Eddie Daniels


Eddie Daniels is an American musician and composer. Although he is best known as a jazz clarinetist, he has also played saxophone and flute as well as classical music on clarinet.
WWW eddiedanielsclarinet.net

Early life, family and education

Daniels was born in New York City to a Jewish family. His mother emigrated from Romania. 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. At the age of 13 he was also playing clarinet, and by the age of 15 he had played at the Newport Jazz Festival youth competition.

Career

Daniels has toured and recorded with a variety of bands, small groups and orchestras, and appeared on television many times. He has played with Bucky Pizzarelli, Freddie Hubbard, Billy Joel, Don Patterson, and Richard Davis. DownBeat gave Daniels the New Star on Clarinet Award in 1968.
He was a member for six years of The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, playing tenor saxophone, clarinet and flute. On the album Presenting Joe Williams and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, his solo on "Evil Man Blues" was mistakenly credited to his colleague Joe Farrell.
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 worked with Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, on the album Swingin' for the Fences, the first album by the band. He was featured in Goodwin's arrangement of Mozart's 40th symphony in G minor on XXL and on the Big Phat Band album The Phat Pack.
In 2009, Swiss composer and saxophonist Daniel Schnyder composed MATRIX 21, a Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, for Daniels and dedicated it to him. It was commissioned by the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne 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

  • 1966 First Prize!
  • 1968 This Is New
  • 1973 Flower for All Seasons
  • 1973 Blue Bossa
  • 1977 Brief Encounter
  • 1978 Street Wind
  • 1980 Morning Thunder
  • 1986 Breakthrough
  • 1987 To Bird with Love
  • 1988 Memos from Paradise
  • 1989 Blackwood
  • 1990 Nepenthe
  • 1991 This Is Now
  • 1992 Benny Rides Again
  • 1993 Brahms: Clarinet Quintet, Op. 115
  • 1993 Under the Influence
  • 1994 Real Time
  • 1995 The Five Seasons
  • 1997 Beautiful Love
  • 1999 Blues for Sabine
  • 2000 Swing Low Sweet Clarinet
  • 2004 Crossing the Line
  • 2005 Mean What You Say
  • 2006 Beautiful Love
  • 2007 Homecoming: Eddie Daniels Live at the Iridium
  • 2009 A Duet of One
  • 2012 Live at the Library of Congress
  • 2013 Duke at the Roadhouse: Live in Santa Fe
  • 2017 Just Friends: Live at the Village Vangaurd
  • 2018 Heart of Brazil
  • 2020 ''Night Kisses''

As sideman

With The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra
With Bob James
With Eric Gale
  • 1977 Ginseng Woman
  • 1978 Multiplication
  • 1979 Part of You
With Jimmy McGriffTailgunner Outside Looking In
With Billy Joel
With Dave Grusin
With Don SebeskyMoving Lines I Remember Bill
With Arturo SandovalSwingin' Dear Diz (Every Day I Think of You)
With others