Interview with Danny Green


Q: Please tell me something about yourself. You've started quite early with music at the tender age of five. How pushy were your parents back then?

Danny Green: My parents were always supportive of my piano studies. They were never overly pushy, but they made sure that I practiced and was prepared for my lessons. I think I went through phases where I really enjoyed practicing as well as phases where practicing felt like a chore. Around the age of twelve, I got pretty tired of the music I was playing and decided to quit taking lessons. Of course my parents were disappointed that I wanted to quit after seven years of lessons, and so my father bought me my first keyboard with the idea that it would keep me interested in music. He was right. I started playing around with the sounds and connecting it to the computer. Soon I started learning how to play the music that I was into by ear, and from that point on, music became a passion instead of a chore. The only pushiness then from my parents was to stop playing so that they could sleep at night.

Q: Who has influenced you musically and how did you discover your love for Latin jazz?

Danny Green: I have had a ton of musical influences throughout the years. I studied jazz piano with Kamau Kennyata at UCSD for three years, and he would definitely stand out as a major influence. My classical teachers, John Mark Harris and Luciane Cardassi, have also been very influential as well as Rick Helzer, who I am currently studying jazz with. As far as artists go, there are so many to mention. I've always been very interested in the mixing of styles, and so my two biggest jazz and Latin jazz influences are Brad Mehldau and Danilo Perez. They both have such unique sounds which touch on their roots and move forward at the same time. Other musicians that have influenced me include Chano Dominguez, Caetano Veloso, Wayne Shorter, Ernan Lopez-Nussa, Michel Camilo, Chucho Valdes, Paquito d'Rivera and Ruben Gonzalez. I tend to go through phases where I spend months listening to a specific musician or composer. For the past two years, I've been immersing myself in the music of Rachmaninoff. I learned his Second Piano Concerto, and I'm working on the third. More recently, I've started doing a lot of listening to Mahler's symphonies (especially No.2 and 8).
I've been into Latin music for about six years. My first exposure to it was seeing the Buena Vista Social Club documentary. Shortly after seeing it, I got some of their albums and started playing along to the music. Eventually I checked out Chucho Valdes and Irakere and fell in love with that music. Through friends and other musicians, I kept hearing of more and more Latin Jazz artists.

Q: Where do you see your progression as musician in recent years? And what would you like to achieve in the future?

Danny Green: I think that one of the most important goals as a musician is to develop a unique sound. The past few years have definitely been growing years for me in that sense. One big area of progress for me has been technique, which I would owe to my classical studies. I feel that I have also grown as a composer. I've been lucky to work with some great musicians who have put a lot of time into learning my music. In terms of listening to music, the past few years have been years of discovery for me. I keep finding new music to listen to, and that constantly shapes me as a musician.
I have many goals for the future. As I said before, the mixing of styles is one of my greatest interests, and I'd like to head in that direction as much as possible. I am very excited about my newest group, Gente Fina, which blends several styles together including salsa, timba, samba and funk. I would also like to do a project where I fuse my classical influences with my jazz influences. I already have some works in progress, and when I have enough material, I'll put out another CD.

Q: Please tell me how you've met the fellow musicians of your quintet.

Danny Green: I met Jeff "Sly" Simon long before meeting the other members of my quintet. He was playing with a percussionist/vocalist named Alex Galluccio in a group called Cal-Son. Through a colleague of my father who was studying percussion with Alex, I met Alex and through him, Sly. We played in that group for about two years until Alex started producing a TV show for Telemundo called Adrenalina. I met Steve Haney at a Latin jam session that we used to do every Thursday, and through him I met Dylan Savage. Prior to my working with the quintet, Dylan was doing some playing with Ian Tordella, and he recently brought him into the group.

Q: Ian Tordella is the new member on sax and flute. Why didn't you replace Bill with another trumpeter?

Danny Green: Ian is a great player and he brings a new fresh energy to the group. I was more interested in finding the right person for the group than specifically a sax player or trumpeter, although I did want one or the other. I also wanted to try some new sounds, so having the options of tenor sax, alto sax or flute on any given song is working out great.

Q: You are also a member of the groups Gente Fina and Trece de la Suerte. Please tell me in which way they differ from your quintet.

Danny Green: The main focus of my quintet is Latin jazz, and we do a mix of my originals, some arrangements of standards, and covers of other Latin jazz artists. Gente Fina is more of a dance band where we play an eclectic mix of styles such as samba, salsa, timba, funk, reggae, cumbia, and rock en español. One of the cool things about this group is that our singer/guitarist Israel Maldonado can sing in English, Spanish and Portuguese. This allows us to cover a ton of material from all over the world. He also has some great originals that we've been doing. Dylan and Steve are also a part of the group as well as Ignacio Arrango who plays bass, and Dante Loaiza who plays guitar, background vocals and percussion.
Trece de la Suerte is a 13-piece salsa band. We have four great singers, a four-piece horn section, and a really tight rhythm section. I've been doing some of the arranging for this group, and we've been together since the summer of 2004.

Q: Where do you see your niche in the music scene? What do you think separates you from other Latin jazz artists?

Danny Green: I think my niche in the music scene would have to be Latin music. Although I practice and listen to many different styles of music, almost all of my gigs are Latin gigs. Luckily there are so many different styles of Latin music, so I'm rarely doing too much of one style. I always find that after a few Latin Jazz gigs, it feels refreshing to play a Salsa gig, and vice-verse.
To me and I'm sure many others, music is a very personal type of expression, so the main thing that separates me from other Latin jazz artists is my approach as a composer, arranger, and performer. I always try to bring a new flavor to the music I do, whether it's a standard or an original piece.

Q: You currently live in San Diego. What's the music scene of San Diego like?

Danny Green: As far as musicians go, there are quite a lot of very talented musicians here. Compared to Los Angeles or New York, it's a relatively small scene, so you eventually come to know most people who play in town. There are a small number of salsa bands in San Diego, and even fewer Latin Jazz groups that continually work together. I'm sure that one reason for this is a lack of places to play for bands of over 3 or 4 musicians. In order to make a living playing music in San Diego, you have to have to do everything from playing corporate functions, weddings, restaurants and clubs, to studio work and teaching.
I would say there is generally a growing interest in jazz and Latin music, especially amongst the college population. I know that when I play at Dizzy's (one of my favorite jazz venues), a lot of people from the various colleges come out. Salsa dancing is also very popular out here.

Q: Will you promote your album outside San Diego as well?

Danny Green: I certainly will promote my album outside of San Diego. I've sent it to a number of radio stations around the world, and I'm hoping to do some touring in the near future.

For more infos visit dannygreen.net, cdbaby.com and read my review of Past Due.