Faculty

Profile

Since moving to New York City in 2006, saxophonist, composer and educator Dan Blake has developed a wide-ranging career as a contemporary composer and performer that “regards tradition as a welcoming playground best approached with a sense of wonder and adventure” (The Boston Globe). He has released four critically acclaimed albums as a leader, most recently Da Fé (Sunnyside Records, 2021) and has recorded and toured with leading artists such as Esperanza Spalding, Anthony Braxton, Kenny Werner, and many others. As an activist, Daniel Blake sits on the board of Buddhist Global Relief, an international organization supporting the struggle against hunger and malnutrition. He also is on the New York State culture/arts committee of the Poor People's Campaign and regularly produces events for activist organizations working on behalf of social justice causes. Daniel Blake holds a Ph.D. in composition from the Graduate Center, City University of New York.

Degrees Held

B.A., Child Development (Tufts University)

B.M., Jazz Saxophone (New England Conservatory of Music)

M.M., Composition (Brooklyn College, CUNY)

Ph.D., Composition (Graduate Center, CUNY)

Professional Affiliation

Society for Music Theory

Society for American Music

College Music Society

American Composers Forum

ASCAP

Recent Publications

Teaching Activism Through Jazz (Jazz Ed. Magazine, 2021)

"Space Is The Place: Composition in New York's Improvised Music Scene" (American Music Review, 2016)

My Visit to Kenya's Grow Biontensive Agricultural Center (Helping Hands, 2017)

Research Interests

Music Theory

Metaphor studies

Philosophy of Music