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Mike Dana
Member Since: 2014 | Location: Fresno | Page Views: 401 
About Me
Mike Dana: guitarist, composer, educator, mentor, perpetual student, world traveler.
Composer, guitarist, arranger, and educator Mike Dana has built a distinguished career spanning performance, composition, recording, and jazz education. A prolific composer with a deep affinity for large-ensemble writing, Mike's music combines sophisticated orchestration, melodic lyricism, love of the jazz tradition, and commitment to its future. His work reflects the perspective of a musician who has spent decades on the bandstand, in the recording studio, and in front of the classroom. Mike's musical journey began in California, where an early interest in piano quickly gave way to the irresistible appeal of the guitar. After hearing Wes Montgomery as a teenager, he immersed himself in jazz, performing in school ensembles and writing arrangements while still in high school. He went on to study composition at California State University, Fresno, where several of his works for jazz ensemble received awards and recognition. Encouragement from acclaimed composer Pat Williams further fueled Mike’s passion for writing, leading him to study scores and recordings with relentless curiosity. Along the way, he had the opportunity to study with guitar legend Joe Pass and attend Berklee College of Music, experiences that helped shape both his musical voice and artistic direction. As a guitarist, Mike has performed with an impressive roster of jazz artists, including Cannonball Adderley, Gary Burton, Ingrid Jensen, Bob Mintzer, Eric Marienthal, Bobby Shew, Wayne Bergeron, Clark Terry, and Ernie Watts, among many others. Early in his career, he worked extensively as a freelance guitarist, orchestrator, producer, session musician, and composer for television commercials and video games. These diverse experiences sharpened his skills as a composer and arranger while developing the versatility and professionalism that continue to define his work. For more than three decades, Mike served as Director of Jazz Studies at Fresno City College, where he directed award-winning ensembles and taught courses in arranging, composition, jazz theory, improvisation, jazz history, and music business. During this time, his reputation as a composer continued to grow. His works have been published by leading jazz publishers, including Kendor Music, Alfred/Belwin, UNC Jazz Press, eJazzLines, and iJazzMusic. He also founded the Jazz Composers Orchestra, an ensemble bringing together many of Central California's finest performers and educators to perform original works and contemporary jazz compositions. Since 2015, Mike has been a faculty member with Jazz Education Abroad, teaching and performing throughout Lebanon, Cyprus, China, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Career highlights include performances with Robin Eubanks and Antonio Hart, as well as serving as a U.S. State Department Cultural Envoy to Thailand as a member of the Allison Miller Quartet. Mike’s growing profile as a composer led to invitations to adjudicate festivals, conduct honor ensembles, present at national and state conferences, serve as artist-in-residence, and teach at summer jazz programs throughout the United States and abroad. His compositions have been commissioned by organizations including the Tokyo Big Band, the Jazz Education Network, the Stanford Jazz Orchestra, the Taipei Jazz Orchestra, Azusa Pacific University, and numerous outstanding school and university ensembles. Several of these works are featured on his Origin Records release, “Farther (still).” This album includes seven original compositions, plus two arrangements of jazz standards. In Mike’s words, “This is the music that really reflects who I am, where I came from, and what I am reaching for. I wrote with specific players in mind, hoping that they would say yes when I asked them to play on this recording. Fortunately, they all did! It was so liberating to write for such fantastic players, and so gratifying to hear it recorded and mixed so beautifully.” Today, Mike enjoys the freedom to focus on the pursuits that first inspired him as a young musician: composing, performing, practicing, and continually expanding his musical horizons. He maintains an active schedule of commissions, contributes new works to major publishers each year, performs regularly with the Jazz Composers Orchestra and the New Organ Trio, and continues to teach at festivals and jazz workshops. Whether writing for large jazz ensembles, performing on guitar, or mentoring the next generation of musicians, Mike Dana remains dedicated to the creative possibilities of jazz and its power of music to connect people across cultures and generations.
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This page was last updated on 2026-08-24.
