By embracing the influence of his heroes from the jazz tradition and retaining his own musical personality, guitarist Daniel Bruce has developed a unique and impressive musical voice. A recent transplant to Ohio after spending a decade as an important member of Chicago’s vibrant jazz scene, he is active throughout the Midwest and nationally as a performer, recording artist, composer and educator.

    

     He has performed on more than thirty albums as a sideman and has released two albums under his own name. As a performer and recording artist, Bruce has had the opportunity to work with a number of eminent musicians including Seamus Blake, Ali Jackson, Dan Wall, Lynn Seaton, Rose Colella, The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, and Marquis Hill.

 

    As a composer Bruce has been featured in The Chicago Composers Collective series at The Green Mill and The Jazz Institute of Chicago NextGen Jazz Series, and several of his compositions and arrangements have been published in Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine. His first album, A Single Thread, was released to critical acclaim. Martin Gladu of allaboutjazz.com wrote, “A Single Thread combines his learned guitar work, which is at times reminiscent of Ben Monder, with substantive yet airy, contemporary sounding compositions”, and Chuck Vecoli of jazzreview.com called it “A brilliant first effort”. In his All About Jazz review of Earthshine, Bruce’s second work, Troy Dostert describes “…a generous, accessible sound with an exploratory edge, Bruce brings a finely-polished technique that is at the same time subtly discontent, searching for new expressions and willing to take some chances along the way.” His original works and arrangements have been performed by The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra and The Brad Wagner Nonet as well as numerous college and high school ensembles, and he recently received an Individual Excellence Award in Music Composition from the Ohio Arts Council.

     Bruce is currently on faculty at Youngstown State University and Cuyahoga Community College.