Welcome to
Ted Daniel Music

Captivating, vibrant, revolutionary — these are just a few of the words used to describe Ted Daniel. A gifted and critically acclaimed trumpeter, Ted’s style has been described as "avant garde," however he embraces the traditional and the new, with performances ranging from solo to big band. His music transcends conventional ideas about jazz, resulting in a completely unique and pleasurable listening experience. He is a melodic player who experiments with all forms of jazz music, producing extraordinary results every time. For now, he’s the genre’s best-kept secret.

Ted received brief formal training during stints at prestigious institutions like the Berklee School of Music and Southern Illinois University, eventually receiving his bachelors of music from the City College of New York and a Masters Degree from Hunter College in New York City. Initially, he was less than impressed with the academia experience. "I just wanted to play and I knew the restrictive school setting was not ideal for me to develop my musical voice." He opted to return to New York in 1965 to join his former Berklee School of Music colleagues; the late acclaimed guitarist Sonny Sharrock, Byard Lancaster and Dave Burrell. But his entry into the legitimate jazz scene was short-lived when he was drafted and found himself on a two-year tour of duty with U-S Army bands, one of which was spent in Vietnam. Upon his return, he attended Central State College in Ohio before returning to New York to resume his professional recording career. 

He began with a guest appearance on Sharrock’s 1968 album Black Woman. A year later, Ted recorded with Brute Force, a jazz-funk outfit he put together with older brother Richard on keyboards and was joined by Sonny Sharrock for this outing. Their self-titled debut (destined to be their lone release) was produced by Herbie Man on the Embryo label.

1972 saw the release of his solo debut, Ted Daniel Sextet, a live recording from a concert at Columbia University two years prior. Released on his own Ujamaa label, Sextet showcased the musician’s unique style of improvisation and grabbed listeners with its angular, energetic compositions. The set helped put him on the map as a featured artist and his collaborations with the likes of Dewy Redman, Andrew Cyrille, Archie Shepp and Sam Rivers earned him further respect among members of the jazz community.

Daniel’s next recording was 1974’s Tapestry, released on the Paris-based imprint Sun Records. The album displayed Ted’s flair for experimentation and variation. He says, "It was very different than the first album. The music weaves gently in and out of colors as opposed to the angular, intense acoustic set of the Ted Daniel Sextet album. The music was more melodic and metered.” The project encompassed electric piano, vibes, electric fretless bass and drums. A true gem, it is the only recording that features Ted solely on flugelhorn. 

In 1975 he put together his own company of musicians collectively known as Energy. Energy began as a weekly workshop that provided a forum for up-and-coming musicians to compose and hear their music. Several of these musicians would become some of the jazz world’s most highly regarded artists, such as Oliver Lake, David Murray, Arthur Blythe, Charles Tyler and Ahmed Abdullah. Several of the inimitable sessions Energy recorded were finally revealed to the world when Ted released the Energy CD in 1998. 

Just as Ted began to make a name for himself, a shift in the jazz landscape brought lean times in the late 1980s and early ‘90s. But his dedication and unconditional love for the craft helped him continue to gain new fans by playing in Henry Threadgill’s Sextet Henry Threadgill. In addition to appearing with the Threadgill Sextet, Ted led his own small bands and continued to work throughout the 1990s, both in the states and in Europe. 

In 2000, Ted was included among a select group of musicians to appear on Billy Bang’s Vietnam the Aftermath. Released in 2001 via Just in Time Records, the groundbreaking project was comprised mostly of players who had served in the Vietnam War. In addition to Ted and Bang, other Viet Nam veterans on the album included Michael Carvin, Butch Morris, Ron Brown and the late saxophonist Frank Lowe. Additional personnel included Curtis Lundy and the late John Hicks. The project’s critical acclaim helped Ted launch a new phase of his career. He re-released The Ted Daniel Sextet in 2005, which received the "Best Reissue" honor from All About Jazz. 

While touring internationally in support of Aftermath, Ted continued to refocus on his own music and in 2004, he put together a four-piece band consisting only of brass and membrane instruments appropriately dubbed the InternationalBrass and Membrane Corporation. More rhythmic and harmonious than his earlier solo offerings, Ted describes the music as “free-flowing. I’m trying to keep it loose but also keep it melodic. It’s fun doing that. I enjoy that group.” Presently, the set consists of Charles Burham (violin), Joseph Daley (tuba) and Newman Taylor Baker (percussion). Ted covers an assortment of brass instruments, including trumpet, cornet and flugel horn.

In 2006, Ted and Marcus re-teamed for the Duology project, a two-man operation featuring horns from the brass and woodwind families. Released later that year, their self-titled debut earned favorable reviews. Ted explains, “What makes the music important and interesting is you don’t have a drum to keep time, nor do you have a bass to play the chords out. So everything is done between the two of us.” It makes for an exciting musical challenge. “What it does is make one listen to the other person very intently. You’re very exposed as an instrumentalist because there’s nothing but just the two of you talking, so to speak. It’s a musical conversation. I really enjoy the concept and as we play together, we get better and better.” 

The next plateau in his extensive, respected career will focus on IBMC and Duology.  Duology has had three more releases the last being a LP featuring Henry Grimes on bass and violin.  In 2017, Ted released IBMC’s debut CD “Zulu’s Ball” the music of King Oliver. 

A clout-carrying veteran of the industry, making good music is all Ted Daniel knows, which is lucky for jazz fans everywhere.

ORIGTed Daniel is a trumpeter, composer and bandleader.

He studied trumpet in elementary school, and began his professional career playing local gigs with his childhood friend, the legendary guitarist Sonny Sharrock. Daniel briefly attended Berklee School of Music and Southern Illinois University, before joining the army. In 1966, Daniel was drafted in the army, and served with the 9th and 25th Infantry Division Bands in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. After his discharge from the Army in 1968, Daniel attended Central State College, Ohio, on a full music scholarship, where he met and studied with Dr. Makanda Ken McIntyre. After a year, Daniel returned to New York City and eventually received a bachelor of music degree in theory and composition from the City College of New York. Daniel had begun his recording career while studying in Ohio. He returned briefly to New York to record Sonny Sharrock's first album Black Woman. His second recording was with a band he co-led (Brute Force) with his brother, Richard Daniel. The recording was entitled Brute Force on the Embryo label, produced by Herbie Mann. Since then, Daniel has participated in more than 30 published recordings with such artists as: Archie Shepp, Dewey Redman, Andrew Cyrille, Sam Rivers, Billy Bang and Henry Threadgill.