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Dan Balmer
An in-demand educator, Dan maintains a busy schedule of private lessons, group clinics and master classes throughout the US and abroad. He adjudicates student jazz band competitions at events such as the Monterey Next Generation Festival and Reno Jazz Festival along with being a long-term teacher at the Centrum Jazz Workshop. He is the director of jazz combos at Lewis And Clark College while also on faculty at virtually every other college in the greater Portland, Oregon area.
Dan has performed or toured with Joey DeFrancesco, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Les McCann, Javon Jackson and Karrin Allyson, Benny Golson, Jeff Hamilton, Gerald Clayton, John Clayton, Terell Stafford, Ingrid Jensen, Duduka da Fonseca, Kendrick Scott, Taylor Eigsti, Buddy De Franco, Bruce Forman and countless others.
Dan’s love of guitar and making music combined with discipline, technique and restless curiosity provide an ever- deepening experience for himself and his listeners. In every performance he finds himself in the middle of the path, amidst a continuous and compelling process of discovery.
Awards
Oregon Music Hall Of Fame Oregon Jazz Society Hall Of Fame
Tags
Dan Wilensky: Good Music
by Dan McClenaghan
There are only two kinds of music. Good Music and the other kind." So said Duke Ellington, and probably a whole bunch of other people. Good Music is saxophonist Dan Wilensky's examination of music for music's sake, his unpretentious serving the music" recording. Seven of the eleven tunes are chordless trio affairs, bringing--as a touchstone--Sonny Rollins' groundbreaking A Night At the Village Vanguard (Blue Note, 1958) to mind with its fearless flexibility and Wilensky's muscular and assured tone. ...
read moreDan Wilensky: Made In Portland
by Dan Bilawsky
Relocating is never easy, but it would seem that multi-reedist Dan Wilensky has acclimated quite well to the musical climate of Portland, Oregon since arriving there in 2012. The latest release from this man-of-many-talents puts him in close quarters with a collection of that city's finest musicians, a crew that's ready and eager to tackle Wilensky's originals and put new twists on old favorites from artists like Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Hoagy Carmichael, and, dare I say it, Neil Sedaka. ...
read moreDan Wilensky: Made In Portland
by Edward Blanco
A Hollywood/TV industry musician who has performed on, or arranged for such programs as, The Today Show, David Letterman, The Tonight Show and several others, Portland-based composer and saxophonist Dan Wilensky is currently performing and teaching in Portland, from where he records his fifth album as leader on Made In Portland, offering eight fresh new originals and five covers including vocal renditions of songs from Irving Berlin, Charles Trenet and Hoagy Carmichael. As the album title indicates, the saxophonist records ...
read morePrimary Instrument
Guitar
Location
Portland
Willing to teach
Intermediate to advanced
Credentials/Background
Dan maintains a busy schedule of private lessons, group clinics and master classes throughout the US and abroad. He has been teaching jazz guitar for over 20 years and has lead the jazz combos of Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR for over 10 years. He immensely enjoys working with students both individually and in the ensembles. He adjudicates student jazz band competitions at events such as the Monterey Next Generation Festival and Reno Jazz Festival along with being a long-term teacher at the Centrum Jazz Workshop.
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Music
Googie
From: (Not A, THE)By Dan Balmer