Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series. On this episode, we talk with LOBE, a collective of musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area, about their new and debut 2025 album was that on purpose? and the story behind the band’s formation, sound, and mission.

The LOBE collective features Daiki Nakajima on flute, bass, tenor and soprano saxophones; Sam Silverstein on violin; Nolan Miranda on piano and synths; Mark Rau on bass and guitar; and Michael Hayes on drums. Originally united by a shared Love of rhythm-forward contemporary jazz, the group quickly expanded its sound to include dance, folk, electronic, and pop influences.

Through years of collaboration, friendship, and deep musical chemistry, LOBE developed a distinctive voice—whimsical and unhurried, challenging yet inviting, time-bending while firmly rooted in the present moment. This conversation explores creative process, collective identity, modern jazz evolution, and the spirit behind their debut release. Dig their story and this interview.

Get the album:
https://lobeband.bandcamp.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.