Dan Fogel (musician)
Dan Fogel is an American jazz organist playing the famous Hammond B-3 organ.
Biography
A native of the New Jersey seashore, jazz organist Dan Fogel chose his vocation as soon as he heard the masters back in the 1950s. He was just a child barely into double digits, but he knew he wanted to play like the cats who pioneered the sound of the jazz organ. Sneaking away from his Margate home by night, he’d hop a bus to Atlantic City and stand outside of legendary Club Harlem on Kentucky Avenue. The music from the bandstand jumped onto the sidewalk. Much of it sprang from the Hammond B-3 keyboards of master jazz organists Richard ‘Groove’ Holmes, Don Patterson, Larry Young, and the grandfather of the instrument, Jimmy Smith. Eventually, the young Fogel made his way into the nightclubs and onto the bandstand. At 13, Dan joined jazz drummer Harvey Mason to form the “house” band alongside greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Nancy Wilson, “Brother” Jack McDuff and guitarist BB King at the Wonder Gardens on the same street. Kentucky Avenue was a hotbed for all the jazz organist known at that time.
Since those formative days, Fogel, whose aunt was renowned big-band singer Helen Forrest, has joined the ranks of the classic organ jazzmen. His performances at jazz festivals and clubs across the United States and in Europe have helped perpetuate the distinctive, percussive sound invented by Smith. Fogel’s recordingssix albums on his own Laughing Waters labelhave been lauded by musicians and critics. Of his 2006 release ‘15 West’, veteran jazz critic Nat Hentoff wrote, “It’s the kind of jazz that lifts my spirits. The sounds are beyond category, but he [Fogel] does revive that extra dimension of excitement that came from the past masters.” Owen Cordle, of JazzTimes, depicts Fogel’s musical personality as follows: “[He] has a big chordal style . . . He’s a rhythmic demon . . . He plays the organ as if it’s an orchestra.”
The past masters have left the bandstand, but their imprint has been embedded in Fogel’s playing and soul. When he’s not making music, he finds expression with paint and canvas, and his work has appeared at several South Jersey art exhibits.
For more history on Dan Fogel, jazz luminaries he’s played with, and discography, please visit WWW.DANFOGEL.ORG
Performances in the US
JOCKEY CLUB -- Atlantic City, NJ
RAMADA INN -- Tampa, FL
FRANKIE MASTERS -- Philadelphia, PA
GARDINER'S BASIN -- Atlantic City Jazz Festival (w/ Chris Columbo)
NJ JAZZ FESTIVAL (APPLE FARM) -- Elmer City, NJ (w/ Herbie Mann)
THE CHELSEA PUB -- Atlantic City, NJ
SIR WINSTON'S HOUSE OF JAZZ -- Camden, NJ
THE SALOON -- Camden, NJ
THE GASLIGHT -- Mt. Holly, NJ
"WE THE PEOPLE" JAZZ FESTIVAL -- Penns Landing, Philadelphia, PA PHILADELPHIA'S 200 YEAR BICENTENNIAL (Performed for President Ronald Reagan)
THE GATEWAY THEATRE -- Somer's Point, NJ (Performed live in concert)
THE LAST SHOE LOUNGE -- Atlantic City, NJ
THE HIDEOUT JAZZ LOUNGE -- Atlantic City, NJ
LT'S RESTAURANT -- Northfield, NJ
EL PESCATORE RESTAURANT -- Ocean City, NJ
KENTUCKY AVENUE JAZZ FESTIVAL -- Atlantic City, NJ
SMITHVILLE JAZZ FESTIVAL -- Smithville, NJ
PIPING PLOVERS ACOUSTIC MUSIC SOCIETY JAZZ VESPERS -- Ventnor, NJ
CONCERTS ON THE BEACH SERIES -- Somers Point, NJ
CHET'S LOUNGE -- Mays Landing, NJ
SLIM COOPER'S LOUNGE -- Philadelphia, PA
ORTLIEB'S -- Philadelphia, PA
GOLDIE'S -- Camden, PA
OMAR'S -- Margate, NJ
CLUB MARGATE -- Margate, NJ
COTTON CLUB -- Camden, NJ
CHRIS' JAZZ LOUNGE -- Philadelphia, PA
MARGATE PERFORMING ART CENTER -- Margate, NJ
CHICKEN BONE BEACH w/ HOUSTON PERSON -- Atlantic City, NJ
THE SAMUEL ADAMS SUMMER JAZZ CONCERT SERIES (GREGORY'S) -- Somers Point, NJ
Television Appearances
1987 Russell Cerminara's Channel 6 "Stepping Out" Celebrity Show
1987-88 March of Dimes Telethon
2000 Jazz Central Discovery Showcase - Black Entertainment TV
2001 Angela Moore "The World of Mystical Angela" - The Music of Dan Fogel
Discography
Movement de la Mer 1983 Laughing Waters (Hammond B-3 organ)
Naked Flowers 1986 Laughing Waters - DF-1 (piano and organ)
Something Like That 1990 Laughing Waters - LW-CD246 (Hammond B-3 organ)
ORACLE 2001 Laughing Waters - DF-2 (piano)
SOUL EYES 2004 Laughing Waters - DF-8272 (Hammond B-3 organ)
15 West 2006 Laughing Waters - DF-1949 (Hammond B-3 organ)