Daniel Ian Smith and the Generations Ensemble
THE BLACK BOX Jazz in July
Performed by : Daniel Ian Smith and the Generations Ensemble
THE BLACK BOX Jazz in July presents Daniel Ian Smith and the Generations Ensemble. Daniel Ian Smith is a saxophonist, flutist, educator, and composer with over 30 years of professional experience. He is a Professor at the acclaimed Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA where he has taught for over 25 years. He is one of the most sought-after faculty members at Berklee and is a recipient of the Ted Pease Award for Excellence in Teaching.
In 1992, he founded Northwinds Jazz Productions to serve as the production company for his Jazz in the Sanctuary Concert Series, an independent record label (Big and Phat Jazz Productions), and his ensembles and touring projects. The three recordings by his ensemble The New World Jazz Composers Octet (NWJCO) have received rave reviews in DownBeat, JazzTimes, Cadence, ArtsFuse, and All About Jazz magazines.
As the recipient of the prestigious Uchida Fellowship in 1996 (from the Japan Foundation), Smith spent six months performing and lecturing throughout Japan as well as studying Japanese traditional music and culture. His group The Latin Side of Billy Strayhorn was a featured ensemble in 2015-16 at the JEN Convention in San Diego, CA, The Durango Jazz Festival in Durango, Mexico, The Berklee College of Music and the Discover Jazz Festival in Burlington, VT.
Daniel Ian Smith is at home in a variety of genres and is an accomplished performer on all saxophones as well as flutes and has performed with an impressive list of musicians/groups including Gloria Estefan, Donna Summer, The Temptations, Herb Reed and the Platters, Patti Lupone, The O’Jays, Don Rickles, Joan Rivers, Johnny Mathis, Sheila Jordan, Michael Abene, Pablo Ablanedo, Jack Walrath, John Lewis, Jimmy Giuffre, George Russell, Abe Laboriel, Jenny Scheinman, Fred Ho, Marty Ehrlich, Cecil Bridgewater, Juan Luis Guerra, Gary Valente, Bill Pierce, Ken Filliano, Bobby Shew, Phil Wilson, Steve Marcus, Joel Harrison, Artie Shaw Orchestra, John Pierce, Clark Tracy, Kazumi Watanabe, Eguie Castrillo, Oscar Stagnaro, Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra, The Boston Philharmonic, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, Jyoji Sawada, Barbara Kolb, Eric Stern, ALEA III, and many others Daniel is a Professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he has taught for over 25 years.
In 2010, Daniel founded the Hyde Park Jazz Festival in his then hometown of Hyde Park, MA. This daylong festival presented 8 seasons of Boston’s finest jazz groups such as The Jason Palmer Quintet, Noah Preminger, Mark Walker and the Rhythm of the Americas, Ron Reid and Sunsteel, Alonso Blanco, The Nick Grondin Ensemble, MIXCLA featuring Zahili Gonzalez Zamora,
The Bruce GertzTrio, Phil Sargent Quartet, and many others.
Smith currently leads several of his own ensembles including Daniel Ian Smith and the Generations Quintet, The New World Jazz Composers Octet, and The Latin Side of Billy Strayhorn.
With these groups and others, Smith has recorded and been featured on over 30 albums. Most recently he has been featured on widely acclaimed recordings with: Fernando Brandao, The Fernando Huergo Big Band, The Pablo Ablanedo Octet, The Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra, Brian McCarthy and the Better Angels of Our Nature, and Ron Reid and Sunsteel. Look for new recordings coming soon by his Generations Quintet, New World Jazz Composers Octet, and The Latin Side of Billy Strayhorn. Click here for a full discography.