Home » Member Page

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.

My Jazz Story

Jazz, and Big Band music in particular, is my life's passion. I heard a Tommy Dorsey record when I was very young, and became hooked on the Big Band sound at that very moment. It was like a lightening bolt hitting me; I knew it was what I wanted to do with my life! I am a bandleader, trombonist, arranger, educator, and historian. As bandleader: -The Vaughn Monroe Orchestra/The Vaughn Monroe Show: honoring legendary singer/bandleader Vaughn Monroe with a full 1940s variety show -Dan Gabel and The Abletones: authentic 18-piece Big Band -The High Society Orchestra: Hot Jazz of the Roaring 20's -Jazz Ultimate: swinging traditional jazz in tribute to Jack Teagarden and Bobby Hackett -Abletones Combo: small group jazz and swing As sideman: -The Cab Calloway Orchestra (2013-present; jazz trombone and occasional stage/road manager) -The Glenn Miller Orchestra (2008-2009 world tour, occasional sub: 2015-present) -The Hal McIntyre Orchestra (2014-present) -BJ Thomas (2017-present; trombonist and horn section sub-contractor) -The Capitol Center Jazz Orchestra (2016-present; trombonist and arranger) -Amity Street Brass Quintet (2017-present; trombonist and arranger) -The Wolverine Jazz band (2012-present; trombone sub, vocalist) -The Vintage Vocal Quartet (2019-present; vocalist, trombone, trumpet) -Theatre Orchestras: The Company Theatre (Norwell, MA), Theatre By the Sea (Naraganssett, RI), Ogunquit Playhouse (Ogunquit, ME), Stoneham Theatre (Stoneham, MA), The Hanover Theatre (Worcester, MA). As composer/arranger: -University of Iowa (2011, 2014 commissions) -University of Massachusetts (2008, 2010, 2015, 2017 commissions) -Amherst College (2009, 2012 commissions) -Holy Name High School (2016, 2018, 2019 commissions) -Torrington Symphony Orchestra (2012, 2013 commissions) -Jolly Kopperschmidts German Band (2012, 2014 commissions) -New England Jazz Banjo Ensemble (2012, 2013 commissions) -Havre de Grace High School (MD) (2019 commission) -The Glenn Miller Orchestra (2009, 2014, 2016 commissions) -The Cab Calloway Orchestra (2017 commission) I am also proud to be the CEO and President of the American Big Band Preservation Society, Inc (ABBPS), a 501(c)3 non-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, performance, and perpetuation of Big Band music.