Grammy-winning drummer, composer and arranger Dan Pugach takes over as the featured artist for our Tuesday night jazz in NYC residency this March! Along with his Grammy-winning, jazz vocalist wife Noicole Zuraitis, this multifaceted artist is a rising star you won’t want to miss. Check out his interview below with our Entertainment Director, Jon Regen. Reserve your table for Tuesday night here.

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Congratulations on your Grammy win for “Bianca Reimagined!” I told you after your Django show a few months back that I thought you were going to win. How does it feel?

I should have listened to you back then! I never imagined I would win a Grammy in jazz composition. The other nominees in the best large ensemble category have been my musical heroes so this honor feels surreal. Winning with an album I wrote, arranged, orchestrated, and played the drums on is a huge milestone in my career. I’m certain it will open up new opportunities in the field. Already, I am receiving inquiries to perform my music at International Jazz Festivals, as well as commissions for arranging and composing new material. I truly feel like this is only the beginning. I would love to take my entire big band on the road, and I am excited about the prospect of collaborating with various artists in the field. This Grammy win has fueled my passion and ambition, and I can’t wait to see where this journey takes me next.

 

Along with your wife Nicole Zuraitis (who won the jazz vocal Grammy in 2024), you’ve crafted an affecting album of great music with a potent message. Tell us about the inspiration for the album.

Dedicated to rescuing pit bulls from kill lists for the last 15 years, I wrote and arranged the album with Nicole contributing three songs to it. The album was created in loving memory of one of our rescue dog, Bianca, and features songs dedicated to dogs we’ve helped save over the years, most notably the track” Little Fears,” which features Nicole on vocals and was written from the perspective of a shelter dog. During our first years in New York City, Nicole came across a call for help from a local shelter. Without an actual plan, she immediately drove down to rescue a pit bull and brought the dog to my apartment in Brooklyn. This experience opened our eyes to the harsh realities facing pit bulls, who are often trapped in a vicious cycle of illegal puppy mills, dog fighting rings, and abuse, ultimately ending up in city shelters. Pit bulls have a bad reputation due to circumstances beyond their control, largely stemming from human intervention. Through various rescue groups, we learned the importance of fostering these dogs. Each pit bull we fostered proved the stigma wrong, demonstrating that even the most anxious and difficult cases can thrive with patience and love. Although public perception of pit bulls is somewhat better today, there is still much work to be done to spread the word about these loyal and loving animals. I believe that continued education and awareness can help shift perceptions even further, allowing more people to see pit bulls for the wonderful companions they truly are.

 

Drummers aren’t often known for their compositional prowess, but here you are with both songwriting and arranging acumen. Where do you think it comes from?

I started experimenting with arranging and composition during my graduate studies at CCNY the City College of New York, where I was given an assignment to arrange a tune for a nine-piece ensemble consisting of five horns and four rhythm instruments. Although my writing chops were not so sharp at the time, I made something happen using my ear. Hearing it played for the first time sparked my quest for composition and jazz arranging.  Another reason why I pursued this path was to create opportunities for myself and my fellow musicians to play, explore new sounds and perform.

 

Your homeland of Israel seems to be a hotbed of musical mastery these days.

Growing up in Israel, I found jazz to be a powerful way to express myself, both through drumming and later in life through composition. I was fortunate to study with musicians who had spent decades in New York City during the genre’s most crucial years of evolution and brought that experience back to Israel. This award highlights that Israeli jazz is not a small niche, but a vibrant part of the global scene. I hope this achievement inspires other Israeli jazz musicians to further explore and innovate, and I’m excited to see how this moment will motivate the next generation of Israeli jazz artists

 

Give us your five dessert island discs – albums you’d be okay with listening for the rest of time if you had to.

Chick Corea’s Now He Sings, Now He Sobs, Thad Jones & Mel Lewis’ Consummation, Kenny Wheeler’s Music for Large & Small Ensembles, Kraftwerk’s The Mix, and Michael Brecker’s Tales From The Hudson.

 

What young artists are you listening to these days?

Sirintip with Danny Jonokuchi, Anna Webber, Christie Dashiell, Miho Hazama… and many more!

 

What can listeners expect to hear during your Tuesday Django Takeover in March? 

We’ll be playing music from my first nonet album Plus One and my latest big band album Bianca Reimagined orchestrated for a nonet featuring vocalist Nicole Zuraitis, as well as selections of new arrangements of great American songbook.

 

The world is pretty crazy these days – does music make it more bearable?

Music is my source of light in this world. I feel like it has kept me focused and therefore alive. Cliché or not, it brings people together and breaks cultural, religious and geographic boundaries.

 

What does “jazz” mean to you in 2025? 

Jazz means improvisation and conversation to me and in 2025, I think the genre is still evolving and breaking boundaries.