Daniel Büttner

The musical talents of composer, bassist, and improviser Daniel Büttner unite elements of improvisation with written and arranged music. Creating a technique stylistically independent, the works of Daniel Buttner utilize the musical expression from classical, jazz, and contemporary music. This ability compliments his combination of free improvisation and musical extemporization where performers react instinctively to the surrounding soundscape.

Daniel’s educational background includes a Bachelor in Art from Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (UK); a Diploma in Jazz Performance from the Musikhochschule Köln (D); a Master in Art from New York University (USA), where he studied music composition with Dr. Tom Boras and Jim McNeely. Daniel was a member of contemporary music and improvised electronic music ensembles by Prof. Dinu Ghezzo and Dr. Esther Lamneck.

As a bassist, Daniel is grateful for the opportunities to have performed classical and improvised music at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, Knitting Factory, Birdland and many of the small venues throughout NYC. Daniel was honored to receive a 2-year stipend by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) to study music performance and composition at New York University. With this grant he has been able to work and study under Mark Dresser, Dave Douglas, Jim Black, Steve Coleman, Don Byron, George Garzone, Tony Moreno, and perform with musicians such as Mike Holober, Tom Boras, Robert Dick, Tim Newman, Matt Shulman, John Savage and David Mason. Daniel is looking forward to the future, bass ready.

The Music of Daniel Büttner

Daniel's appreciation of contemporary art shows through his music as a coalesce of the harmonic language, organizational and developmental techniques and multi-sectional formal structures of European music as well as melodic and rhythmic language and improvisational approaches derived from jazz.

Daniel uses the development technique of pointilistic textures, melodic, and abstract sections of clustered sounds and notes. Then takes the fragmented melodies and creates free improvisation, where performers react instinctively and instantly to become part of the compositional process live on stage.

The aleatoric aspect allows the music to grow and illuminate with and differentiate from each performance.

Daniel’s written music with the focus of conventional large and small jazz ensembles utilizes traditional western music notation as well as graphic notation, varying the degree of instruction to the performer. He enjoys working and sharing his ideas and concepts with each performer to reach this goal.

While many artists in a variety of cultures and genres have influenced him, Daniel is proud to observe that his primary influences are derived from abstract works and ideas by Elliott Carter, Witold Lutoslawski, George Crumb, Anton Webern, Samuel Beckett.

The Performance

coming soon...