Biography
Originating from Ancaster, Ontario, Canada, a modest community situated near Toronto, Dan Cross spent his formative years in that setting. Upon finishing secondary school he enrolled at Humber College in Toronto to pursue the Jazz Studies curriculum with guitar as his instrument. The next year brought a transfer to Mohawk College, where further jazz guitar instruction came from Lorne Lofsky followed by Reg Schwager. While attending Mohawk he also started composing for large jazz orchestra under the guidance of Juno Award-winning arranger Dave McMurdo.
After receiving his diploma from Mohawk College, Cross sustained his emphasis on composition and on examining the lineage of jazz guitar. January 1998 found him at the IAJE jazz festival in New York City, appearing with flugelhornist Guido Basso and the Hamilton All Star Jazz Band. View Magazine described his arrangements as “smoldering...taking the All Stars into some dark and unexplored territory.”
His engagement with jazz writing commenced upon the April 1997 debut of the jazz-focused site Central Park North. Album assessments authored by Cross have appeared in quotations across numerous online outlets, and Downbeat magazine has printed his letters. His desert island selections comprise Bill Evans - Sunday at the Village Vanguard, Miles Davis - Kind of Blue, John Coltrane - A Love Supreme, Duke Ellington - Far East Suite, Hank Mobley - Soul Station, Eric Dolphy - Far Cry, Oliver Nelson - Blues and the Abstract Truth, Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Collossus, Maria Schneider - Evanescence, Miles Davis - Cookin' at the Plugged Nickel, Frank Sinatra - Sings for Only the Lonely, Cecil Taylor - Jazz Advance, Keith Jarrett Trio - The Cure, Thelonious Monk - Brilliant Corners and Andrew Hill - Point of Departure.
After receiving his diploma from Mohawk College, Cross sustained his emphasis on composition and on examining the lineage of jazz guitar. January 1998 found him at the IAJE jazz festival in New York City, appearing with flugelhornist Guido Basso and the Hamilton All Star Jazz Band. View Magazine described his arrangements as “smoldering...taking the All Stars into some dark and unexplored territory.”
His engagement with jazz writing commenced upon the April 1997 debut of the jazz-focused site Central Park North. Album assessments authored by Cross have appeared in quotations across numerous online outlets, and Downbeat magazine has printed his letters. His desert island selections comprise Bill Evans - Sunday at the Village Vanguard, Miles Davis - Kind of Blue, John Coltrane - A Love Supreme, Duke Ellington - Far East Suite, Hank Mobley - Soul Station, Eric Dolphy - Far Cry, Oliver Nelson - Blues and the Abstract Truth, Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Collossus, Maria Schneider - Evanescence, Miles Davis - Cookin' at the Plugged Nickel, Frank Sinatra - Sings for Only the Lonely, Cecil Taylor - Jazz Advance, Keith Jarrett Trio - The Cure, Thelonious Monk - Brilliant Corners and Andrew Hill - Point of Departure.
Albums
