Biography

Since 1980 pianist/composer Dan Siegel has been forging a creative and idiosyncratic path through contemporary jazz, film and television music. 1980's Nite Ride and 1981's Hot Spot his first two albums, appeared on Inner City (the latter topped the jazz charts); they showcased his unique ideas about expanding the boundaries of "smooth jazz" to embrace and enfold new age, pop, world music, soundtrack music, and funk. In 1983, he released a pioneering meld of contemporary jazz-funk and electronic music on Another Time, Another Place in collaboration with percussionist Alex Acuña and bassist/electronicist Patrick O'Hearn; it has subsequently been sampled by many hip hop and EDM producers. The influential Northern Nights followed in 1987. 1991's Going Home for Epic wed jazz to South African township pop and folk. 1995's Hemispheres seamlessly integrated jazz with rhythms, melodies, and textures from Brazilian, Caribbean and Latin musics. 2009's funky Sphere marked the debut release from Dan Siegel Music; it was followed in 2014 by the widely acclaimed Indigo. 2018's Origins combined jazz, funk, film music, and rock. Siegel issued Faraway Place, his 22nd album, in 2021. Born in Seattle and raised in Eugene, OR, Siegel started taking piano lessons at age eight and was fronting a rock band as a guitarist at 12. After receiving a degree in composition from the University of Oregon, he attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston. In 1979, well-known independent jazz label Inner City Records signed the young keyboardist, releasing 1980's Nite Ride, which featured guitarist Lee Ritenour. Siegel's second album for Inner City, 1981's Hot Spot, was more successful. It topped the jazz album charts and spent ten weeks there. That same year he issued Oasis for Japan's Baybridge label. In 1983 Siegel relocated to Los Angeles to pursue film and television work, as well as a more active recording career. He released a well-received self- titled effort for Elektra in 1982 and Reflections, his debut for Pausa the following year. With Patrick O'Hearn and percussionist Alex Acuña, he released Another Time, Another Place in 1984, a groundbreaking meld of jazz, new age, and electronic music. In 1985, Siegel released the charting On The Edge, his final date for Pausa, followed by Tropical Breeze for Japan's Overseas Records. In addition to releasing his own recordings and doing session work, Siegel spent half the eighties composing TV and film scores. He wrote the score for the cult films Reform School Girls and Happy Hour (1986), and the TV news series, Hard Copy (1987). Between 1986 and 1991, he composed the forecast music for the Weather Channel and worked as musical director and conductor on the late night CBS TV show, Overtime... with Pat O'Brien (1990). Siegel has played on numerous TV and film projects, including the Oscar-winning film The Usual Suspects. Siegel signed a solo deal with Epic in 1986 and released Short Stories. The date showcases the beginning of his evolution away from fusion toward contemporary (or "smooth") jazz. That year he founded the jazz-funk supergroup Birds Of A Feather with Acuña, Richard Elliot, Carl Verheyen, John Robinson, and Neil Stubenhaus and released their eponymously titled debut in 1987. The same year Siegel played piano on the self-titled outing by Future Prospect, an all-star fusion project that also included guitarist Grant Geissman. He also released a pair of solo outings: Future Prospect for jazz indie Optimism and Northern Nights for CBS Associated. The latter album was a lodestone reference point for contemporary jazz recordings over the next decade. Late One Night -- featuring Birds Of A Feather and many others -- appeared in 1989. In 1991 Siegel released the stellar Going Home for Epic. Its lineup included vocalist Kenny Rankin, bassists Brian Bromberg and Alex Al, guitarist Robert Bacon, percussionist Lenny Castro, drummer Dave Hooper, and saxophonists Boney James and Jeff Kashiwa. It marked the first time Siegel actively allowed the influence of South African township music and Brazilian rhythms into his music. He followed with The Getaway for indie Sin-Drome Records in 1993, a small group jazz-funk outing that also made use of Brazilian music. The second Birds Of A Feather outing titled Above The Clouds, appeared in 1994. By the time Siegel released 1995's widely acclaimed Hemispheres, he had inextricably woven Caribbean and Latin rhythms and textures with those of South and West Africa as well as Brazil into his lyrical brand of contemporary jazz. Stand Together, the third and final outing from Birds Of A Feather was released in 1997. Siegel concluded the 20th century with urban-flavored jazz-pop outing Clairvoyance for Countdown in 1998. In 2000, Epic released the compilation Along The Way: The Best Of Dan Siegel, and it reached the jazz album charts. Meanwhile, the pianist was busy doing session work and touring. He released the live Key of Joy for Japan's M&I label. He joined the roster of Southern California's Native Language Music for Inside Out. That album that marked a formal return to smooth, funky, contemporary jazz. The title track, "Crossroads" and "This Time Around," all registered airplay while the album charted. Siegel went organic for 2006's Departure. Also on Native Language Music, the set offered 11 new compositionss performed on acoustic piano with a band that included bassist and co-producer Bromberg, drummers/percussionists Lenny Castro and Vinnie Colaiuta, saxophonist Bob Sheppard, and vocalist Bill Cantos, plus a selectively utilized string ensemble. Its single "Street Talk" spent most of the year on the smooth jazz charts. In 2008, Native Language Music issued Fables by the Dan Siegel Project. 2009's acclaimed, pristinely recorded longplayer Sphere marked the inaugural release on Dan Siegel Music. In addition to Sheppard, it included contributions from saxophonists Tom Scott and Gary Meek. It would be five years before Siegel followed it up with Indigo. An impeccably recorded cross between contemporary jazz and staightahead postbop, the set's title track spent more than 20 weeks inside the top 20 on the smooth jazz songs chart. In 2019 Siegel returned to slicker climes with Origins, a polished set that crisscrossed contemporary jazz, silky funk, and lithe rock, with breezy Latin, Andalusian, and Brazilian rhythmic grooves. Its single "After All," spent more than 23 weeks on the charts. Given 2020's COVID-19 pandemic and its resultant global quarantine, Siegel remotely assembled a band to record Faraway Place, his 22nd album. All tracks were demoed and developed rhythmically by drummers Vinnie Colaiuta, and Steve Gadd at East West Studios in LA. These were the only sessions Siegel was physically present for. He sent files of what they did to the other musicians he chose: saxophonist Eric Marienthal, trumpeter/trombonist Lee Thornburg, guitarist Allen Hinds, acoustic bassist Bromberg, electric bassists Abraham Laboriel and Dwyane "Smitty" Smith, percussionist Lenny Castro, and Brazilian vocalist Rogerio Jardim. Siegel later added his piano --as well as an accordion on four cuts -- building out his mix with the rhythm tracks as guideposts for his melodies, then slowly added multiple layers of instrumentation to achieve a maximal result. Faraway Place was released in August 2021. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi