Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with NYC-based Composer Rich Shemaria.

We catch up with this prolific creative to discuss his new blog series and several upcoming albums on the horizon. Long encouraged to start a blog, Rich is now sharing layered, personal, and revealing insights into his creative journey and inner workings.

This summer, he recorded fresh arrangements for the album Dear Elvin J. with Tony Moreno’s band featuring legendary bassist Gene Perla (of Elvin Jones’ group) alongside top NYC musicians. He also wrote the arrangement for the title track of Steve John’s new Steeplechase Records release, Murray Avenue.

In this follow-up to our June 2025 conversation, we explore Rich’s passion for music, baseball, NYC life, writing, and creativity. Enjoy this deep dive into the artistry of one of New York’s great modern composers.

🖊️ Explore Rich’s Blog & More → https://www.richshemaria.com/blog

For More Famous Interviews:
Subscribe via Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgi6GpDDDrc_PgOzaERGbLQ
Subscribe via iTunes/Apple – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/famous-interviews-with-joe-dimino/id1660256991
Subscribe via Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/7j92QDS13LXgajPt80X2dh

Joe Dimino Podcaster/Artist

Joe Dimino has been writing & creating in a variety of capacities since his college days at the University of Missouri-Kansas City somewhere around 1993. If you are keeping score, that would be about 29 years+. It all began at UMKCs University News as a Sports Writer & turned into a myriad of expressive avenues. Inventing poems, art, video & audio has always been in the proverbial cards.