Dan Siegel

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 <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Inner+City%22">Inner City</a> (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 <a href="spotify:artist:1jRpqsaOBwxfaaHFIaSeek">Alex Acuña</a> and bassist/electronicist <a href="spotify:artist:6T7JFvP8qvpOia4q43OmbJ">Patrick O'Hearn</a>; it has subsequently been sampled by many hip-hop and EDM producers. The influential Northern Nights followed in 1987. 1991's Going Home, on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Epic%22">Epic</a>, 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 <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Dan+Siegel+Music%22">Dan Siegel Music</a>; it was followed in 2014 by the widely acclaimed Indigo. 2018's Origins combined jazz, funk, film music, and rock. <a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a> issued Faraway Place, his 22nd album, in 2021. In August 2024, he released Unity, a study in groove that featured his trio buoyed by a <a href="spotify:artist:72ktMty33X1LsIzHdRr0U5">Tom Scott</a>-led horn section and six guest guitarists.

Born in Seattle and raised in Eugene, Oregon, <a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a> 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 <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Inner+City+Records%22">Inner City Records</a> signed the young keyboardist, releasing 1980's Nite Ride, which featured guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:1nDqTUspmq8IXhcEZT93iq">Lee Ritenour</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a>'s second album for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Inner+City%22">Inner City</a>, 1981's Hot Spot, was more successful. It topped the jazz album charts and spent ten weeks there. That same year he issued Oasis on Japan's <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Baybridge%22">Baybridge</a> label. In 1983 <a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a> 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 on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Elektra%22">Elektra</a> in 1982 and Reflections, his debut on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Pausa%22">Pausa</a>, the following year. With <a href="spotify:artist:6T7JFvP8qvpOia4q43OmbJ">Patrick O'Hearn</a> and percussionist <a href="spotify:artist:1jRpqsaOBwxfaaHFIaSeek">Alex Acuña</a>, he released Another Time, Another Place in 1984, a groundbreaking meld of jazz, new age, and electronic music. In 1985, <a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a> released the charting On the Edge, his final date for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Pausa%22">Pausa</a>, followed by Tropical Breeze on Japan's <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Overseas+Records%22">Overseas Records</a>.

In addition to releasing his own recordings and doing session work, <a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a> spent half of the '80s 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). <a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a> has played on numerous TV and film projects, including the Oscar-winning film The Usual Suspects.

<a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a> signed a solo deal with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Epic%22">Epic</a> 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 <a href="spotify:artist:7yyIbpE3LaY4VDGEGM1ldl">Birds of a Feather</a> with <a href="spotify:artist:1jRpqsaOBwxfaaHFIaSeek">Acuña</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6eLlZ44VYhHnvuRet0qTuH">Richard Elliot</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3BpUUAvJhkvkpYI6nQ7OUf">Carl Verheyen</a>, John Robinson, and Neil Stubenhaus; they released their eponymously titled debut in 1987. The same year <a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a> played piano on the self-titled outing by Future Prospect, an all-star fusion project that also included guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:6l8exCTUlHOdJsFTG9uU2n">Grant Geissman</a>. He also released a pair of solo outings: Future Prospect on jazz indie <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Optimism%22">Optimism</a> and Northern Nights on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22CBS+Associated%22">CBS Associated</a>. The latter album was a lodestone reference point for contemporary jazz recordings over the next decade. Late One Night -- featuring <a href="spotify:artist:7yyIbpE3LaY4VDGEGM1ldl">Birds of a Feather</a> and many others -- appeared in 1989.

In 1991 <a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a> released the stellar Going Home for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Epic%22">Epic</a>. Its lineup included vocalist <a href="spotify:artist:1x82CGsqYeEgaL2ZrW7Khm">Kenny Rankin</a>, bassists <a href="spotify:artist:6iyIbAydXPDNz1yYFl7A9h">Brian Bromberg</a> and Alex Al, guitarist Robert Bacon, percussionist Lenny Castro, drummer Dave Hooper, and saxophonists <a href="spotify:artist:1sBRcMH8DDR8Nsk2RoJmjS">Boney James</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:7GVLgt36lHtKdbxooYQhbW">Jeff Kashiwa</a>. It marked the first time <a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a> actively allowed the influence of South African township music and Brazilian rhythms into his music. He followed with The Getaway for indie <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Sin-Drome+Records%22">Sin-Drome Records</a> in 1993, a small group jazz-funk outing that also made use of Brazilian music. The second <a href="spotify:artist:7yyIbpE3LaY4VDGEGM1ldl">Birds of a Feather</a> outing, Above the Clouds, appeared in 1994. By the time <a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a> 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 <a href="spotify:artist:7yyIbpE3LaY4VDGEGM1ldl">Birds of a Feather</a> was released in 1997. <a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a> concluded the 20th century with the urban-flavored jazz-pop outing Clairvoyance on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Countdown%22">Countdown</a> in 1998.

