Dale Fielder Musician - All About Jazz

Updated: June 7, 2024

Born: July 27, 1956

Dale Fielder is an American jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays all four saxophones: soprano, alto, tenor and baritone with equal authority. He is known for his original compositions and choice of performing rare, obscure jazz classics as well as his varied group concepts and variety of presentations. Fielder has recorded over 20 CDs as a leader for various labels since he first appeared on the national jazz scene in 1993 with his first CD Free Flow.

He grew up in Midland, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh where he studied oboe, bassoon and tuba in the school system and clarinet, saxophone, composition and arranging privately with noted Pittsburgh area tenor saxophonist Phillip Celli. Fielder is also a product of the University of Pittsburgh Jazz Studies Program, where he studied as an ethnomusicology major under Dr. Nathan Davis. Fielder's debut jazz performance was as a member of the Joe Harris Quartet, former drummer of the Charlie Parker Quintet and Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra. After relocating to NYC, he was a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1984, studying with trumpeter/composer Frank Gordon and completed his first large work, "The Aquarian "for alto saxophone and chamber orchestra. While in NYC, he also performed with a host of current jazz stars such as pianist/composer Geri Allen and trombonist Robin Eubanks among many others.

After eight years in NYC, Fielder moved to Los Angeles and studied with alto legend, Charles McPherson and embarked on the challenging path of a bandleader, establishing the Dale Fielder Quartet, the DFQ, with pianist Harold Land, Jr. in 1988. By 1995, the DFQ's personnel had settled into its current configuration with ex-Mingus pianist Jane Getz, bassist Bill Markus, and drummer Thomas White; a unit that has remained intact for 25 years as of 2020. In 1996, Fielder and his DFQ recorded a national top-ten CD, "DEAR SIR: TRIBUTE TO WAYNE SHORTER" on his Clarion Jazz label, a label Fielder founded in 1993. The CD found national attention for Fielder and his quartet. In 1997, he received his first commission and wrote the extended eleven-movement jazz suite, "OCEAN OF LOVE AND MERCY" with an all-star Nonet featuring jazz greats George Bohanon and the late Daniel Jackson and others with his quartet. The CD was recorded in performance and subsequently released by Cadence Jazz Records. From 1997 through 2000, Fielder performed throughout Europe and Asia with his Quartet. The band was also selected by the national cable channel, BET, as their 1999 Jazz Discovery winner. Fielder has taped several video appearances and shows for BET.

In 2003, Fielder released his most important and ambitious work, his hour-long third extended jazz suite, "SUITE: CLARITY" to international critical acclaim. His 2005 CD, "BARITONE SUNRIDE" also received international attention bringing Fielder recognition as one of the new baritone saxophonists in jazz. His July 2007 release "DFQ~PLAYS THE MUSIC OF PEPPER ADAMS", continued to document his now-classic quartet with Jane Getz. Fielder's other projects include recording and performances with an avant-garde quartet, "Luminous Monolith", his fourth extended work, "LIGHT AND SHADOW" commissioned by and performed at Lenoir-Rhyne College of Fine Arts in North Carolina with the DFQ and his on-going exploration of the music of Pepper Adams, this time with performances with baritone great Gary Smulyan. Fielder also performed and acted in the play by visionary playwright, E.L. James, "NOBODY WALKS LIKE MY DADDY." won Fielder a nomination for 'Best Supporting Male Actor" by the NAACP Theater Awards in 2012 performing on soprano sax as the character "Horn". In 2013, Fielder performed at various venues in southern California with his new "Tribute Quintet " with a project focusing on the music of the Donald Byrd/Pepper Adams Quintet of 1958-1961. The music from this project has been recorded and released as the CD "EACH TIME I THINK OF YOU" on his Clarion Jazz label in October of 2012.

Fielder's current recording projects include: "RESILIENCE!" DFQ~Dale Fielder Quartet 20th Anniversary 2-Disc CD released August 2016. In December 2017 two Bandcamp Online CDs were released: "SENSUOUS UNIVERSE" from 2006 and "SAXOPHONE STANDARDS - Volume 1" from 2013. In January 2018, Fielder released a 35-year-old project featuring his late friend and jazz legend, Ms. Geri Allen; "SCENE FROM A DREAM - THE DALE FIELDER/GERI ALLEN SESSIONS NYC 1986". In May 2019, Fielder's Tribute Quintet released their second CD, the jazz/gospel/spiritual CD and YouTube video project, "AT THE THRESHOLD" for the Rajjahz label. And in June 2019, the DFQ~Dale Fielder Quartet returned with the outstanding CD: "CONSENSUS" which was considered for a Grammy nomination. And in November 2019, Fielder released his 3rd Bandcamp Online CD "ENTROPY," and his 4th Online CD: "PRECIPICE" in 2022.

His current CDs are "NOCTURNE SERENITY - [Saxophone Standards Vol 2]," released in August 2023, and "MOOD! - [Saxophone Standards Vol 3]," released in January 2024. As with all of his albums, all are currently available at Clarion Jazz, iTunes/Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, and most music platforms.

