A musical pioneer of the bassoon with his many award-winning recordings and live performances throughout the world. Prolific bassoon soloist with a repertoire ranging from baroque concerti to contemporary music, including jazz, ragtime and crossover. He is the only bassoonist performing and recording in both the jazz and classical fields. His unique career has been profiled in Gramophone, the New York Times, Fanfare, Classical Music, Musical Heritage Review, Music And Musicians, American Record Guide, Classic CD and leading British newspapers including The Times. His solo performances include jazz concerts with his quartet, classical recitals, concertos with orchestra and highly popular programmes divided between classical and jazz, with music that ranges from Vivaldi, Elgar, Mozart and Verdi to Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Described as the ‘Rampal of the bassoon’ and ‘a phenomenon’, he brings his unique sound and style to concert series, festivals and jazz clubs.
His historic and unprecedented recording for ASV of the entire 37 Vivaldi bassoon concertos was chosen as ‘Best Concerto Recording Of The Year‘ by the Music Industry Association and awarded the Penguin Guide’s coveted * * * rosette rating as well as inclusion in Fanfare’s annual ‘Want List’. These concertos, recorded with the English Chamber Orchestra and I Solisti di Zagreb, firmly established Daniel Smith as a leading soloist on his instrument. His recordings with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Caravaggio Ensemble for the ASV White Line label produced innovative crossover music, with unique renditions of ragtime pieces, opera excerpts, and popular standards. In Britain, the BBC's Radio 3 used one of his recordings as their signature tune for several months to begin their broadcast day. Recent recordings made with his acclaimed jazz quartet ‘Bassoon and Beyond’ - ‘Be Bop Bassoon’ and ‘Mozart’s Blues’ - have brought the bassoon into the world of jazz. Other recordings of his are available on Vox, MHS, KemDisc, Pearl, Spectrum and Cambria.
His performances have included many firsts: the U.S. West Coast premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gunther Schuller's ‘Concerto for Contrabassoon & Orchestra’; the world premiere of Steve Gray's ‘Jazz Suite For Bassoon’ with the Welsh Chamber Orchestra; solo concerts at New York’s Lincoln Center and the Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen and engagements at London’s famous ‘Pizza On the Park’ with his jazz quartet. Other appearances include those at Carnegie Recital Hall (two appearances) and, in London, St. John's (Smith Square), the Wigmore Hall (three appearances) and the BBC Concert Hall. His many recordings are heard throughout the world on classical and jazz radio, National Public Radio in the USA, major airlines for in-flight listening and featured with leading book and record clubs.
