"A listener that plays", Daniel Rotem is a saxophonist, composer, arranger, producer, and educator.

 

Growing up by the Mediterranean Sea, Daniel fell in love with the freedom and potential for expression he found in jazz and started to play the tenor saxophone as a teenager. He is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz (now the Herbie Hancock Institute) and had the privilege to perform or record with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Billy Childs, Dianne Reeves, Stevie Wonder, Joe LaBarbera, Terri Lyne Carrington, Luciana Souza, Vince Mendoza, Jeff Parker, Mon Laferte, Larry Goldings, Anthony Wilson, Alain Mallet, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Anat Cohen, Vardan Ovsepian, Josh Johnson, and many more.

​

Daniel has performed at acclaimed festivals including the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Playboy Jazz Festival, Jazz nad Odra, the Red Sea Jazz Festival, the Cape Town Jazz Festival, the Angel City Jazz Festival, and at famed venues such as the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Hollywood Bowl, the Microsoft Theater in LA, the Honda Theater, bluewhale, and the Broad Stage. He is a commissioned and award-winning composer and songwriter, and has lent his saxophone voice to many scores and recordings, including his own six albums and original score for the film 'Mentally Al'. His most recent release 'Wave Nature' recorded for Colorfield Records, features Daniel playing on all instruments, with guest appearances by close friends and frequent collaborators Christian Euman, Anna Butterss, Jonathan Pinson, Erin Bentlage, and Anthony Wilson.

 

Daniel is also a recognized educator, and has taught in renowned institutions such as Stanford Jazz, CalArts, USC, LACHSA, and Occidental College.

​

Daniel is a Yamaha Artist and plays Yamaha saxophones exclusively; he is also endorsed by Gottsu Mouthpieces, and D'Addario Woodwinds.