Here - Linda Eder

There I met the great trumpeter Dave Trigg, who went on to be Natalie Cole's lead trumpet
player for many years. My brother also played sax in the band, and now he can be heard
nightly doing the solo clarinet work at the Broadway production of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF.
As interested as I was in music, I still didn't have a clear vision of a career in it, so I began my freshman year at the University
of Florida as a pre-med student. In that year, I realized that my fellow students loved calculus and bio-chem the way I loved
Miles Davis and John Coltrane. And I realized that whatever it was I was going to do, I'd better love it! So I transferred to the
University of Northern Colorado where I happily majored in music and studied with the incredible Buddy Baker.
Dan with Wynton Marsalis, Natalie Cole and the
Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, rehearsing "Midnight
Sun," a tribute to Lionel Hampton (which Dan
arranged during an all-nighter!).
During college, I began playing professionally in Denver and spent a
summer in Los Angeles playing in the "All American College Band" at
Disneyland, as well as a summer in the Rockies performing with the
Breckenridge Festival Orchestra. While in L.A., I was fortunate to study
with one of my idols, Ralph Sauer, the principal trombonist in the L.A.
Philharmonic.
In 1985, I hit the road with my first 'big gig.' I did a world tour with Ray
Charles. It took us all over the U.S., Europe and Scandinavia. To listen to
him sing every night was a major inspiration. In 1986, I settled in New
York City where I began freelancing, and still live there today with my wife
and 4-year-old daughter. When Art Baron left the Broadway show GRAND
HOTEL, I took over the trombone chair there. After that show closed, I did
the revivals of MY FAIR LADY and SHOWBOAT. I am currently in the pit at
THE PRODUCERS.
For an instrumentalist, having a Broadway pit gig is a terrific thing, and
one of the best things about it is that we can sub our chair out. It allows us
to stay in circulation. During the last 15 years, I've been fortunate to do
world tours and recordings with They Might Be Giants, Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes, Natalie Cole, and for four
years, Frank Sinatra. Other performance and recording credits include Celine Dion, The Essence Awards, Phoebe Snow, Michael
Bolton, John Pizzarelli, Cyndi Lauper, Hootie and The Blowfish, Paul Anka, Don Henley, Mel Torme, The Vanguard Jazz
Orchestra, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and Donald Fagen.
About 10 years ago, a filmmaker I knew asked me, 'Do you write music for films?' I
had never done such a thing in my life, but I said yes and somehow pulled it off.
That was 'Andy Warhol: A Life On The Edge' for A&E. Since then, I've been writing
and arranging music for various TV shows, films, bands, and radio. Credits include:
'Sesame Street,' 'Malcolm In The Middle,' Court TV, HBO, Natalie Cole, Disney
Films, NPR 'All Things Considered,' and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Recently,
Dave Mann and I orchestrated and produced songs for Natalie Cole and Brooke
Sheilds for the film THE EASTER EGG ESCAPADE.
It's been my good fortune to perform with some of the greatest voices in music,
and now it's happening again as I not only get to perform with Linda Eder, but also
to absolutely marvel at her incredible vocal gifts every time we hit the stage. Frank
Sinatra said that he learned everything about breath control from watching the
trombonist Tommy Dorsey. I assure you that Linda has nothing to learn from me,
but I guarantee you I am doing my best to glean whatever I can from her!"
David Mann, Natalie Cole and Dan Levine.
Each of Linda's band members is incredibly talented and individually interesting in his own right. And Dan is no
exception! We hope you've enjoyed learning more about his life and career… read on for more details in this
exclusive VOICE interview!
VOICE: You mentioned that you played drums, piano, trumpet and baritone horn before concentrating on the trombone. How
old were you when you first played a musical instrument and which one was first?
DAN: I took my first drum lesson at age 6 from a drummer on Long Island named Joe Grayson, with whom my dad used to do
club dates in New York City and the Catskills.
VOICE: Being from a musical family, did you ever consider starting "The Levine Family Band?"