Dan Cross was born 25 years ago in Ancaster, Ontario, a small town outside of Hamilton, which, in turn, is a relatively large city outside of Toronto.
Dan first became interested in music at the age of 17, picking up a guitar for a course in school. It quickly became apparent that this was
yours truly
not to be a recreational hobby, and soon Dan was preparing to continue his studies at Humber College in Toronto in their Jazz Studies program.After a year at Humber, Dan returned to Hamilton, and completed a 3 year jazz studies program at Mohawk College. Over the past 5 years, Dan has had the opportunity to study privately with such respected musicians as Peter Harris, Lorne Lofsky, and Reg Schwager. Dan has also studied with and/or attended clinics by such musicians as David Baker, Barry Harris, Mike Abene, Pat LaBarbera, Mike Malone, Renee Rosnes, Peter Leitch, and Bobby Watson.
Dan recently recieved an award for "Best String Soloist" at the Hamilton Creative Arts Inc. sponsored event 'Big Band Showdown.' In January 1998, Dan was invited to perform at the IAJE conference in New York City, with the Hamilton All Star Jazz Band, accompanied by veteran Canadian fluegelhornist Guido Basso.
Dan also has a keen interest in writing music for big bands, and over the last several years has written material played by local bands. The opportunity has recently presented itself for Dan to study with Grammy award winning writer/orchestrator Maria Schneider in New York City.
In addition to his love for music, Dan enjoys Impressionistic art, well-made cinema, and speaking about himself in the third person.

Click here to listen to a RealAudio file of a performance of Dan's most recently completed work for Jazz Orchestra....Pat Metheny's 'Hermitage'. (Apologies for the very rough mix, it has yet to be mixed and polished for release.)

1