigs. There are a lot of lessons I have learned in what seems like a short time. The style of gigs I played were small jazz groups, big bands, wedding bands, funk bands, hip-hop, electronic, rock, pop, and more. This for sure has helped inform me where music has been and where it is going. Also, what is my contribution to the art form? My style is heavily influenced by jazz music while incorporating other styles in music. I would love to be involved in film scoring. That way I can use my wide knowledge of music to influence how we experience media today. The most exciting experience I have to look forward to is working for Royal Caribbeans Icon of the Seas at the end of this month. I will be working on the largest ship in the world and doing what I love every day.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Preparedness, Adaptability, and the ability to push against the resistances of the work. Before you begin any job, do research that will help you get started. When I have had to arrange a composition for a group, I usually listen to the recording until it is ingrained in my mind. When I get started, I work until a point where I can get feedback and know if I am doing the work correctly. If the client has a lot of suggestions, I will accommodate them and become adaptable to the changes that need to be made. This could involve rewriting sections of music or practicing a difficult passage. Now, the hardest part is when you have no inspiration or motivation, how do you still work? I have found that you need to redirect the work, and take breaks. When this has happened to me I come back fresh and inspired to work through any resistance. For younger musicians, you should develop a system of how you will work through your projects. If you don’t, you will be overwhelmed constantly and lost in the work. The worst thing is to take on too much, and drop projects. This will make people not want to hire you, and I am sorry to say our reputations are fragile. Do your best, but do not take on more than you can chew.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

Believe in me. They knew I loved music, and because I have voiced my opinions about what I wanted, they have supported me since the beginning of my journey. I cannot thank my parents for helping me get my undergraduate degree at Berklee and for all the choices I have made to further my career. My mother had picked my instrument of choice, the saxophone. She knew it was going to be the right fit for me. My whole family has been supportive and has always wanted to see me succeed.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Matthew DeNicola – Photographer, Larry Davis, Drums, Bentley Lewis – Guitar.

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