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Dan Moretti

Multi-styled Saxophonist

About Me

Short Biography

Yamaha and Vandoren Artist, Saxophonist, Recording Artist and Professor, Dan Moretti's musical career has spanned the last 30 years. He started playing tenor sax and clarinet at the age of 12 and the following year was included in the all-state Rhode Island Youth Stage Band where he played the Newport Jazz Festival in 1966. In 1985, his first jazz recording ”Sometime Inside” was released internationally on Black Hawk records. In regard to performing, Dan has toured throughout the United States, Europe, Africa, and Russia, and has traveled as far east as India performing and presenting clinics and seminars. His musical influences range from jazz and classical to funk and Latin jazz. Since the late 70s, he has performed or recorded across the spectrum of music which has included artists such as Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, Mike Stern, Dave Samuels, Dave Liebman, Marvin Stamm, and The Crusaders. He feels as comfortable playing straight-ahead jazz as well as Latin, funk and soul.

Dan is a full time Professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston and has been on the faculty since 1996. He was given the schools Curriculum Development Award in 2006 for his popular on-campus course “Groove Writing”. Dan is also on the faculty of Berkleemusic.com - Berklee's distance learning school where he teaches an online version of this course called “Arranging Contemporary Styles” to students all over the world. In 2008, his book “Producing and Mixing Contemporary Jazz” was released on Hal Leonard- Berklee Press. In 2009, Dan was awarded the prestigious MacColl-Johnson fellowship for jazz composers, which enabled him to write and produce a project with an Italian traditional orchestra called Piccola Orchestra La Viola (POLV), bringing together his musical and Italian roots.

From 2002 until the present, Dan has been active internationally and the states performing with artists like Nile Rodgers and Chic and performing his own music and presenting seminars in Italy, Turkey, England, Belguim, Holland, France, and Switzerland. A highlight was in the summer of 2006 he also had the opportunity to perform in the house band at the 40th anniversary of The Montreux Jazz Festival tribute to Atlantic records with Nile Rodgers, which included Dan writing charts and backing up, Robert Plant, Stevie Nicks, Chaka Khan, Kid Rock, George Duke, Solomon Burke, and Steve Winwood.

In 2009 to the present Dan traveled to Quito-Ecuador, China, Kenya-Africa, Italy, England, Amsterdam, Belgium, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and Gibraltar where in June, 2012 and October 2013 he headlined the Gibraltar International Jazz Festival and Jazz Workshops. In 2011 with the culmination of 2 years work and the MacColl- Johnson Jazz composers fellowship Dodicilune Records released the CD Dan Moretti and The Piccola Orchestra La Viola which was released in Italy and throughout Europe. Also in the summer of 2011 was filled with concerts in Italy and a special reunion with Dan's grandfather's birth town in Monticelli De Esperia in Italy. From 2009 the Tres Muse charted #17 CMJ November, and also in 2009 The Foundations CD with Curt Ramm - Trumpet (Bruce Springstein) and Bill Cunliffe - Piano (Grammy Winner) charted #22 CMJ. Recently toured the world Asia and Europe with Nile Rogers 12-13 “Dan Moretti and the Hammond Boys” Live at Chan's SOUL-JAZZ 2014 ”Dan Moretti”' Jazz Quartet and String Quartet “Invoke” 2018 Watch for new release post Covid.

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My Jazz Story

I love jazz because it's the best form of co-operative non-verbal communication.

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