Daniel Bennett

Critically-acclaimed Manhattan-based saxophonist Daniel Bennett has garnered feverish accolades for his unique brand of experimental “Folk Jazz.” The Daniel Bennett Group has recently shared concert billings with artists like Bill Frisell, Charlie Hunter, Greg Osby, James Carter, Billy Martin (Medeski, Martin & Wood), Steve Kuhn, Jerry Bergonzi, and David Fiuczynski. The Village Voice raves, “saxophonist Daniel Bennett makes hay with an airy approach that's buoyant enough to conjure notions of East African guitar riffs and Steve Reich's pastoral repetition.” The Boston Herald described Bennett's music as “exploratory folk-jazz hybrid.”

Daniel Bennett graduated from the prestigious New England Conservatory in 2004 with a Masters Degree in performance. The Daniel Bennett Group released The Legend of Bear Thompson in the spring of 2008. Metronome Magazine ranked the album in their top five picks of the month, declaring, “the trio is so in sync with each other that it's downright mystical.” In 2009, the Daniel Bennett Group released Live at the Theatre, a groundbreaking album that was recorded live during a double bill performance with the Charlie Hunter Trio. The Daniel Bennett Group has been featured on popular radio programs like Harvard University’s Jazz Spectrum (WHRB 95.3FM), WICN's Jazz Matinee (NPR in southern New England), and the very popular Dreamfarm Cafe radio show, hosted by Julie Lavender. The group has also made television appearances on Bandwidth TV, The Music Closet, and Style Boston.

Daniel Bennett’s quirky music has found a broad fan base that is unusual for a modern jazz outfit. Insite Magazine called Daniel Bennett’s music, “refreshingly capricious and trippy.” Time Out New York described the music as, “hypnotic.” In January of 2011, the Daniel Bennett Group released their latest album, Peace and Stability Among Bears. The disc was recently voted as a “Top Album Pick” for 2011 by writers at All About Jazz and the Jazz Police. The Daniel Bennett Group is currently the weekly house band at the four diamond Liberty Hotel. The band also has regular performance “residencies” at Tomi Jazz in midtown Manhattan, and Cellar 58 in the East Village.

Daniel Bennett is also known as an innovative producer and promoter in New York. The Daniel Bennett Group hosts and currates the ongoing “Jazz at the Triad” concert series at the Triad Theatre on Manhattan's upper west side. The series features the Daniel Bennett Group performing double bill concerts with fellow artists. Recent guests have included guitarist Charlie Hunter, pianist Steve Kuhn, and saxophonist Greg Osby. Prior to this endeavor, Bennett produced a similar concert series in Boston at the Cambridge YMCA Theatre. Prominent guests on the Boston series included guitarist Bill Frisell, saxophonist James Carter, and drummer Billy Martin (of Medeski, Martin, and Wood).

In addition to a rigorous performing schedule as a bandleader, Daniel Bennett also performs a wide array of concerts as a sideman. He recently toured Italy and Switzerland with renowned world music ensemble, Musaner. Daniel Bennett recently performed in concert with the classic Billboard chart-topping Doo-wop group, the Duprees. Bennett also performs regularly as a woodwind doubler with dozens of musical theater companies in New York. Recent performances include the Theater for the New City, Westchester Sandbox Theatre, In-the-Wings Productions, and the Secret Theatre in Queens, New York. Bennett recently completed a very succesful performance run with the off-Broadway musical hit, Crab House (www.crabhousethemusical.com)