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Daniel Ian Smith
Daniel Ian Smith is a jazz composer, saxophonist, performer and educator with over 20 years of experience. He is an Associate Professor at the acclaimed Berklee College of Music in Boston where he has taught for over 15 years.
Smith is in demand as a clinician, guest soloist and private teacher. He has performed throughout the United States, Japan, Germany,Mexico, Canada and England. In 1992, he founded Big and Phat Jazz Productions to serve as the production company for his Jazz in the Sanctuary Concert Series, as well as his ensembles and recording projects.
Jazz in the Sanctuary Concert Series
Smith is the founder/artistic director of the Jazz in the Sanctuary Concert Series in Brookline, MA which has produced over 85 concerts in the last 11 years. Featured performers include internationally known musicians such as Paul Bley, Marty Ehrlich, Joel Harrison, Bob Moses, Lewis Porter, Steve Slagle, Jack Walrath, Tim Ray, Bob Gullotti and Mick Goodrick.
Performing Groups
Smith currently leads several of his own ensembles including:
- A Collective Directive
- Charles Bubeck/Daniel Ian Smith Quintet
- TREE-OH
- The New World Jazz Composers Octet
- The Big and Phat Jazz Orchestra
Festivals/Venues/TV & Radio Appearances
Germany:
B Flat and Schlot Jazz Clubs
Japan:
Yokohama Port Festival (featured soloist), Phoenix Jazz Festival, Rag Live Spot, Lady Jane, The Pit Inn-Roppongi, The Pit Inn-Tokyo, New Combo, Big Apple, Pan School of Music, Koyo Conservatory, NHK Radio, Kansai Television.
England:
Ruislip Jazz Club, The Rhythm Station, Watermill Jazz Club, The Bulls Head Inn Jazz Club, Spike’s Place, Oxford Public Television.
United States:
Carnegie Hall, Blues Alley (Wash DC), Foxwoods Casino, Symphony Hall in Boston, MA, Scullers Jazz Club, Regattabar, The Real Deal Jazz Club, Boston Globe Jazz Festival, Winthrop Jazz Festival, RISD Museum, Newport Jazz Festival, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Providence Performing Arts Center, Colby College (ME), Lyndon State University (VT), Augustana University (IA), Discover Jazz Festival (Vermont), University of Maine at Augusta, Equinox Music Festival, The Hatch Shell on the Boston Esplanade, Trinity Repertory Theatre, Boston University, Berklee Performance Center, Jordan Hall, Visiones Jazz Club, Sanders Theatre, IAJE Convention (NYC), South Shore Jazz Festival, Harvard University, M.I.T., Cambridge Public Library, The Ethical Society (Boston), Ithaca College, Cornell University, Cortland State College, Emmanuel Church, 1st & 2nd Church, Museum of Our National Heritage (Lexington, MA), WERS, NPR, WGBH Radio, PBS Television, Annenberg Foundation/Discovery Channel, Southeast District Jazz Orchestra Guest Director-Attleboro, MA, Artist in Residence at MIT.
Tags
Brian McCarthy Nonet: After|Life
by Dan McClenaghan
Saxophonist Brian McCarthy, not one to shy away from a big theme, draws inspiration from the creation of the universe to craft After|Life Science says we are all stardust, compiled ultimately in all its complexities via gravity. Given that, he opens this expansive octet offering with Nebula," referring to cosmic gasses consisting of hydrogen and deep space dust that--given gravity's propensities--coalesce into stars and solar systems consisting of planets with water, landforms and eventually us. Or something ...
read moreThe New World Jazz Composers Octet: The Next Stage
by Nicholas F. Mondello
The jazz octet has long been somewhat of a Swiss Army Knife" for composer-arrangers. Consider, for example, the great Dave Pell, Ornette Coleman, David Murray, and the J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding Octets. In the hands of great arrangers, the eight-piece format allows arrangers to leverage the flexibility and creativity of a Messengers" frontline with the total sonic impact of a classic big band. The Next Stage from The New World Jazz Composers Octet is a superb ...
