Biography
As a keyboardist, vocalist, and composer, Ivan Neville, offspring of Aaron Neville, established and leads Dumpstaphunk. Frequent appearances alongside the Neville Brothers have complemented his work as a recording artist in his own right, a bandleader, and a sought-after studio and road musician. Neville champions nonstop groove and demonstrates fluency across soul, funky R&B, blues, jazz, rock, and reggae. Between 1985 and 1987 he formed a central part of Bonnie Raitt’s ensemble, then issued his debut leader album, If My Ancestors Could See Me Now, in 1988. Additional solo releases have followed—Thanks in 1994, Saturday Morning Music in 2002, and Scrape in 2004—yet his profile remains strongest through roughly 300 sideman credits ranging from the Rolling Stones to Rufus. In 2023 he concluded a twenty-year solo-recording absence with his fifth album, Touch My Soul.
Born in New Orleans in 1959 to singer Aaron Neville, Ivan counts musicians Art, Charles, and Cyril Neville among his uncles and Big Chief Jolly (George Landry) of the Wild Tchoupitoulas among his great-uncles. He spent his childhood with the family in the 13th Ward on Valence Street, now one of the Crescent City’s most celebrated avenues. Piano instruction from his father and uncle Cyril introduced him to the city’s diverse offerings, from Preservation Hall and the Meters to Lee Dorsey and Professor Longhair. Teenage performances began as sit-ins with his father and Big Chief Jolly; he played clavinet in the Neville Brothers’ earliest lineup before forming the Renegades in 1977.
His first recorded appearance came on the Neville Brothers’ iconic Fiyo on the Bayou in 1981. Later that year he relocated to Los Angeles for work with Rufus on Seal in Red. In 1986 he contributed to the Rolling Stones’ Dirty Work and both wrote for and performed on Bonnie Raitt’s Nine Lives. After departing her band in 1987, he appeared on Keith Richards’ Talk Is Cheap and toured with the X-Pensive Winos.
Ivan’s own discography opened with 1988’s If My Ancestors Could See Me Now on Polydor. Recorded in Los Angeles with an all-star cast—drummers Steve Jordan and Jeff Porcaro, guitarists Danny Kortchmar and Waddy Wachtel, bassist Randy Jackson—the album featured Neville on multiple instruments. Its single “Not Just Another Girl” reached number 26 on the Hot 100, while the follow-up duet with Raitt, “Falling Out of Love,” peaked at 91 and appeared in the 1989 film Skin Deep. His version of John Finley’s and Kenny Lee Lewis’ “Why Can’t I Fall in Love” was included on the 1990 soundtrack to Allan Moyle’s Pump Up the Volume.
Session and concert work dominated the 1990s. He played on the Neville Brothers’ commercial breakthrough Brother’s Keeper in 1990, Raitt’s multi-platinum Luck of the Draw and Robbie Robertson’s Storyville in 1991, Richards’ Main Offender in 1992 (with subsequent touring), and the Stones’ Voodoo Lounge in 1994 (again touring).
His second album, Thanks, arrived in 1995 on the independent Iguana label. The star-studded project included guests Warren Haynes, Branford Marsalis, Richards, Raitt, and others alongside his quartet. He briefly joined the Spin Doctors for Here Comes the Bride, touring with the band and occasionally fronting the group when singer Chris Barron lost his voice.
Early in the new century Neville maintained a near-constant schedule. 2001 brought appearances on recordings by guitarist Barbara Lynn, soul singer Angie Stone, and Japanese guitarist and singer-songwriter Okuda Tamio. In 2002 he released his third album, Saturday Morning Music, and formed the jam band Dumpstaphunk with cousin Ian Neville to support his touring. The ensemble gained international notice after performing on Late Night with David Letterman and prompting the entire studio audience to dance.
For his solo set at the 2003 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Neville assembled veteran colleagues—drummer Raymond Weber, bassists/vocalists Nick Daniels and Tony Hall, and cousin Ian Neville on guitar—under the name Dumpstaphunk. Their performance electrified the local crowd and led to a successful regional tour. With dual bassists, Neville’s keyboards, three-part vocal harmony, and sharp drum breaks, the group arguably became the first deep-funk jam band.
