Daniel Kabakov

Daniel is a versatile musician who specialises in jazz improvisation and contemporary piano performance. He has received extensive training at Humber College (Toronto, Canada), attending masterclasses with prominent players like Steve Grossman, Pat LaBarbera, and Lorne Loftsky, in addition to spending five years under private tuition from Brian Rudolf, one of Canada’s leading pianists and jazz educators. After moving to the UK, Daniel held the piano chair in the Durham University Jazz Orchestra and has participated in the Tomorrow’s Warriors programme, in which he had a chance to build connections with the new generation of London’s jazz musicians and to learn directly from internationally established performers like Joe-Armon Jones, Binker Golding, and Nubya Garcia. Having performed at dozens public concerts and private events over the past decade, Daniel has developed an extensive repertoire and a recognisable sound, characterised by a percussive approach to the piano, Afrobeat-inspired comping patterns, and modern-sounding improvised lines influenced by the likes of McCoy Tyner. He has performed at respected venues in North America, (such as the Walter Hall and the Rex) and in the UK, particularly around London, Manchester, and Newcastle, (such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, Colour Factory, the Blackthorn Festival, Ninety One Living Room, Jazztrain Shoreditch, Troy Bar, Jago, and others). Currently, in addition to giving solo performances and tutoring privately, Daniel performs on piano and keyboards with four long-term London-based projects: “Kanpai Quartet”, a jazz fusion and library music-inspired group, “Olubundi”, an 8-piece Afrofunk act, “Grace Monaco”, a ‘bedroom pop’-style singer and songwriter, and “Angael”, an alt-pop artist. He is also a regular at London’s most established improvised jam sessions, such as Orii Jam, Upstairs at the Ritzy, and Troy Bar.