Daniel Moretti

Professor
dmoretti@berklee.edu
Telephone
617-747-8453
Personal Websites
Daniel Moretti's Website

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Dan Moretti is a professor in the Contemporary Writing and Production Department at Berklee College of Music. He was awarded the 2006 Curriculum Development Award for Groove Writing on-campus, which is also offered at Berklee Online, where it is called Arranging Contemporary Styles. He was one of the first to lead in the online education world at Berklee by having this same course be one of the first online-on-campus offerings over 20 years ago. Moretti is a saxophonist and flutist, composer, producer, and audio engineer. He has produced and recorded 21 international releases as a leader. The latest will be out in January 2025, Dan Moretti & Brazilia, a tribute to Wayne Shorter. Many of his albums have been in the top-40 radio charts in the U.S.  

Moretti is a MacColl-Johnson Fellow, awarded in 2010 for The Journey, a recording of his original music that he produced and toured with the Piccola Orchestra La Viola in Italy. He has received numerous awards for education and performance. He has toured throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Africa, presenting educational seminars and performing as a leader and a sideman. From 2015 to 2023, he toured with Nile Rodgers, the legendary producer and guitarist whose credits include Daft Punk, David Bowie, Madonna, and Duran Duran. His influences, ranging from jazz and classical to funk and Latin jazz, come from his experience performing and recording with artists, such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, the Temptations, Mike Stern, Dave Samuels, David Liebman, Marvin Stamm, and the Crusaders.

 

Career Highlights

  • Saxophonist, flutist, composer, producer, and studio owner

  • Released international recordings as a leader with Blackhawk Records, Par Records, 1201 Music, Whaling City Sound, Roots Grooves Records, and Dodicilune Records

  • Recordings highlights with Dave Liebman, Don Braden, the Crusaders, Mark Egan, Steve Khan, Dave Samuels, Oscar Stagnaro, Mike Stern, Mark Walker, Tim Ray, Maxim Lubarsky, Steve Langone, Alain Mallet, and Jason Miles

  • Performances highlights include Solomon Burke, Ray Charles, Jimmy Cobb, George Duke, Cornell Dupre, Aretha Franklin, Omar Hakim, Chaka Khan, Kid Rock, David Liebman, Les McCann, James Moody, Stevie Nicks, Robert Plant, Nile Rodgers, Steve Winwood, and Pharrell Williams

  • Member of American Federation of Musicians Local 198

  • Member of the American Federation of Teachers

  • Award-winning voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences

  • Award-winning member of the Jazz Educators Network (JEN)

  • Artist and clinician for Yamaha Saxophones and Vandoren Reeds/Mouthpieces and Sennheiser Microphones

  • Numerous international performances and seminars

In Their Own Words

"We want Contemporary Writing and Production graduates to be strong enough to work within any professional environment. We would like them to be able to say, 'Yes!' to anyone who wants a project written, arranged, or produced in a contemporary music setting. I try to give students the life skills to allow them to do anything in the music world."

"The CWP curriculum has been totally honed and revamped over the last 15 years. It's very current. It's not just based on current music, but it's very current on all the levels of writing and production. The faculty members are the best I've been associated with, in terms of the broad spectrum of abilities and writing talents. And with more than 4,000 students from all over the world, there is an incredible network."

"In Introduction to Writing and Production for the Recording Studio, students have three projects. Two of them, a jingle and a song, happen in a real recording studio. They're writing all the charts, and they're doing demos. We go to a real studio, and the teachers hire really good players. They have to make a multitrack recording and then take it home and mix it."

"I created a Groove Writing class, which I thought would be a great way to build a vocabulary of styles. My teaching approach in this class is to explore the Afro-European mix in the Western hemisphere and demonstrate how that influenced the development of contemporary music as we hear it today."

"I love to learn new things. Because things are always evolving, I try not to be repetitive and have my classes be exactly the same every semester. Inevitably, I learn something from the students. It's more of a cooperative experience. I still practice every day and study with master teachers. I want students to have that same love, and if they get inspired about learning and inspired about the material, then they're going to want to develop in their lives and keep growing."

Additional Related Links
Study Online with Daniel Moretti