A LOVE OF MUSIC, A WIFE’S ENCOURAGEMENT AND SOME CHARITY.Music has always been a part of Dan Heath’s life. He grew up hearing stories about his great uncle, a renowned Fort Wayne, Indiana, violin maker. His brothers, John and David, played in bands during their high school days in the 60’s (John) and into the 70’s (David).
Though he never sang in a school choir or received any formal vocal instruction, Dan’s wife, Pat, often encouraged him to sing, having heard Dan whistle, hum and even sing a few bars around the house. Finally, after yet one more urging on behalf of Pat to sing for her, Dan decided to record a few songs for his wife as a surprise anniversary gift in November of 2001. After giving the recordings to his wife for their anniversary, Dan played the songs for a few friends at the Allen County Court House. One of those friends asked if he could play the recordings for the fund raising committee of the Mental Health Association in Allen County. Charity Fund Raising As a result of that meeting, the fund raising committee asked Dan to record a CD of songs that would be used as a fund raiser for the association. Sweetwater Sound, a major recording studio in Fort Wayne, Indiana, offered the services of their fine sound engineers and recording studio as a charitable contribution to the cause. Board members for the Mental Health Association were so deeply impressed by the quality of the recordings Dan Heath and Sweetwater Sound made for them that they asked FM 106.3 to play the songs on radio. The CD was titled "Beautiful Music for Beautiful Minds" and was distributed at local banks and restaurants around the Fort Wayne area. The CD sold over a 1000 copies and raised over $10,000 net for the association. Because of the success of the first CD, Heath and Sweetwater Sound teamed up again in 2003 to create a second CD for the benefit of Camp Watcha-Wanna-Do, a camp for children surviving cancer. The CD was titled "Somewhere . . ." after the lead song of the CD from West Side Story. The second CD was again played on radio station 106.3 FM and on local National Public Radio and was sold at local banks and restaurants. The CDs remain on sale. Please click here for details for purchasing the CDs. All proceeds go to charity. LIVE PERFORMANCES WITH THE PARADISE BAND AND THE NEW MILLENNIUM JAZZ ORCHESTRA.Heath has formed a fine jazz ensemble named "Dan Heath with the Paradise Band." The Paradise Band consists of some of the finest musicians in the Fort Wayne area. Steve Walley, the very fine pianist who has worked with Dan on the two charity CDs provides the keyboard work for the band. Steve has a Master's Degree in Music. Terry Vaughn is a great Fort Wayne area drummer and a band director for Fort Wayne Community Schools. Bob Ferguson, a well-known Fort Wayne area guitarist and long-time guitar instructor adds his great guitar work for the band. Bob also has his Master's Degree in Music from Indiana University at Bloomington. David Blackwell, who also has his master’s in music education from the Indiana University School of Music, provides his very fine sax and clarinet work. David is also the Director of the Fort Wayne Area Community Band. Dr. Matt Murdock (Ph.D. Ball State University School of Music) provides great trumpet and Flugelhorn play and also is the Assistant Band Director at DeKalb High School near Auburn, Indiana. Finally, Brad Kuhns provides bass for the band. Brad is also a bass player with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. Dan also sings, from time to time, with the New Millennium Jazz Orchestra, a very fine 18-piece orchestra composed of Fort Wayne area high school band directors and music professors from the IPFW music department. This great orchestra has its own website at: www.nmjo.com. Performance dates for Dan Heath's performances with the Paradise Band or the New Millennium Jazz Orchestra can be found at the “Contact/Upcoming Performances” of this website. “Dan Heath with the Paradise Band” also maintains a website at “Gigmasters.com” at this specific link: http://www.gigmasters.com/jazz/DanHeathWithThe/ Dan Heath sings a number of genres. He is best known for his rendition of Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Tony Bennett and Nat King Cole standards but also displays a fine vocal range for big Broadway show tunes, 50's-60's rock and roll and romantic ballads. A serious vocalist, Heath has taken vocal lessons from Robert Nance, the Director of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Chorus and the Heartland Chamber Chorale. |
