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