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Dan Schnelle

Dan Schnelle is one of the most talented, in-demand drummers in the Los Angeles area. Known for an intuitive ability to provide precisely what is necessary for each performance, Schnelle understands how to make other musicians comfortable, while bringing enough of the unexpected to his playing to keep it consistently exciting. Unsatisfied with the idea that the drum set is merely a time-keeping device, Schnelle is thoughtful about how this unique instrument, with its nearly limitless variety of sounds, can be tastefully and effectively deployed in a wide variety of musical situations.

Years spent collaborating with some of the best musicians in Los Angeles (and beyond) have earned him a reputation as a hard-working, professional, and creative team player; one who is, above all, committed to musical excellence. Notable collaborators in the studio and on tour have included Billy Childs, John Daversa, David Benoit, Jeff Parker, Karrin Allyson, David Binney, Josh Nelson, Laurence Hobgood, Larry Goldings, Alan Ferber, Joshua White, Sara Gazarek, Tim Lefebvre, Phillip Dizack, Jeff Babko, Dayna Stephens, Tigran Hamasyan, Walter Smith III, Anthony Wilson, Ben Wendel, James Torme, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Dick Oats, and many others.

Schnelle is also refining his voice as a composer with his first record, Shine Thru, coming out on Outside In Music May 13, 2022! It features an amazing team of fellow artists, and longtime collaborators and friends: Josh Nelson (piano), Jeff Babko (piano, keyboards), Anthony Wilson (guitar), David Binney (alto saxophone), and Alex Boneham (bass). The results go beyond any reckoning one may have previously had about this artist!

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Album Review

Lauren White: Making It Up As We Go Along

Read "Making It Up As We Go Along" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello


With this, her fifth album, Los Angeles-based Renaissance lady, Lauren White offers eleven intriguing selections across a range of styles and sources, backed up by some of the city's best. While shrewdly avoiding the tried, true and over-recorded, White uses her subtle skills with taste and maturity. Interestingly, the album plays sequentially as if it were a performance. That is one of its attractions. Launching things, Steely Dan's “I'm Not the Same Without You" is a coy ...

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Liner Notes

Josh Nelson: LA Stories: Live at Sam First

Read "Josh Nelson: LA Stories: Live at Sam First" reviewed by Robert Petersen


Josh Nelson's LA Stories: Live at Sam First was recorded in February 2022 at Sam First, which has quickly become the heartbeat of L.A.'s jazz community. With this album, Nelson continues a love letter to Los Angeles he began with his 2017 release, The Sky Remains, which was part of his Discovery Project multimedia series. In a city where history is too often forgotten, Nelson puts it center stage. In “Tiburcio," Nelson conjures the life of the 19th ...

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Album Review

Dan Schnelle: Shine Thru

Read "Shine Thru" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


Dan Schnelle is a drummer on the Los Angeles music scene who has played in a lot of contexts. That is reflected in his first album which delves into different shades of jazz-rock with traces of exotica and electronic music in the margins. “Unknown Territory" and “Spaceman Spiff" are angular pieces that spotlight the atmospheric keyboards of Jeff Babko and the electric guitar of Anthony Wilson with the ethereal vibe of a vintage science-fiction soundtrack. “Shine Thru" ...

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Album Review

Dan Schnelle: Shine Thru

Read "Shine Thru" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


This debut album from one of the West Coast's go-to drummers delivers an empyrean escape while offering a clear look at the impressive inner workings of a beautiful mind in motion. Those who know Dan Schnelle as a sideman will recognize his master musicianship right off the bat as he lays the foundation for this absorbing music, but they'll probably also come to realize that there's far more to the man than his stick work. In crafting a program built ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Dan Schnelle, Heroes Are Gang Leaders, Oscar Peñas And More

Read "Dan Schnelle, Heroes Are Gang Leaders, Oscar Peñas And More" reviewed by Bob Osborne


On this show we have a clear demonstration of the variety of fine music that exists across the World of Jazz. There are new releases from Dan Schnelle, Heroes Are Gang Leaders, Oscar Peñas, Majamisty Trio, Sameka, Ronny Graupe Off The Record, Julius Rodriguez plus the trio of John Dikeman, Péter Ajtai, and Nicolas Field.Playlist Show Intro 00:00 Dan Schnelle “Unknown Territory" from Shine Thru (Outside In) 00:44 Heroes Are Gang Leaders “Amina (The Dutchman's Three Buttoned Suit / ...

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Album Review

Josh Nelson: Live At Bluewhale, Volume 1

Read "Live At Bluewhale, Volume 1" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Pianist, composer and--maybe most importantly--conceptualist, Josh Nelson must be a big reader. For his album Exploring Mars (Origin Records, 2015) he drew from, in part, Ray Bradbury's fantastical science fiction story collage Martian Chronicles. And he took a deep look into science and science fiction (H.G. Wells, Jules Verne) for his Discoveries (Steel Bird Music, 2011). Live At Bluewhale features recordings from Nelson's Discovery Project originally performed at the Bluewhale jazz club in Little Tokyo in downtown Los ...

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Album Review

Max Haymer: Whirlwind: Live at Sam First

Read "Whirlwind: Live at Sam First" reviewed by Edward Blanco


Los Angeles pianist and composer Max Haymer has been a busy man this past decade, touring as a longtime member of Arturo Sandoval's band, leading his own group and performing as an accompanist to singer Jane Monheit. Accordingly, Whirlwind: Live at Sam First is Haymer's first album since Pickpocket Witness (CD Baby, 2008) twelve years ago. Recorded live in June, 2019 at the Sam First club near the LA airport, the music is swinging, powerful and highly energetic.

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Concerts

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Freedom Jazz Dance

Laurelwood Records
2025

buy

Making It Up As We Go...

Cafe Pacific Records
2024

buy

Recorda Me:...

Self Produced
2024

buy

My Story In Song

Herron Song Records
2023

buy

LA Stories: Live at...

Sam First Records
2023

buy

Shine Thru

Outside in Music
2022

buy

Isotope

From: Recorda Me: Remembering Joe...
By Dan Schnelle

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