Awards

BET jazz discovery winner 1999 NAACP Theater Awards Nomination - Best Male Supporting Actor 2012

Gear

These are the Instruments and mouthpiece/reed setups I am currently using: 1. Selmer Mark VI Low Bb Baritone Sax with a Brancher L29 Hard Rubber or Ebony Wood mouthpiece, Rigotti Wild Ones cane reed - #3. Jupiter XO Series Alto Sax with a Meyer #5 hard rubber mouthpiece & Rigotti Wild Ones cane reed - #3. Jupiter XO Series Tenor Sax with a Leonani Beechler 110+ Series hard rubber mouthpiece, Otto Link hard rubber mpc #7* & Rigotti Wild Ones cane reed - #3. 4. Jupiter Artist 800 Series Baritone Sax with a Brancher L29 Hard Rubber or Ebony Wood mouthpiece, Harry Hartmann Hemp Fiberreed-Hard or Bari-Star synthetic reeds, Hard 5. Jupiter Artist 800 Series Soprano Sax with a Henri Selmer Paris F Series mouthpiece & Vandoren Traditional cut cane reeds, #3, I use the curved neck.

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Dale Fielder Quartet: DFQ Plays The Music of Pepper Adams

Read "DFQ Plays The Music of Pepper Adams" reviewed by Michael P. Gladstone

by Michael P. Gladstone
February 24, 2008

Saxophonist Dale Fielder's album is a long overdue tribute to the music of Pepper Adams. Fielder graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and moved to New York in 1980, gaining valuable exposure, recording and forming his own label. Returning to his hometown of Los Angeles in 1988, Fielder continued to gather experience and record.

In paying homage to the late baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams on DFQ Plays The Music of Pepper Adams, Fielder chose material from Adams' albums Reflectory (Muse, ...

Articles Across the Web

...or were mentioned in an All About Jazz article.

Los Angeles jazz player Fielder to lead Pierce Street band

At times, it seems as if saxophonist Dale Fielder is one of the national jazz scene’s best kept secrets. An incredibly talented instrumentalist as well as an accomplished composer, Fielder’s command of his instrument, his improvisational runs, the nuances, his warm mellow tone —-his total expression is flawless. —Bob Agnew/LA Jazz Scene Fielder comes out of the gate blowing hard, aggressive, ferociously swinging tenor and with that blows away any preconceived notions about west coast jazz musicians not being able to deal with the same depth as their east coast counterparts. Fielder’s tone is big and pungent, reminiscent of Trane’s and he possesses an impressive command of his instrument in both low and high registers. No happy jazz here, just a lot of serious dealing. —Bill Milkowski/JazzTimes Magazine

DEAR SIR finds Fielder fully ready to tackle the challenge of a CD program rendered in tribute to Wayne Shorter. Throughout these eleven pieces, the Dale Fielder Quartet gives a solid lie to the misguided notion that one has to be in New York to make significant jazz. DEAR SIR is likely something future generations of saxophonists will be addressing Dale Fielder by. He’s got it. —Willard Jenkins/JazzTimes Magazine

As a saxophonist, Fielder’s style lies somewhere between Shorter’s tensile fragility and Coltrane’s towering strength. He straddles this line well. —Robert Iannapollo/Cadence Magazine

His performances swing with dignified sounds and a sense of tradition, not to mention the kind of emotional content that great jazz demands. Seen earlier this month at Club Brasserie in West Hollywood’s Bel-Age hotel, the saxophonist and his combo took the roof off the place! —Bill Kohlhaase/LA Times

Dale Fielder attacks the rhythms on the alto saxophone with his dynamic solo-ability and eats up bop solos like pancakes! —Glenn Davis/LA Watts Times

Here’s something of a rarity, a debut disc from the west coast by a young black saxophonist that bears no hints of fuzak or funk trappings wrapped in a palm tree mentality. This is updated and unrepentant hard bop of the Blue Note mold. Fielder’s main instrument is the alto which he invests with a tart tone in the manner of Mr. McLean while constructing idea-filled phrases rooted in the Charlie Parker continuum. His compositions are dotted with twists remindful of Wayne Shorter scripts. This California reedman has come up with something more than a mere slice of nostalgia for the scotch and slippers set. I say more power to him! —Larry Hollis/Cadence Magazine

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Primary Instrument

Saxophone, baritone

Location

Los Angeles

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

Credentials/Background

University of Pittsburgh Ethnomusicology Major / Yamaha School Of Music (LA,CA) Currently: Jupiter Band Instruments Educational Clinician / Brentwood (CA) High School Master Classes / Lincoln Park Performing Art Center Master Classes (2010)

Clinic/Workshop Information

Educational Clinician for Jupiter Band Intruments. Talk and teach basics of jazz improvisation. Have students perform with Quartet and critique each student