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Dan Gabel
Dan Gabel is a passionate musician - trombonist, bandleader, arranger, and educator - dedicated to the preservation, perpetuation, and performance of jazz!
About Me
Hailed by the Boston Globe as “the real deal, [a bandleader] that looks and sounds like the
1940s.” Dan Gabel is a trombonist, arranger, bandleader, historian, and educator. He formed his
first band in the eighth grade, and has dedicated his life and career to promoting quality live
music. Gabel leads several of his own musical groups, including Dan Gabel and The Abletones
(authentic 18-piece Big Band), The High Society Orchestra (11-piece Hot Dance of the
Roaring 20s), plus various smaller groups and a Brass Quintet. He has recorded and produced six
full-length albums, and appears on countless other recordings. In 2017, Dan Gabel was chosen
as
the musical director of the Vaughn Monroe Orchestra, and created The Vaughn Monroe Show, a
24-piece production transporting audiences to the 1940s.
Gabel has toured internationally with the Glenn Miller Orchestra for over a year, as well as
with the Tommy Dorsey, Cab Calloway, and Hal McIntyre Orchestras. He recently has been
featured at the 2016 and 2017 Montreal Jazz Festivals, the Newport Mansions “Art Deco
Festival,” and in several regional musicals. Considered an expert on jazz, big bands, and the
Great American Songbook, Gabel has lectured at colleges, universities, and special events across
the country including Harvard, MIT, Clark, and Indiana University.
Since 2012 he has served as the President and CEO of the American Big Band Preservation
Society. Dan Gabel holds two bachelor’s degrees from UMass Amherst in Political Science and
in Jazz History through BDIC (Bachelor’s Degree with Individual Concentration)
Commonwealth Honors College. He received a Masters Degree from New England
Conservatory in trombone performance.
As an educator, Gabel served as the Music Department Director at Holy Name High School for
six years (2014-2020). He founded and directs the Jazz Program at Worcester Youth Orchestras,
Inc. Dan Gabel is currently working on a biography and a musical on bandleader Vaughn Monroe.
He looks forward to a career of preserving, promoting, and performing music for audiences
everywhere.
