“The 14” Jazz Orchestra, featuring 2015 Latin Grammy Winner, saxophonist, Ed Calle, is comprised of 13 of South Florida’s premier Jazz and studio musicians. Under the direction of Dan Bonsanti, the ensemble includes distinguished Jazz educators currently on the music faculties of Miami Dade College, Florida Atlantic University, and the University of Miami. Individually, the members of “The 14” have recorded, toured, and/or performed with many of the greatest Jazz and Pop artists of our time, from the big bands of Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, Mercer Ellington, and Woody Herman to such Jazz artists as Billy Eckstine, Sara Vaughan, Jon Hendricks, Mel Torme, Jaco Pastorius, Stanley Turrentine, The Brecker Brothers, Eliane Elias, Bob Mintzer, Bob James, and Arturo Sandival, just to name a few. Their collective resumes also include Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, Nancy Wilson, Ray Charles, and Pop/Rock artists as diverse as Barbara Streisand, Marvin Gaye, and The BeeGees. The ensemble takes a Contemporary Jazz approach to a wide assortment of styles, performing compositions from Jazz composers such as Billy Strayhorn, Joe Henderson, Chick Corea, John Scofield, and Wayne Shorter and pop/rock artists such as Paul McCartney and John Lennon.
The orchestra’s debut recording, “Nothing Hard Is Ever Easy”, was released in January 2016 to rave reviews. The recording remained on the Jazz Week National Chart, in the top 50 for 14 weeks, top 15 for 9 weeks, and reached #9 on March 7th. The CD and downloads are available at all the major online retailers such as Amazon, CD Baby, and ITunes and can be streamed from popular apps such as Spotify and YouTube on all computers and mobile devices. More details are available at WWW.14JAZZORCHESTRA.COM
Serving as both arranger and conductor for The 14 Jazz Orchestra, Dan comes from a varied musical background that includes a Master’s Degree in Saxophone and Flute from the University of Miami. Dan has over 25 years of experience as a studio and jazz musician and 20 years as a jazz educator, on the faculties at the University of North Carolina, Duke University, and the University of Miami. Having recorded with a long list of pop and jazz artists as diverse in styles as Barbra Streisand and Jaco Pastorius, he has performed, toured, and/or recorded with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennet, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Toots Thielmans, Stanley Turrentine, Peter Erskine, Randy and Michael Brecker, Bob Minzer, David Liebman, Bob James, and Jaco Pastorius to name just a few. In addition to the orchestra’s new CD, Dan’s most recent recording arranging credits include selections on three CD’s for The Jaco Pastorius Big Band, “Word of Mouth Revisited”, “The Word is Out” and “The Jaco Pastorius Big Band, Then & Now”.