Introducing Trombonist Dan Harkins

This article first appeared in Jersey Jazz Magazine.

Trombonist Urbie Green, who died in 2018 at the age of 92, was part of Woody Herman's Thundering Herd in the 1950s and won DownBeat's International Critics' Award for "New Star" in 1954. While revered among his colleagues, Green is not exactly a household name among the jazz listening public. But 22-year-old trombonist Dan Harkins lists him as one of his three jazz heroes—along with the giants, J.J. Johnson and Curtis Fuller.

"I really like Urbie Green a lot," Harkins said. "I think he's underrated. His sound on the trombone is a very unique and interesting one. You hear a lot of people who like to emulate J.J. and Curtis, but you don't have people who try to imitate Urbie. I just think his sound is really, really gorgeous. He played a really mean ballad and had incredible control of the instrument, too."

Harkins added, however, that J.J. Johnson "really did it best. He just had a great understanding of jazz and was able to use the trombone as a really effective instrument. Even now, for some modern and contemporary trombone players, it's still hard to do what he did."

Growing up in Mount Olive, NJ, Harkins started playing trombone at a very early age but wasn't necessarily drawn to jazz. However, when he was in seventh grade at Mount Olive Middle School, his band director, Darrell Hendricks, told him the school was trying to start a jazz program. "Would you be interested in doing that?" Hendricks asked Harkins.

The answer was, "yes," and Harkins recalled, "I just really began to enjoy playing jazz. Darrell was my first private lesson trombone teacher. He influenced me a lot." Said Hendricks, "Dan really became passionate about playing, and he started learning about the history of the music."

At 12:15 p.m. on September 14, Harkins will be playing trombone with the Montclair State University Jazz Band on the Uptown Stage at the Montclair (NJ) Jazz Festival.. The band will be directed by Oscar Perez, MSU Coordinator of the Jazz Studies Program, and will feature two special guests, vibraphonist Steve Nelson and guitarist Dave Stryker.

According to Perez: "Dan is an old soul in a young person. He has a quiet confidence and a respect for the history of the trombone." While in high school, in addition to the music program in the Mount Olive School District, Harkins was part of the New Jersey Youth Symphony Jazz Orchestra, then directed by alto saxophonist Julius Tolentino, Director of the Jazz Program at Livingston's Newark Academy. "I really looked up to Julius Tolentino," he said. "I thought he was a great educator." Tolentino remembered that, "It was a pleasure working with Dan during his formative years. He had some doubts about his abilities when he was younger like we all did. I wanted to make sure he knew how talented he was back then, and, if he put the work in, he would excel. I'm so happy to see him continue to grow as a person and a musician."

At Montclair State, Harkins has studied with trombonist Mike Boschen, who has "been impressed by how emotionally connected to the music he is and how expressive he is as a musician. Throughout our time together, he has shown his dedication by putting in the consistent hard work that is necessary to become a top-level trombonist. Dan continues making progress as an artist and in his ability to express his music clearly."

Hendricks said Harkins has been a catalyst at Mount Olive, paving the way for other student jazz musicians. One of them, trumpeter Alvaro Caravaca, was selected to play in the Carnegie Hall NYO Jazz Orchestra last year and is now a Jazz Studies major at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. At the New Jersey Jazz Society Jersey Jazz LIVE! concert in August 2022 at the Madison (NJ) Community Arts Center, Caravaca led a Rising Stars opening act, which included alto saxophonist Ginger Meyer from Mendham, NJ, bassist Sam Konin from Lawrenceville, NJ, and drummer Mecadon McCune from Newark. In March 2023, the JJL Rising Stars opening act was led by another Mount Olive High School student musician, tenor saxophonist/clarinetist Gabe Serna, who won a Gold rating in the Highly Competitive Division of the Sparta (NJ) High School Jazz Festival. The members of Serna's quintet were all from Mount Olive High School: trombonist Alex Maricahl, guitarist Ange Ahart, drummer Nate Miller, and bassist Sydney Goureia. Harkins, who will be graduating next year from Montclair State, said, "I definitely want jazz to be part of my future. I'd love to be playing jazz consistently, but I don't necessarily want that to be my entire future. I like playing classical music, and I also really like playing some brass band stuff. Sometimes, you hear pop/rock stuff with horn sections. I like playing that. Anything that gives me an opportunity to play trombone I pretty much enjoy." Currently, Harkins is part of a New Jersey pop/rock band called Street Hassle. Founded as a four-piece band in 1984, Street Hassle evolved into 10-piece band with a heavy emphasis on horns in 1992. The repertoire is a combination of swing with classic rock, country, and soul and covers classics from bands such as Chicago and Sly & the Family Stone. In September, the band is performing at the Fireman's Carnival in Boonton, NJ; The River Grille in Chatham, NJ; the Feast of St. Rose of Lima in East Hanover, NJ; and the Fall Festival Street Fair in Parsippany, NJ.

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