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Daniel Rotem

Daniel Rotem is a saxophonist, composer, arranger, bandleader, educator, and producer. Since arriving in Los Angeles six years ago to attend the acclaimed Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance Program, he has established himself as a prominent member of the local creative music scene, and a voice to be reckoned with within the international jazz community.

Growing up in Israel by the Mediterranean Sea, Daniel fell in love with the freedom and potential for expression he found in Jazz after starting to play saxophone as a teenager. His musical beginnings in Israel's Thelma Yellin High School for the Arts and the Rimon School of Music instilled in Daniel a deep reverence and love for the tradition and history of jazz, and a yearning to travel far and wide to receive the best musical education he could, on and off the bandstand. He was fortunate to experience both: He is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance (now the Herbie Hancock Institute), and also had the privilege to perform and record with artists such as Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Billy Childs, Terri Lyne Carrington, Stevie Wonder, Jeff Parker, Darek Oles, Lionel Loueke, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Josh Nelson, Anat Cohen, Sara Gazarek, and many more.

As a member of the Monk Institute Ensemble, Daniel went on a U.S. State Department Tour to Morocco and got to lead and narrate a jazz history masterclass and performance at the White House hosted by Mrs. Michelle Obama, as part of International Jazz Day in 2016. Daniel has performed around the world at acclaimed festivals including the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Playboy Jazz Festival, the Red Sea Jazz Festival, the Montalcino Jazz Festival, and at famed venues such as the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Hollywood Bowl, the Microsoft Theater in LA, and many more.

He released three albums of his compositions and arrangements: his debut 'Be Nice' was released independently in February 2017; the anticipated tour-de-force second double album ‘Serenading the Future’ was released on September 28, 2018 to praising reviews, and in December 2018 an album he recorded with a quartet co-led with alto saxophonist Josh Johnson entitled ‘Sweet Stuff’ was released by Fresh Sound Records. Daniel appears on recent releases by Alain Mallet, Christian Euman, Kuba Stankiewitcz, and has recorded with Chilean artist Mon Laferte on her 2019 Latin GRAMMY Award winning album 'Norma'.

Daniel has taught at the Stanford Jazz Summer Camp and Jazz Institute, and has been a teaching artist at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA) since 2016.

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7
Album Review

Daniel Rotem: Wise One: Celebrating The Music of John Coltrane

Read "Wise One: Celebrating The Music of John Coltrane" reviewed by Jim Worsley


There was, and still is, a stunningly intricate mosaic to John Coltrane's music. His visionary art form is a gift to the world that keeps on giving. Coltrane's impressions created a legacy of beautifully conceptualized music to be absorbed and reimagined for generations to come. The music is timeless, thanks in large part, obviously, to the man they called Trane. But thanks as well to the talented musicians who have breathed in all that is Coltrane and absorbed the passion ...

10
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 ...

6
Album Review

Daniel Rotem: Solo

Read "Solo" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Back in early March of 2020, tenor saxophonist Daniel Rotem was gathering a broad swath of West Coast talent for his next studio album. He was organized and had plans in motion, but the world had other ideas in mind. Everything quickly shut down and Rotem, like the rest of the global music community, found himself shifting priorities and exploring other outlets. He completed his first feature film score, wrote an orchestral work for the the Los Angeles Jazz Society, ...

7
Album Review

Alain Mallet Mutt Slang 2: A Wake of Sorrows Engulfed in Rage

Read "A Wake of Sorrows Engulfed in Rage" reviewed by Paul Rauch


The art of jazz would seem to be a mystery to most, and at the same time, a language understood by many. In the entirety of its history, it has served as a central location for idiomatic change, a virtual jumping off point for explorative ventures into both new and traditional world forms. The wide lens of the music of pianist/composer Alain Mallet mirrors in a way, the large embrace of all humankind necessary globally to build a meaningful dialog ...

3
Album Review

Daniel Rotem: Serenading the Future

Read "Serenading the Future" reviewed by Geno Thackara


However scary the world seems, Daniel Rotem remains determined to look on the bright side. The jny: New York City saxophonist considers his music not just an art form but a reflection of life with a Zen-like perspective on time. Following suit, Serenading the Future is all about unity. Its framework is a simple one that allows a lovely, expressive emergent behavior from all involved. The multicultural cast all contribute as equal parts to the whole without needing any big ...

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Primary Instrument

Saxophone, tenor

Location

Los Angeles

Willing to teach

Beginner to advanced

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Solo

Self Produced
2021

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Live At Bluewhale,...

Steel Bird Music
2021

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A Wake of Sorrows...

Origin Records
2020

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Serenading the Future

Self Produced
2018

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Videos

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