read morePablo Ablanedo: Christreza
by Glenn Astarita
This LP clocks in at around 38-minutes and is a bit of a tease since it progresses rather quickly and may leave many listeners wanting more. Here, Argentine-reared pianist/composer/educator Pablo Ablanedo's compositional gifts often take on cinematic film scoring intonations and developments, executed with jazz luminaries who the artist met while attending the Berklee College of Music in 1999. Owing to his heritage, the leader infuses subtle Latin jazz foreground grooves into several movements, whereas the opener La ...
read moreDaniel Smith: Smokin' Hot Bassoon Blues
by Hrayr Attarian
It is rare that a jazz album comes with laugh out loud moments but bassoonist Daniel Smith's Smokin' Hot Bassoon Blues is full of them. Unfortunately these do not appear to be intentional humorous attempts merely risibly poor performances. This is a shame as Smith is both an accomplished musician and a jazz connoisseur with a commendable taste. His choice of material of classic blues compositions by such luminaries as bassist Charles Mingus and saxophonists Sonny Rollins and ...
read moreDaniel Smith: Smokin' Hot Bassoon Blues
by Jack Bowers
All those who can resist reviewing--or reading a review about--a jazz / blues quartet led by a bassoonist, please raise your hands. No one? Very well, then, let us proceed. The bassoonist in question is Daniel Smith, and while his name may be unassuming, it would be good to report that there is nothing ordinary about Smith's prowess on his chosen instrument. Alas . . . Perhaps the choice of music is partly to blame, but whatever ...
read moreTake Five With Daniel Ian Smith
by AAJ Staff
Meet Daniel Ian Smith: Daniel Ian Smith is a saxophonist/flutist and an Associate Professor at the esteemed Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, where he has taught for the past fifteen years. Daniel has had the privilege to perform in Japan, England, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Canada, and throughout the United States in major jazz festivals and venues including: Carnegie Hall, Newport Jazz Festival, The Pit Inn, Schlot, Ottawa International, JAZZUV in Mexico, Visiones, and many others.
Leader of the ...
read moreDaniel Ian Smith / Yuki Arimasa: Dialogues
by Jack Bowers
These fastidious dialogues between saxophonist Daniel Ian Smith and pianist Yuki Arimasa are seldom less than engaging, sometimes even seductive — but like Pavlov’s dogs, every time Arimasa made an entrance I listened for the sound of bass and drums. It never came. Hidebound traditionalist that I am, I missed it. Others may not. To them I would commend what is there: perceptive interplay between two musicians of commendable skills that earns one’s consideration and swings as often as it ...
read moreThe New World Jazz Composers Octet Releases Second CD: Transitions
Source:
Michael Ricci
The New World Jazz Composers Octet is releasing its second CD, TRANSITIONS, on the Big and Phat Jazz Productions label. This exciting new CD features eight stylistically diverse compositions written by five of the most talented jazz composers on the scene today. Each piece is presented with a combination of precise ensemble performance and inspired solos. The New World Jazz Composers Octet is led by saxophonist/flutist Daniel Ian Smith. Most of the featured composers and performers are part of a ...
read more
The New World Jazz Composers Octet Releases Second CD: Transitions
Source:
Michael Ricci
The New World Jazz Composers Octet is releasing its second CD, TRANSITIONS, on the Big and Phat Jazz Productions label. This exciting new CD features eight stylistically diverse compositions written by five of the most talented jazz composers on the scene today. Each piece is presented with a combination of precise ensemble performance and inspired solos. The New World Jazz Composers Octet is led by saxophonist/flutist Daniel Ian Smith. Most of the featured composers and performers are part of a ...
read more
Primary Instrument
Saxophone
Willing to teach
Advanced only
Credentials/Background
Associate Professor, Berklee College of Music Artist in Residence JazzUV, Xalapa, Mexico
Clinic/Workshop Information
Saxophone pedagogy, improvisation, composition, jazz history
Photos
Music
Nebula
From: After|LifeBy Daniel Ian Smith