Chicago pianist Dan Cray, a finalist at the 2003 Montreux Jazz Festival Solo Piano Competition, is heard here playing tight arrangements of standards and originals with his working trio.

11 MP3 Songs
JAZZ: Bebop, JAZZ: Swing/Big Band



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28-year-old pianist Dan Cray, a finalist at the 2003 Montreux Jazz Festival Solo Piano Competion and the 2004 Cole Porter Fellowship Competition of the American Pianist Association,is already being hailed as "a key figure when it comes to escorting jazz into the new millennium." Since graduating in 1999 from Northwestern University with degrees in Jazz Studies and European History, Dan has been in demand as a pianist and bandleader. While living in Chicago, he has performed at galas for Governor Edgar, Governor Ryan, and Mayor Richard Daley, and plays regularly at the city's premier jazz clubs and corporate events. He currently leads a trio featuring bassist Clark Sommers and drummer Greg Wyser-Pratte. Dan has also performed with a number of other established jazz musicians and ensembles, including Orbert Davis, Eric Schneider, George Fludas, Kimberly Gordon, and the Chicago Jazz Orchestra. Dan studied at Northwestern with Donald Isaak and Michael Kocour, and has also studied privately with Danilo Perez and Dick Hyman. He has released two albums with his trio, Who Cares (2001) and No One (2003), and can also be heard on Chicago trumpeter David Young's 2001 release Appassionata and vocalist Marc Johnson's 2005 release Mark Johnson and the Dan Cray Trio.