Eddie Daniels

Eddie Daniels
Jazz clarinetist Eddie Daniels performing live in concert in New Haven, CT on September 14, 2007.
Background information
Born	(1941-10-19) October 19, 1941
Origin	New York City, New York, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Instruments	Clarinet, saxophones, flute, piccolo
Years active	1950s–present

Eddie Daniels (born October 19, 1941) is an American musician and composer. Although he is best known as a jazz clarinet player, he has also played alto and tenor saxophones, as well as classical music on the clarinet.

Biography

Daniels was born in New York City to a Jewish family, and his mother emigrated from Romania.^[1] He was raised in the Manhattan Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. He became interested in jazz as a teenager when he was impressed by the musicians accompanying singers, such as Frank Sinatra, on recordings. Daniels' first instrument was the alto saxophone, and by the age of 15 he had played at the Newport Jazz Festival youth competition.^[2] At the age of 13, he was also playing clarinet.

Daniels has toured and recorded with a variety of bands, small groups and orchestras, and appeared on television many times. Since the 1980s, he has focused mainly on the clarinet. In 1989, he won a Grammy Award for his contribution to the Roger Kellaway arrangement of Memos from Paradise. He has also played with artists such as Freddie Hubbard(1969), Richard Davis, Don Patterson, and Bucky Pizzarelli.

Early on, Eddie Daniels played with The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra,^[2] and most recently has been featured as a guest artist with Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, on the album Swingin' For The Fences, the first album by the band. He featured in Goodwin's arrangement of Mozart's 40th symphony in G minor on XXL, and on the Big Phat Band's album The Phat Pack on "Under The Wire".

In 2009 the Swiss composer and saxophonist Daniel Schnyder composed a Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra called MATRIX 21 for Eddie Daniels and dedicated it to him. It was commissioned by the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne (Switzerland) and world-premiered in Lausanne under its artistic director Christian Zacharias in January 2010. The American premiere took place at the Crested Butte Music Festival on July 18, 2010, under the direction of music director Jens Georg Bachmann.

Discography

As leader

• First Prize! (Prestige, 1966)
• Memos From Paradise (GRP, 1988)
• Nepenthe with John Patitucci, Chuck Loeb and Dave Weckl (GRP, 1990)
• Brief Encounter (Muse, 2006)
• Breakthrough featuring the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ettore Stratta conducting (GRP, 1985)

As sideman

With George Benson and Joe Farrell

• Benson & Farrell (CTI, 1976)

With Richard Davis

• Muses for Richard Davis (MPS, 1969)

With Johnny Hammond

• Higher Ground (Kudu, 1973)

With Billy Joel

• alto saxophone on "Big Man on Mulberry Street" on album The Bridge (1986)

With Yusef Lateef

• 10 Years Hence (Atlantic, 1974)

With Airto Moreira

• Virgin Land (Salvation, 1974)

With Don Patterson

• The Return of Don Patterson (Muse, 1972)

With Dave Pike

• The Doors of Perception (Vortex, 1966 [1970])

References