Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series. In this episode, we catch up with European jazz saxophonist and composer Nikola Bankov, one of the brightest new voices in contemporary European jazz, just before a live gig to talk about his 2025 release Everwanted—his third album as a leader and a bold step forward in sound and vision.

On Everwanted, Bankov fuses high-energy modern jazz with Nordic synth-pop textures, creating a vibrant and forward-thinking record that appeals to both younger listeners and seasoned jazz aficionados. Featuring his close collaborators, the album feels cohesive, ambitious, and refreshingly modern.

This marks our second conversation with Nikola, who is a Danish Music Awards winner and a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree. We discuss the evolution of his music, the making of Everwanted, live performance energy, and the future of jazz in Europe and beyond. It’s a powerful snapshot of an artist hitting his stride.

🎙️ Enjoy the interview.

🎶 Get the album & learn more:
https://www.nikolabankov.com/ 

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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.