Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series. On this episode, we talk with Minneapolis-based Jazz Bassist and Composer Ted Olsen. We dive into the details behind his latest 2025 album, Violette, released on the hometown label Shifting Paradigm Records.

Violette is described as an ambitious fusion of jazz, chamber music, and songwriting—a project rich with melody, harmonic color, and spontaneous interaction. Known for his vivid and emotionally resonant writing, Ted brings a strong compositional voice while still honoring the openness of improvisation.

With a background spanning performance, composition, and collaboration, Ted Olsen continues to shape the evolving sound of the modern jazz landscape. We get into the making of Violette, the stories behind the music, and what it means to create honest, genre-fluid jazz in today’s world.

🎧 Listen in to discover one of Minneapolis’s brightest jazz voices.

🎶 Get the album: Violette on Bandcamp 

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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.