Joe Cefalu on SoundBetter

Versed keyboardist and producer with an emphasis in Neo soul, R&B, & Jazz. Appearances at The Greek Theatre, Dodger Stadium, Troubadour. Holds close to heart musicality, excellence, and attention to detail. LA-based and available for sessions, touring, and local dates.

Born in San Jose, CA to professional musician parents, Joe Cefalu has been a student and practitioner of music since early childhood. His first paid gigs began in middle school, playing piano for local musical theatre and theme parks. Joe holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music (Screen Scoring) from California State University, Northridge and has been hard at work as a piano/keyboard player, music director, and producer.

As both a player and writer, Joe enjoys laying out emotional melodies and rich harmonic progressions and voicings inspired by a range of emotion, color, and texture.

As a producer, it is important to Joe that every aspect of a project is met with great attention to detail. He is very much inspired by the music of the "Soulquarians" where each track, instrumental part, vocal line, holds great intention and nuance.

Joe Cefalu is an experienced music director. Here he is a believer in and avid practitioner of excellence and leadership, allowing him to deliver as associate music director for NBC's "This Is Us" Emmy FYC Concert (2022) and California's Great America (2022-present), as well as music director for a number of artists including KayCyy (2022), Avamarie (Troubadour), Shiah Luna (WF Festival), and Quin Jaye (NPR Tinydesk contest).

Lastly, Joe values greatly his relationship with clients and aims to make working on art a great time for all involved :)

I'd love to hear about your project. Click the 'Contact' button above to get in touch.

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English

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Interview with Joe Cefalu

Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: Executive producing a few albums by two great friends of mine!
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I will treat your song with the same care as if it were my own.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: It often doesn't feel like work, yet I get a great sense of purpose.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: Top 5 current artists, top 5 legacy artists, anything different from their previous projects they'd like to go for.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Hold nothing back when you are paying someone to help with your project. If you're not feeling the direction we're taking, say so! We can take it :)
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: (Laptop implied) UA interface, UA Sphere DLX mic, Nord Stage 3, 5-string PJ bass, headphones.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Intentional, musicality first.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: When asked, usually arrangement/harmonic ideas.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: Initial listen/playthrough, chart out the song, practice any tough areas. Then, by instrument: do a few full takes, take the song by section, then comp or come back for a final few full takes. Listen back, any final thoughts, export & send.