Dan Weiss

Gretsch Artist Since: 2017

Country: US

Band or Affiliations: Dan Weiss Starebaby and Dan Weiss Trio, Chris Potter, Rudresh Mahanthappa, David Binney, Steve Coleman

Current Kit Setup:
USA Custom in Satin Natural
14x20 Bass Drum, 8x12 Rack tom, 14x14 Floor Tom, 16x16 Floor Tom
5x14 USA Custom Chrome Over Brass Snare Drum

Influences:
"Elvin Jones, Papa Joe Jones, Philly Joe Jones, Max Roach, Art Blakey, Big Sid Catlett, Tony Williams, Kenny Clarke, Frankie Dunlop, Chick Webb, Ahmedjan Thirakwa, Kanai Dutta, Alla Rakha, Samir Chatterjee, John Bonham, Pete Thomas, Neil Peart, Thomas Hakke, Steve Macdonald, Benny Benjamin, Bernard Purdie, Clyde Stubblefield, Paulo Braga, Dou Dou n’diaye Rose, Camaron de la isla, Bach, Mozart, Xenakis, and many more"

We asked...Why Gretsch?:
"When I play Gretsch drums I feel connected to the jazz lineage more so than if I play any other drum. They feel like home."

Advice to aspiring musicians?:
"Practice hard, practice harder when you feel like you have nothing left in the tank. Be on time. Listen to entire recordings over and over again. Play with recordings. Keep a positive attitude. Push yourself to be the worst in the band: you will grow exponentially if you do that often. When you play with musicians who are of a lesser caliber try and make them sound better than they are. Write music. There should be a time in your life when there is nothing but music. Don’t give up if it is in your heart to be a musician."

Bio:
Three time Shifting Foundation grantee Dan Weiss has been hailed as one of the top five jazz drummers by The New York Times, and his large ensemble recording “Fourteen” made the top ten list of their best recordings of 2014. Weiss’s innovative drumming and forward-thinking compositions have been pushing musical limits for decades. Weiss’s intense study of jazz, classical Indian, contemporary classical, west African, and metal sets a musical platform that creates a sound that transcends conventional style or genre. His compositional trademarks are angular yet emotive melodies, complex through-composed drum parts, rhythmic cycles native to many non-western music, and melodic shapes drawing directly from the raga system found in Indian classical music.
He has released four recordings with his trio: “Now Yes When” (2006), “Timshel” (2011), “Utica Box” (2019), and “Dedication” (2022), which have been critically-acclaimed for their unique approach to song structure and endlessly creative improvisation. Weiss also leads his sixteen-piece large ensemble that features some of New York City’s most gifted musicians. The two albums “Fourteen” (2014) and “Sixteen: Drummers Suite” (2016), released on the Pi Recordings label, have made numerous critic polls. His project, Starebaby, which features Craig Taborn, Matt Mitchell, Ben Monder, and Trevor Dunn, is an amalgam of jazz, metal, and new music. They have two releases: “Starebaby” (2018) and “Natural Selection” (2020), both also on Pi. Weiss has been studying tabla under Pandit Samir Chatterjee for twenty-five years. He has performed with the legendary Ashish Khan and Ramesh Misra and recorded a solo tabla CD “3dcd” (2007). Weiss recorded two groundbreaking CDs “Teental Drumset Solo” (2005) and “Jhaptal Drumset Solo” ( 2011) where he performs classical Indian repertoire on drum set. Recently Weiss and longtime collaborator Miles Okazaki released a double LP titled “Music for Drums and Guitar” (2021). In 2024 Weiss put out a new trio record called Even Odds featuring Miguel Zenon and Matt Mitchell.