Daniel Ellis Perez

Puerto Rican–American bassist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer Daniel Ellis Perez grounds his work in listening, responsibility, and a rigorous commitment to individual voice. Emerging organically as a bassist after beginning on guitar, he approaches the instrument as both a musical and ethical center, prioritizing time, feel, and deep attentiveness while engaging jazz as a language, lineage, and ethic rather than a style to be imitated. Born and raised in Chicago, his sound is shaped by the city’s contradictions and communal realities, drawing from Black American music, rock, and alternative forms to pursue meaning as much as form. Perez has performed extensively across Chicago and beyond, including multiple appearances with the Pharez Whitted Quintet at Andy's Jazz Club, The Green Mill, and Jazz Showcase, as well as collaborations with Ernest Dawkins on performances and tour dates spanning Buffalo, Detroit, and Chicago. He has appeared multiple times at the Chicago Jazz Festival and has performed repeatedly with the Northwestern Small Jazz Combos. Perez’s work often responds to contemporary social and political realities while engaging sacred narrative as a living framework shaped by humility and lived struggle.

Awards

• DownBeat 45th Annual Student Music Award (2022) — Outstanding Performance by a Small Jazz Combo (The Chicago High School for the Arts)
• Kiewit–Wang Scholarship (2023) — awarded through the Jazz Institute of Chicago

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