Dan Giacobassi

Dan Giacobassi plays baritone saxophone for Truth in Jazz Orchestra and sometimes the flute.

He grew up in Muskegon where his parents were teachers. So, when he earned his music education degree from Western Michigan University, teaching seemed to be the path to follow. After one year as a music teacher, though, Dan knew he had to commit full time to music performance and he followed his dream.

He loved music in his youth and learned to play the flute. His idols were band directors. Of his training, Dan says, “I just kept pursuing it (music) long enough for it to do me some good.”

Dan has a long list of West and Mid-Michigan bands with which he performs. They include the Uptown Band (horn band), Rhythm Skool (variety rock band); Night Crawler (folk rock from 60’s and 70’s), Grasshoppah (contemporary blue grass), Pete and the Parrot Heads (Jimmy Buffet tribute band), Jive at Five (swing dance group), Blue Coast Quartet (jazz combo), Christy Gregorson (jazz pop singer); Checkers Morton Band (five piece jazz group); West Michigan Flute Choir (45 flutists); Wanda Degan (autoharp/dulcimer/folk music), and Lynn Thompson Band (power funk rock).

The instrument he is intrigued with these days is the shakuhachi, a Japanese bamboo flute. He has had opportunity to study the instrument on two separate trips to Japan and pursues his study here. In addition to Japan, music has taken Dan to California for two years of playing TexMex music and on a European tour with the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp European Symphonic Band.

Of music performance, Dan says, “I enjoy learning how to excel at playing my instruments. The kinds of music I end up doing for the most part are self expressive and, in that regard, I have become a professional improviser. It kind of multiplies itself. The more you learn, the more you can learn – it never stops.”