Home » Member Page
Daniel Graham
Film director, screenwriter and sometime jazz critic...
About Me
Abiding passions have always been jazz and cinema. Didn't ever make it as a trumpet player, just starting now to
make a mark in cinema (I hope). Have written on jazz and cinema for many years, my other great passions are
classical music, architecture and Greek and Roman philosophy.
Have tried to meet as many jazz musicians as possible over the years, these include Henry Grimes, Johnny Griffin,
Sunny Murray, Andrew Cyrille, Andrew Hill, Charles Gayle and Pete King.
I hope to bring the sophistication and depth of expression of music, both jazz and classical, to the form and content of
cinema. Let's see what happens...
My Jazz Story
I love jazz because it is many things to many people all at the one time--sophisticated, plain-speaking, intellectual, emotional, raucous, refined, conservative, avant-garde. I was first exposed to jazz when I listened to my father's Prestige records featuring artists like Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus and Sonny Rollins. I met Henry Grimes in Haarlem (The Netherlands) in 2005 and have been inspired by his life and music since. The best show I ever attended was Andrew Hill, piano solo, Brisbane, 1994. The first jazz record I bought was Charles Mingus Live In Antibes 1960 with Bud Powell. My advice to new listeners...start with Bebop and progress from there, you'll likely catch everyone after this (and before)