Personal Conversation with Josh Feldstein Band Leader and Drummer of The Verve Jazz Ensemble

Josh Feldstein Verve Jazz Ensemble leader Josh Feldstein has been a jazz drummer for more than 30 years. A native New Yorker who grew up on the NYC jazz scene, Josh formed the VJE in 2006 as a local performing group in the Danbury, CT area. The straight-ahead jazz unit – which paid homage to the legendary music of the famed Verve record label – soon took off with a large local following. After many years, at the prompting of its fans, Josh agreed to record the VJE's first album, aptly titled “It’s About Time,” which unexpectedly hit #5 on the national JazzWeek radio chart in 2013. Fans and radio alike asked for more, and so, as an encore, Josh guided the band through the recording of its second album, “East End Sojourn” (2014) with guest guitarist Peter Bernstein joining the studio date. To the band’s surprise, this album also achieved significant status with jazz radio, reaching #8 on the national JazzWeek chart and propelling the VJE to its second consecutive top 10 radio album. From there, Josh happily embraced the band’s emerging studio recording pathway, initiating the group's third and fourth albums, “Perimeter” (2016) and “Swing-A-Nova” (2017), which resulted in another top 10 JazzWeek chart performance as well as a top 100 Album of the year placement. Looking to advance the band’s sound and approach, in 2018 Josh expanded the VJE from its original 5 pieces — headed up by Jon Blanck on tenor and Tatum Greenblatt on trumpet — to 7 instruments, adding Alexa Tarantino on alto / flute and Willie Applewhite on trombone, which served to round out the rhythm section of Steve Einerson on piano and Elias Bailey on bass. Its septet album "Connect The Dots” proved to be a turning point for the VJE, the album hitting #1 on the JazzWeek chart in September 2018 for two consecutive weeks, and staying in the JazzWeek top 10 nearly 3 months. "Night Mode" (2019) expanded the VJE’s wide US and European footprint further, again placing top 10 on the JazzWeek charts to much critical acclaim. And in January 2021, Josh and the VJE released its latest offering, “The VJE: Very Live!” — the Verve Jazz Ensemble’s first live album, recorded at a benefit concert in Hadley, MA just prior to the pandemic lockdown. As VJE leader, drummer and occasional writer and arranger, Josh selects the band’s music. He works closely with Jon Blanck, Tatum Greenblatt and other VJE musicians to craft the group's broad portfolio of arrangements, and oversees the band’s steady recording and production schedule. A jazz musician through and through, Josh has studied extensively with drumming legends John Riley and Joe Morello. Josh was born in Manhattan and received his degree from Queens College, City University of New York. In addition to working on the VJE’s next recording already, Josh is also diligently pursuing new musical and percussive challenges on his never-ending road to better understanding and performing the musical art form he loves called Jazz.