Original
Crossings
A cross between Bach and jazz.
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Audio
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Featured
Version
Children's Song #6
Chick Corea piece, Dan's version.
Studio trio
Very Early
Javier Moreno, acoustic bass; Borja Barrueta, drums; Dan Rochlis, MIDI guitar into Rhodes.
Originals and sketches
Groovy sketch
Boceto
With Álvaro Pérez on sax.
Original sketch
Lockdown
Study sketch
Hindemith Etude #2
A strange, useful study sketch from the wider archive.
Deep sketch
Toser o no ser
A Shakespeare prompt, still waiting for words.
Standards and studio selections
Standard
How My Heart Sings
Archive MP3.
Arrangements and covers
Mood
The Empath
Cover
Easily
Bach
Tarantella Variation / BWV 1056
Concert key / F minor.
Arrangement
And I Love Her
Arrangement
Day Tripper
Vocals
Now adding voice to the trouble: vocal pieces, rough edges included.
With encouragement from Olga Román and guidance from Jocelyn Medina.
Vocal pieces
Original vocal
Rise from Ruins
Original song draft.
Vocal version
Big Brother
Current voice/guitar recording.
Original vocal
Catch the Chaos
English version.
Original vocal
Atrapa el caos
Spanish version.
Voice version
Pinocchio
Dan scats and solos into Wayne Shorter's tune, with seven-string guitar keeping bass and harmony underneath.
Videos
Originals
A Song for Sean Levitt (AC bossa)
Dan Rochlis.
An Offering (Happy birthday)
Dan Rochlis.
Smack Dab
Sean Smith composition, © 2016.
Falling
Dan Rochlis.
Bio
Extended-range jazz guitar, rooted in song and harmony
Born in New York in 1966, Dan Rochlis studied with Chuck Dudley, Sal Salvador, Bruce Monroe, Tony Perone, Tal Farlow, Jack Wilckens, and Sean Levitt, and attended seminars with Jerry Bergonzi, Rufus Reid, and Barry Harris. As a finalist with the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts, he received scholarship offers from numerous schools and accepted one to attend Manhattan School of Music.
After arriving in Spain in 1987, Dan became part of Madrid's jazz scene as a guitarist, composer, arranger, collaborator, and teacher. His work with seven-string guitar and earlier prototypes gave him a broad role in small groups, where bass and harmony could move together as one compact, responsive accompaniment.
Across New York, Madrid, and touring work, Dan has played and recorded with a wide circle of musicians, including Pedro Barceló, Joey Calderazzo, Bill Charlap, Javier Colina, Jocelyn Medina, Jorge Pardo, Olga Román, Bob Sands, Perico Sambeat, Antonio Serrano, Sean Smith, Bill Stewart, and others.
Selected threads
Performance, teaching, arranging, and collaboration
Extended-range guitar
Dan’s extended-range guitar gives a small group extra weight: bass, harmony, and melody can move together, quickly and compactly.
Madrid jazz years
In 1987, Dan went to Spain with the great drummer Tony Moreno, then became active in Madrid as a guitarist, arranger, collaborator, and teacher, working across jazz clubs, concerts, sessions, and small groups until his return to New York in 2015.
New York return
In 2015 and 2016, Dan was back in New York and active around Brooklyn, with Bar Next Door dates, duo work with Sean Smith, and continuing connections with Jocelyn Medina. Bar Next Door also appears in the trail as early as 2012. He returned to Spain in 2017 and kept working there.
Collaborators
Dan has worked with Bob Sands, Antonio Serrano, Jocelyn Medina, Olga Román, Pedro Barceló, Perico Sambeat, Javier Colina, Jorge Pardo, and others.
Teaching
Dan taught at Taller de Músicos de Madrid, Escuela de Música Creativa, and Musikene, and gave seminars in several Spanish cities.
Collaborations / recordings
Recording and live work with Olga Román, Doris Cales, Pepe de Lucía, Arturo Pareja Obregón, and others.
Including Olga Román 2, Seguir Caminando, ...And All That Jazz, Tomo y obligo, and De Buen Gusto.
Projects
Studio, voice, and living-room sessions
Alongside guitar performance and arranging, Dan is developing a home-studio practice around voice, production, session sketches, and close collaborations.
Room
Close-session atmosphere
A repeatable living-room format for invited players, close listening, and low-pressure sets that can grow without losing the feeling of a real musical hang.
Production
Voice, guitar, and studio detail
New recordings can bring singing, extended-range guitar, arranging, and production into the same frame.
Archive
Music first, media second
Video and audio can document the work without turning the music into a formal studio presentation.
Image direction
Performance first, with the instrument close enough to feel
Open photos
More photos
Archive
Listings
In 1985, Dan was named a National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts finalist in music and a U.S. Presidential Scholars Program finalist.
El Pais archive
Young New York players in Madrid
John Barnett Quintet in Madrid: Kevin Hays, Tony Moreno, Dan Rochlis, John Barnett, and Tjitze Vogel.
Original archive linkEl Pais archive
Cafe Central quartet
Dan Rochlis, Perico Sambeat, Tjitze Vogel, and Guillermo McGill. Madrid, late 1980s.
Original archive linkEl Pais archive
Bob Sands group
Bob Sands hard-bop quartet, Cafe Central. Dan Rochlis on guitar.
Original archive linkEl Pais archive
Antonio Serrano / Dan Rochlis Quartet
Centro Cultural de la Villa. San Isidro, Madrid.
Original archive linkHot House Jazz Guide
Bar Next Door, New York
Hot House Jazz Guide, 2015. Part of a run of Bar Next Door dates around 2012 and 2015-16.
Original archive link