Interview: Bria Skonberg Releases New Album INDIGO from Cellar Music Group

This week on July 3, 2026, Bria Skonberg released her new album Indigo, the vocal-driven companion to her trumpet-centered album Brass. Together, both albums form a two-part excavation of her creative identity. Co-produced by Skonberg and longtime collaborator Matt Pierson, Indigo finds her exploring the full emotional range of her voice with the support of an intimate yet richly textured ensemble. The rhythm section from Brass returns, with Eric Wheeler on bass and Darrian Douglas on drums, while multi-Grammy Award winner Gil Goldstein contributes orchestration and piano, joined by a small string section, alto flute, and bass clarinet. Where Brass showcases Skonberg's command as a brass stylist, Indigo reaches toward vulnerability and nuance, drawing on the life experience that her chosen repertoire demands. The program spans jazz standards, a reimagined pop classic, and an original co-written with cabaret legend Ann Hampton Callaway, all bound together by Skonberg's conviction that music, at its core, is a vehicle for human connection.

Below, read a conversation with Skonberg about the new album.

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What was the process of putting this album together like?

 I’m extremely fortunate to now have relationships in place that will entertain any of my crazy ideas. I couldn’t ask for a better team! I went first to my producer/manager Matt Pierson who is essential and we immediately started talking through the concept. That was perhaps late 2024. I wanted a long runway on this to get into “training” and he suggested adding orchestrations. With the support of Cellar Music Group and some dear patrons we were able to pull together a logistical plan. Meanwhile I was writing and workshopping arrangements in my band and meeting with Gil Goldstein to brainstorm treatments on the others. It’s a LOT of music. The sheer volume of what we pulled off was exhilarating.  We played a wonderful weekend at Birdland Jazz Club, had one extra day of rehearsals and into the studio we went. It was so much fun!

What drove you to put together these companion albums showcasing your talents for voice and trumpet instead of just making one album exploring both?

I’ve been on an intentional journey over the last 10-15 years learning how to synthesize the two “voices”, through finding or writing songs and arrangements that can show them both off in their best light, or coming up with exercises that will explore them equally.  I felt that in order to get to the next level of musicianship I needed to isolate and challenge them separately. It was and continues to be an amazing educational experience. Also I often get asked if I’m a trumpet player that sings, or a singer that plays trumpet, and this is my way of saying “you decide”.  

-Can you tell us a little about how you worked with Ann Hampton Callaway on the lyric for “So It Goes”? Do you think Ann captured the love story you were trying to express?

I had written “So It Goes” as an instrumental and performed it that way for months; I was doing my best to come up with a new standard that sounded familiar but had new information. It’s deceptively tricky to do! Even so, I always had the first line swirling in my head and would use it to tell the band what the song is about- love lost, regained, and the bitter tired taste of recognizing you’ve been fooled twice. It began to feel like a story wanted to come out and I had been waiting for the right opportunity to approach Ann; I had experienced her live a few times and think she’s a genius.  A very supportive mutual friend put us in touch. She came to the conversation with such openness and asked so many questions to get to the root of the intention and what I wanted it to say. We shared some lyric drafts, late night voice memos of singing and keyboard parts.. she was traveling frequently and would send me notes before and after plane trips. I’m just so happy and humbled that she made time for this. Ultimately she came up with a verse that pulled it all together, and I’m just thrilled.

What other projects or shows do you have coming up?

I’m looking forward to performing this music in California, the North East and Europe late Summer/Fall, and will be back at Birdland in December with the holiday show I launched last year.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Thank you so much for listening!! 

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Learn more about the artist at www.briaskonberg.com

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