DAN SIEGEL

Departure

2006-11-20

Smooth jazz keyboardist Dan Siegel has been helping shape the genre since his recording debut in 1980. Born in Seattle and raised in Eugene OR, Siegel attended Boston’s Berklee College of Music, and obtained a composition degree from the University of Oregon and immediately started recording his own music. With Departure, an all-acoustic, live-in-the-studio date that marks his second release for Native Language Music, this composer and keyboardist brilliantly blends the melodic and rhythmic pop sensibilities he’s famous for with his traditional jazz roots. Siegel says “Departure is a record I made out of true love and the desire to go in and play in a more organic way.” Following his last release, 2004’s Inside Out, which was one of the year’s most acclaimed smooth Jazz albums with the hit “In Your Eyes” featuring saxophonist Boney James, Departure enhances Siegel’s traditional jazz foundation with soft-spoken piano ballads, light percussion textures, jazzy hi-hats, funky bass lines, and irresistible tenderness. - Jake