Eddie Daniels
Born October 19, 1941
New York City
Genres Jazz, classical
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Clarinet
Eddie Daniels (born October 19, 1941) is an American musician and composer. Although he is best known as a jazz clarinetist, he has also played alto and tenor saxophones, as well as classical music on clarinet.
Daniels was born in New York City to a Jewish family, and 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.
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 Richard Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Don Patterson, and Bucky Pizzarelli. For six years, Daniels was a member of The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra.
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’s album The Phat Pack.
In 2009, Swiss composer and saxophonist Daniel Schnyder composed a Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra called MATRIX 21 for 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
1966 First Prize! (Prestige)
1968 This Is New (Columbia)
1973 Flower for All Seasons (Choice)
1973 Blue Bossa (Candid)
1977 Brief Encounter (Muse)
1978 Morning Thunder (Columbia)
1986 Breakthrough (GRP)
1987 To Bird with Love (GRP)
1988 Memos from Paradise (GRP)
1989 Blackwood (GRP)
1990 Nepenthe (GRP)
1991 This Is Now (GRP)
1992 Benny Rides Again (GRP)
1993 Brahms: Clarinet Quintet, Op. 115 (Reference)
1993 Under the Influence (GRP)
1994 Real Time (Chesky)
1995 The Five Seasons (Shanachie)
1997 Beautiful Love (Shanachie)
1999 Blues for Sabine (EMI)
2000 Swing Low Sweet Clarinet (Shanachie)
2004 Crossing the Line (Summit)
2005 Mean What You Say (IPO)
2006 Beautiful Love (Shanachie)
2007 Homecoming: Eddie Daniels Live at the Iridium (IPO)
2009 A Duet of One (IPO)
2012 Live at the Library of Congress (IPO)
2013 Duke at the Roadhouse: Live in Santa Fe (IPO)
2016 Street Wind
As sideman
With The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra
1966 Presenting Joe Williams and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra
1967 Live at the Village Vanguard
1968 Monday Night
1969 Central Park North
1969 Swiss Radio Days Jazz Series, Vol. 4: Beasle, 1969
1970 Consummation
1970 Jones & Lewis
1970 Village Vanguard Live Sessions
1970 Village Vanguard Live Sessions, Vol. 3
2006 Live on Tour Switzerland
With Bob James
1975 Two
1976 Three
1977 BJ 4
1977 Heads
1980 H
1981 All Around the Town
1981 Sign of the Times
1982 Hands Down
1983 The Genie: Themes & Variations from the TV Series Taxi
1984 12
With Freddie Hubbard
1969 The Hub of Hubbard
1992 Double Exposure: Freddie Hubbard & Louis Armstrong
With Eric Gale
1977 Ginseng Woman
1978 Multiplication
1979 Part of You
With Jimmy McGriff
1977 Tailgunner
1978 Outside Lookin’ In
With Billy Joel
1982 The Nylon Curtain
1983 An Innocent Man
1986 The Bridge
With Dave Grusin
1987 Cinemagic
1989 The Fabulous Baker Boys
1991 The Gershwin Connection
With Don Sebesky
1984 Moving Lines
1998 I Remember Bill
With Arturo Sandoval
1996 Swingin’
2012 Dear Diz (Every Day I Think of You)
With others
The Doors of Perception, Dave Pike (Vortex, 1966 [1970])
Muses for Richard Davis, Richard Davis (MPS, 1969)
The Return of Don Patterson, Don Patterson (Muse, 1972)
Higher Ground, Johnny Hammond (Kudu, 1973)
10 Years Hence, Yusef Lateef (Atlantic, 1974)
Virgin Land, Airto Moreira (Salvation, 1974)
Benson & Farrell, George Benson and Joe Farrell (CTI, 1976)
1976 Living Inside Your Love, Earl Klugh
1977 Bucky’s Bunch, Bucky Pizzarelli
1978 All Things Beautiful, Jimmy Ponder
1978 Angie, Angela Bofill
1978 Simplicity of Expression, Billy Cobham
1978 The Captain’s Journey, Lee Ritenour
1980 Inflation, Stanley Turrentine
1981 GB, George Benson
1989 The French Collection, Fred Hersch
1990 Cotton Connection, Teresa Brewer
1994 Life’s a Lesson, Ben Sidran
1996 The Music Inside, Chuck Loeb
1998 One for My Baby, Joe Williams
2001 Swingin’ for the Fences, Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band
2003 Sing! Sing! Sing!, John Pizzarelli
2004 A Man and His Music, Claus Ogerman
2007 Hand of Fire, O’Donel Levy
2008 Live at the Jazz Standard, Roger Kellaway
2010 Moody 4B, James Moody