Cassio Vianna

It's been a long time since my last blog post! I am enjoying my first sabbatical from my work as Associate Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Studies at Pacific Lutheran University, and I will have some exciting projects…

2024 has been one of the most intense and challenging years I have ever had in my life. To be sure, it has been a year of many accomplishments; but I have to confess that, many times along the way…

I have an exciting surprise for you: the CD VIDA – which is now officially in the manufacturing stage – opens with a chart featuring legendary saxophonist and two-time Grammy Award winner Eric Marienthal! It is a blast! Let me…

Giving a title to an instrumental piece of music can be difficult. Sometimes there is a clear connection between what you hear and the tune’s title; other times, it just seems like a random choice. Is there even a meaning…

Over the years, many people have asked me about my absence from streaming platforms. If you ever tried to find me on Spotify, for example, you might have found another Brazilian musician – a rock guitarist - with the same…

It’s been a month since I posted here. With the start of the academic year, we had to slow things down a bit, but they haven’t stopped: September has been our editing and mixing time. 

Since many of my readers…

I am so thrilled to have completed the recording of my upcoming album, and I wanted to share with you how it went! Our last recording happened on Friday, August 16, 2024! From the beginning of this project, I knew…

Today I’m sharing a very personal and dark story with you. I haven’t spoken much about this since the day it happened -- only a handful of close friends know about it, and mostly without much detail. It is a…

I love the freedom of composing for my own projects, but receiving commissions has always helped me stretch my ideas and get out of my comfort zone. As soon as I receive a commission, I begin immersing myself into that…

Deciding the repertoire for a CD is always difficult: what's the best blend of music styles? Do old charts work well with the new ones? What story do I want to tell on this particular album? 

Even though most of…