Dan Plonsey
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Dan Plonsey (born September 1, 1958 in Cleveland, Ohio) is considered to be a free jazz saxophonist. That stated, he does not like being labeled "free jazz", "jazz", or anything else.
His main influences were Sun Ra and Anthony Braxton, both connected to and "apart from" the jazz world. A short solo saxophone piece can be found on the '(Y)Earbook, Volume One' cd (on Rastascan Records, 1991), which also features music from guitarist Henry Kaiser and percussionist Greg Bendian, among others.
He received his degree from Yale University and won a commission from Bang on a Can in 1999. Also in 1999, Plonsey toured Holland with Steve Horowitz' Mousetrap Quartet, alongside of reed players Peter van Bergen and Michael Moore. While in Holland, he engaged in one-off improvised music concerts with The Amsterdam String Trio and trumpeter Eric Boeren among others.
Two notable cds with John and Peter Hinds of 'Sun Ra Research' fame were released on the tiny Omni Sonic label in 1994 and 1995: 'Connections' and 'Another Curiosity Piece'. Typically, his infrequent recording output consists mostly of self produced material or extremely limited editions by connaisseur record labels like Limited Sedition.
A 1997 solo cd called 'Ivory Bill' on the American Music and Arts label highlights Plonsey's use of multiple saxophones, mostly recorded by overdubbing two or more saxophones in the recording studio. Plonsey's 1999 album 'open door and desire', released on the Italian Felmay label, can be seen as a further volume of solo saxophone experiments with occasionally added keyboards, played and programmed by Plonsey himself.
Upcoming productions include the opera Double Manifesto with Real Time Opera.