Neville returned to Los Angeles in 2004 to record his fourth album, Scrape—his last solo effort for two decades. Co-written with producer and multi-instrumentalist Gary Gold, the fourteen-track set blended funk and roll. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina the following year, he joined the New Orleans Social Club in an Austin studio to record the benefit album Sing Me Back Home with producers Leo Sacks and Ray Bardani, earning acclaim for his rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son.” That same year he appeared in the documentary Make It Funky!, performing “Rip It Up” with drummer Earl Palmer and the house band and “Fire on the Bayou” with the Neville Brothers.
Dumpstaphunk issued its debut studio EP, Listen Hear, in 2007 and maintained an intensive touring pace. Later that year Neville contributed a version of the title track to Goin’ Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino. Between band tours he continued session work, appearing on Taj Mahal’s Maestro, Jerry Lee Lewis’ Mean Old Man, Ronnie Wood’s I Feel Like Playing, and live releases from the Dave Matthews Band and the Allman Brothers Band.
The group’s first full-length studio album, Everybody Wants Sum, arrived in 2011 to widespread critical praise. Touring occurred in shorter segments while Neville fulfilled numerous session dates, including recordings with Eric Burdon (Soul of a Man), Kelly Clarkson (Stronger), Vieux Farka Touré (The Secret), Haynes (Man in Motion), and Trombone Shorty (For True). Dumpstaphunk followed with Live at Jazz Fest 2012; its second studio album, Dirty Word, appeared in 2013, succeeded by two live albums.
International and domestic festival appearances became routine for Dumpstaphunk. Neville also supplied studio contributions to both prominent and lesser-known artists. In 2014 alone he played on Ani DiFranco’s Allergic to Water, Dr. John’s Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch, and Jerry Lee Lewis’ Rock & Roll Time. In 2015 he rejoined Richards for Crosseyed Heart and contributed to albums by uncle Cyril Neville’s Royal Southern Brotherhood and James McMurtry. Subsequent years brought further session work with Anders Osborne, Bettye LaVette, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, and Snarky Puppy.
Dumpstaphunk released Where Do We Go from Here? in 2021; the eleven-track set featured guest appearances by Marcus King, Trombone Shorty, Chali 2na, and Erica Falls. After two decades, Neville resumed recording under his own name with 2023’s Touch My Soul, an album honoring New Orleans, its culture, and its people through an all-star roster that included his father, Raitt, Michael McDonald, Trombone Shorty, uncle Cyril Neville, and Doyle Bramhall II.
Born in New Orleans in 1959 to singer Aaron Neville, Ivan counts musicians Art, Charles, and Cyril Neville among his uncles and Big Chief Jolly (George Landry) of the Wild Tchoupitoulas among his great-uncles. He spent his childhood with the family in the 13th Ward on Valence Street, now one of the Crescent City’s most celebrated avenues. Piano instruction from his father and uncle Cyril introduced him to the city’s diverse offerings, from Preservation Hall and the Meters to Lee Dorsey and Professor Longhair. Teenage performances began as sit-ins with his father and Big Chief Jolly; he played clavinet in the Neville Brothers’ earliest lineup before forming the Renegades in 1977.
His first recorded appearance came on the Neville Brothers’ iconic Fiyo on the Bayou in 1981. Later that year he relocated to Los Angeles for work with Rufus on Seal in Red. In 1986 he contributed to the Rolling Stones’ Dirty Work and both wrote for and performed on Bonnie Raitt’s Nine Lives. After departing her band in 1987, he appeared on Keith Richards’ Talk Is Cheap and toured with the X-Pensive Winos.
Ivan’s own discography opened with 1988’s If My Ancestors Could See Me Now on Polydor. Recorded in Los Angeles with an all-star cast—drummers Steve Jordan and Jeff Porcaro, guitarists Danny Kortchmar and Waddy Wachtel, bassist Randy Jackson—the album featured Neville on multiple instruments. Its single “Not Just Another Girl” reached number 26 on the Hot 100, while the follow-up duet with Raitt, “Falling Out of Love,” peaked at 91 and appeared in the 1989 film Skin Deep. His version of John Finley’s and Kenny Lee Lewis’ “Why Can’t I Fall in Love” was included on the 1990 soundtrack to Allan Moyle’s Pump Up the Volume.
Session and concert work dominated the 1990s. He played on the Neville Brothers’ commercial breakthrough Brother’s Keeper in 1990, Raitt’s multi-platinum Luck of the Draw and Robbie Robertson’s Storyville in 1991, Richards’ Main Offender in 1992 (with subsequent touring), and the Stones’ Voodoo Lounge in 1994 (again touring).
His second album, Thanks, arrived in 1995 on the independent Iguana label. The star-studded project included guests Warren Haynes, Branford Marsalis, Richards, Raitt, and others alongside his quartet. He briefly joined the Spin Doctors for Here Comes the Bride, touring with the band and occasionally fronting the group when singer Chris Barron lost his voice.
Early in the new century Neville maintained a near-constant schedule. 2001 brought appearances on recordings by guitarist Barbara Lynn, soul singer Angie Stone, and Japanese guitarist and singer-songwriter Okuda Tamio. In 2002 he released his third album, Saturday Morning Music, and formed the jam band Dumpstaphunk with cousin Ian Neville to support his touring. The ensemble gained international notice after performing on Late Night with David Letterman and prompting the entire studio audience to dance.
For his solo set at the 2003 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Neville assembled veteran colleagues—drummer Raymond Weber, bassists/vocalists Nick Daniels and Tony Hall, and cousin Ian Neville on guitar—under the name Dumpstaphunk. Their performance electrified the local crowd and led to a successful regional tour. With dual bassists, Neville’s keyboards, three-part vocal harmony, and sharp drum breaks, the group arguably became the first deep-funk jam band.
Neville returned to Los Angeles in 2004 to record his fourth album, Scrape—his last solo effort for two decades. Co-written with producer and multi-instrumentalist Gary Gold, the fourteen-track set blended funk and roll. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina the following year, he joined the New Orleans Social Club in an Austin studio to record the benefit album Sing Me Back Home with producers Leo Sacks and Ray Bardani, earning acclaim for his rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son.” That same year he appeared in the documentary Make It Funky!, performing “Rip It Up” with drummer Earl Palmer and the house band and “Fire on the Bayou” with the Neville Brothers.
Dumpstaphunk issued its debut studio EP, Listen Hear, in 2007 and maintained an intensive touring pace. Later that year Neville contributed a version of the title track to Goin’ Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino. Between band tours he continued session work, appearing on Taj Mahal’s Maestro, Jerry Lee Lewis’ Mean Old Man, Ronnie Wood’s I Feel Like Playing, and live releases from the Dave Matthews Band and the Allman Brothers Band.
The group’s first full-length studio album, Everybody Wants Sum, arrived in 2011 to widespread critical praise. Touring occurred in shorter segments while Neville fulfilled numerous session dates, including recordings with Eric Burdon (Soul of a Man), Kelly Clarkson (Stronger), Vieux Farka Touré (The Secret), Haynes (Man in Motion), and Trombone Shorty (For True). Dumpstaphunk followed with Live at Jazz Fest 2012; its second studio album, Dirty Word, appeared in 2013, succeeded by two live albums.
International and domestic festival appearances became routine for Dumpstaphunk. Neville also supplied studio contributions to both prominent and lesser-known artists. In 2014 alone he played on Ani DiFranco’s Allergic to Water, Dr. John’s Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch, and Jerry Lee Lewis’ Rock & Roll Time. In 2015 he rejoined Richards for Crosseyed Heart and contributed to albums by uncle Cyril Neville’s Royal Southern Brotherhood and James McMurtry. Subsequent years brought further session work with Anders Osborne, Bettye LaVette, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, and Snarky Puppy.
Dumpstaphunk released Where Do We Go from Here? in 2021; the eleven-track set featured guest appearances by Marcus King, Trombone Shorty, Chali 2na, and Erica Falls. After two decades, Neville resumed recording under his own name with 2023’s Touch My Soul, an album honoring New Orleans, its culture, and its people through an all-star roster that included his father, Raitt, Michael McDonald, Trombone Shorty, uncle Cyril Neville, and Doyle Bramhall II.
Albums
Singles
