FM
Biography
Originally from Los Angeles, California, pianist/composer Danny Grissett is a relatively new addition to the New York jazz scene. He started playing the piano at age five, and began studying classically when he turned six. Danny continued his classical training through high school and college, earning his B.A. in Music Education in 1998, while developing a love for jazz along the way. He further explored his love for jazz in graduate school, earning his M.F.A in Jazz Performance from Cal Arts in 2000, and completing studies at the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute in 2001. There he studied with jazz masters such as Barry Harris, Herbie Hancock, Terence Blanchard, Kenny Barron, Bobby Watson, Jimmy Heath and Carl Allen.
Also during this time he began to establish himself on the LA Jazz scene with the guidance of one of his mentors, drummer Billy Higgins. He began performing more often with distinguished local and touring artists such as Billy Higgins, George Coleman, Jackie McLean, and Ralph Moore. In 2002 he joined drummer Roy McCurdy in the trio of John Heard, (bassist formerly with the trios of Ahmad Jamal and Oscar Peterson.) The invaluable time spent with Heard and McCurdy, playing clubs frequently, talking about music and the scene in NY, proved to be instrumental in cultivating Grissett’s ever increasing thoughts about moving east.