In 2000, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Epic%22">Epic</a> 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 <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22M%26I%22">M&I</a> label. He joined the roster of Southern California's <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Native+Language+Music%22">Native Language Music</a> 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. <a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a> went organic for 2006's Departure. Also on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Native+Language+Music%22">Native Language Music</a>, the set offered 11 new compositions performed on acoustic piano with a band that included bassist and co-producer <a href="spotify:artist:6iyIbAydXPDNz1yYFl7A9h">Bromberg</a>, drummers/percussionists Lenny Castro and <a href="spotify:artist:3JE0rhvpwUB5mK2OgUnWlO">Vinnie Colaiuta</a>, saxophonist <a href="spotify:artist:0ilsxNHgUGAFmA5TfOOUf4">Bob Sheppard</a>, and vocalist <a href="spotify:artist:6WjNgC678BdeXKqJ1TrS9D">Bill Cantos</a>, plus a selectively utilized string ensemble. Its single "Street Talk" spent most of the year on the smooth jazz charts. In 2008, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Native+Language+Music%22">Native Language Music</a> issued Fables by the <a href="spotify:artist:41uhKipkiEUv3umRvFyavF">Dan Siegel Project</a>.

2009's acclaimed, pristinely recorded long-player Sphere marked the inaugural release on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Dan+Siegel+Music%22">Dan Siegel Music</a>. In addition to <a href="spotify:artist:0ilsxNHgUGAFmA5TfOOUf4">Sheppard</a>, it included contributions from saxophonists <a href="spotify:artist:72ktMty33X1LsIzHdRr0U5">Tom Scott</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1oW8fwdYka8s6DxdnWl0L1">Gary Meek</a>. It would be five years before <a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a> followed it up with Indigo. An impeccably recorded cross between contemporary jazz and straight-ahead post-bop, the set's title track spent more than 20 weeks inside the Top 20 on the smooth jazz songs chart. In 2019 <a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a> 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, <a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a> remotely assembled a band to record Faraway Place, his 22nd album. All tracks were demoed and developed rhythmically by drummers <a href="spotify:artist:3JE0rhvpwUB5mK2OgUnWlO">Vinnie Colaiuta</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:42zoEf7IcpDSvdQjcrSpHl">Steve Gadd</a> at East West Studios in .LA. These were the only sessions <a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a> was physically present for. He sent files of what they did to the other musicians he chose: saxophonist <a href="spotify:artist:4wmaum7AmnVV5riHLEWvaK">Eric Marienthal</a>, trumpeter/trombonist Lee Thornburg, guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:3GxEPmRiVDifXYi0mswBAK">Allen Hinds</a>, acoustic bassist <a href="spotify:artist:6iyIbAydXPDNz1yYFl7A9h">Bromberg</a>, electric bassists Abraham Laboriel and Dwyane "Smitty" Smith, percussionist Lenny Castro, and Brazilian vocalist <a href="spotify:artist:4IgAPuNtUNVc6y8UT4FJdU">Rogerio Jardim</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a> 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 adding multiple layers of instrumentation to achieve a maximal result. Faraway Place was released in August 2021.

<a href="spotify:artist:09y7wEuZOxZyYi8suU6NEo">Siegel</a> always placed weight on groove as a great communicator for his compositions and interplay. In August 2024, 20 years after drummer Oscar Seaton played on Inside Out, he re-teamed with the keyboardist and brought along his rhythm section bandmate from <a href="spotify:artist:7IbO8NvxclKsk7WTOZ42bv">Terence Blanchard</a>'s E Collective, bassist David "DJ" Ginyard, to pursue an album of contemporary jazz grooves. The trio was joined by a horn section led by saxophonist <a href="spotify:artist:72ktMty33X1LsIzHdRr0U5">Tom Scott</a>, alongside contributions from six guitarists including Dean Parks, Michael Miller, and Rob Bacon. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi