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I was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey. I moved to the Chicago area when I was three and spent most of my adolescent years there. By the age of 15, I was studying and speaking Spanish with a fervor. I went to the University of Wisconsin, Madison and received a B.A. in Spanish. I spent a year abroad in Seville, Spain.

My musical life started with classical piano at age 5 with a wonderful teacher named Annabelle Leviton. I did that for about 10 years and then began studying jazz piano in high school. I studied with several teachers: Alan Swain, Bob Dogan and Mike Kocour. I am indebted to all three for inspiring me and showing me the ropes. I also spent numerous hours transcribing all of my favorite players: Oscar Peterson, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Cedar Walton, McCoy Tyner, Keith Jarrett, Monk....to name a few.

During my University years I gigged extensively with various groups, performing around Madison, Milwaukee and the greater Wisconsin area. My favorite musicians from Wisconsin are Jeff Eckles (from the original Whad'ya Know Show band on Public Radio) and Dane Richeson, one of the BEST drummers that I have ever worked with. I also got a chance to play under the direction of famous jazz bassist, Richard Davis, in his infamous BME (Black Music Ensemble) group (Richard performed extensively with Sarah Vaughn, the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, Elvin Jones, and many many more). During my Senior year at UW Madison, I was awarded $500 for best jazz artist at the school.

During my years in Wisconsin, I also performed and composed for the Children's Theater of Madison (CTM Productions), performed on Higher Ground, a live public radio show, played with many different ensembles, large and small, and lived a simple and peaceful life. But alas, the pond began to feel a wee bit too small after some time.

 

In 1998, I was chosen (from a competitive audition) to tour India and Sri Lanka with trumpeter and vocalist Matt Lewis as part of the US State Department and Kennedy Center's Jazz Ambassadors project. To see more about this trip, visit my Jazz Ambassadors page. We spent 31 days touring the 2 countries, giving performances and master classes to diverse audiences.

 

I made the move to the San Francisco bay area around 6 1/2 years ago. The bay area was so incredibly appealing with its mountains, ocean, rolling hills, great weather, progressive politics and relaxed atmosphere. I was drawn to the area ever since I visited it (7 years prior). My first musical milestone here was playing with Benny Rietveld, Santana's bassist. We performed at a small jazz festival and did some other local gigs. My next 'break' was meeting John Lee Hooker's daughter Zakiya Hooker (http://www.ozaproductions.com/zakiya1.htm). Through this connection, I got to play on John's last recorded album and I 'hooked' up with Zakiya's band, Blues 4 U and played gigs with them from August 2003 to April 2004. It culminated in March, 2004 when we visited Buenos Aires, Argentina to perform for very appreciative 500+ audiences at a great music club called Trastienda in the old city. You can listen to samples of the John Lee Hooker album Face to Face by clicking on the cd universe link and following the links to the music clips (I am on 2 tracks - Loving People and Six Page Letter):

http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?style=MUSIC&pid=6308094&cart=162512480

In July of 2004, I met my former Plum Crazy bandmates Josh, Skip, Shawna and Justin by posting an ad on Craigslist. I performed with Plum Crazy (a funk//rock/jazz/pop band) for 3 years, playing rock clubs, bars, and an occasional music festival all over California. Currently, I am playing regularly with bassists Marcus Shelby and Fred Randolph, rehearsing and performing with my jazz quartet (featuring Fred Randolph on bass, Erik Jekabson on trumpet and Alan Hall on drums), playing regularly with the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra at Pearl's Jazz Club on Monday nights, freelancing with many great musicians, and composing/arranging music at my home studio.

I like to perform and collaborate with dancers and have done so on numerous occasions. Every year for the past 5 years I have been the resident musician at the Moab Contact Improvisation dance festival in Moab, Utah. I also perform regularly at the West Coast C.I. dance festival and for the Harbin dance jam benefit. I have alsocollaborated with professional dancer Samantha Beers on dance performances and retreats in the bay area.

In 2005 I collaborated with the Ragged Wing Theater Ensemble in their performance of 'The Serpent' by Jean Claude Van Damme. I arranged and composed music for the ensemble. The performance was a great success, getting rave reviews:

 

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me.

-Dan