Dan Siegel | |
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Born | Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
Genres | Jazz, smooth jazz |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instruments | Piano |
Years active | 1976–present |
Labels | Inner City, Epic, Native Language |
Website | www |
Dan Siegel (born in Seattle, Washington) is a pianist, composer, and record producer. His earlier music has been described as new age, while his more recent work has been called contemporary jazz.
Siegel was born in Seattle, Washington and raised in Eugene, Oregon. When he was eight, he began piano lessons, and at 12 he was performing professionally in a rock band. He went to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, then the University of Oregon. After college, he started recording his own compositions. He signed with the jazz record label Inner City Records and recorded his first album, Nite Ride (1980). His second album, The Hot Spot (1982), reached the top ten of the jazz chart in Billboard magazine.
He moved to Los Angeles and composed music for movies and television. In 1986 he signed with Epic Records and released a series of smooth jazz albums.
Siegel's work as a television and film composer includes the score for the film Reform School Girls (1986), and Universal Studios TV series, Hard Copy (1987). He has also worked as musical director and conductor on the late night CBS TV show, Overtime... with Pat O'Brien (1990). He has played on numerous TV and film projects as a session player, including the Oscar-winning film The Usual Suspects. His music was also featured on the Weather Channel's Local Forecast segments from 1986 to 1991.