press

Photograph by Brian Bixby

“Rosenboom is a phenomenon.”
–Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times

"A musician dedicated to exploration and expression, regardless of anyone’s imagined boundaries."
–Chris Barton, Los Angeles Times

“Rosenboom, along with Kamasi Washington, leads the charge of a new pulsating jazz movement that all younger generations can relate and attach to." –Glide Magazine

"Daniel Rosenboom is quickly becoming a ubiquitous presence in the West Coast's creative jazz scene... a singularly creative voice whose unique aesthetic encompasses an array of idiosyncratic influences...a lyrical virtuoso with a commanding tone, whose expansive trumpet technique is saliently paralleled in his diverse writing...an artist on the rise."
–Troy Collins, All About Jazz

 "Trumpet dynamo Dan Rosenboom, one of the more interesting Los Angeleno players, impresses with the fluidity of his ideas..."
–Josef Woodard, DownBeat Magazine

“Miles Davis, whose ghost lingered throughout, would have approved.”
–Greg Burk, Los Angeles Times

"Rosenboom gushes forth with fearsome alacrity, evoking the muscle of Freddie Hubbard and tone sculpture of Wadada Leo Smith..."
–Robert Bush, All About Jazz

"This shit rocks harder than those bands you hear through the walls in rehearsal studios around town, and Rosenboom leads the charge with his supermanly trumpet blasting. One of the most original, exciting, adventurous groups in L.A. right now."
–Gary Fukushima, LA Weekly

"Unlike anything heard before. This is jazz for the 21st century."
–Scott Yanow, author of thousands of articles for the All Music Guide to Jazz

"Daniel Rosenboom's trumpet playing was great throughout." 
–Bill Brotherton, Boston Herald

"...it's poetry as interpreted by Rosenboom's sweetly tuneful trumpet. Rosenboom leaps from one extreme to another, doing both with the effortless flair of someone who has mastered his craft and isn't shy to show it off."
–Robert Sutton, Jazz Corner

"Spectacular trumpet soloing...mesmerizing..."
–Bruce L Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery

"Daniel Rosenboom's trumpet and electronics tour de force Evolution captures all the gravity of '70s prog rock with a dramatic flair of Freddy Mercury-proportions...Rosenboom goes for the jugular both rhythmically and melodically, running through time signatures like a box of Kleenex at an AA meeting."
–Randy Nordschow, New Music Box

"Rosenboom's virtuosic performance added great excitement to the piece as we flew through fantastic landscapes or saw flashes of other images: a flutter-tongued passage gave way to a reflective, beautiful melody in the trumpet part. " 
–Neville Young, International Trumpet Guild 


Press for Polarity

★★★★½ ”Polarity is a jewel of intensely played music and interactive creativity performed with openness and edginess in the company of a top-notch quintet.”
JazzTrail

★★★★ “Rosenboom deftly transplants some of the indelible verities of the second Miles Davis Quintet, particularly his penchant for floating, ambiguous melodies and haunting harmony, within a thoroughly contemporary rhythmic conception.
DownBeat Magazine

★★★★ “A performance which gushes with energy and dexterous playing by all involved… An inspired session from a trumpeter whose voice seems to become more idiosyncratic with every release.”
All About Jazz

Dan Rosenboom finds a powerful conduit for his creative ideas in Templeton, Escreet, Mohler and Reid, enabling him to fulfill the promise of all of his compositions with the uncompromising Polarity.”
SomethingElse Reviews

With a mix of ferocity and intrigue, Rosenboom and his ensemble deliver scintillating creative music where each one of these musicians shines.”
Making A Scene

The rest [Polarity] presents six fine-crafted Rosenboom compositions that find the leader's technical poise matching the band's empathy and drive… combines the focus of the classically trained with the expressive power of left-field jazz… this band lets his poised musicianship and edge-of-seat improv flourish.”
Jazzwise Magazine

The ensemble that joined forces to record Polarity came together at ETA, a musical proving ground in Los Angeles where trumpeter Dan Rosenboom has been holding regular improvisation summits. One jam session was all it took for these five players to recognize how well they complement one another. Soon the group was in a studio, knocking out performances of Rosenboom’s striving original work and dazzling group compositions. The finished album is an intricate web of ideas and styles, with each player challenging the rest to match their virtuosity and conceptual bravado. “War Money,” for example, is an appropriately blustery assault, driven by drummer Damion Reid’s rapid-fire fills that pianist John Escreet attempts to replicate with Cecil Taylor-like percussiveness. Later, “On Summoning the Will,” a piece Rosenboom wrote in honor of his wife’s successful battle with cancer, the group quilts together chords and notes into a soft, warming embrace. With any luck this is only the beginning of fruitful collaboration between these players.”
PASTE Magazine


Press for Absurd In The Anthropocene:

"Brilliant." –Chris Phillips, Jazz FM (UK)

★★★★★ “Absurd In The Anthropocene is a joyous, surrealist triumph.” –Alun Hamnett, Record Collector

"Rosenboom embraces the chaos on his upcoming album, Absurd in the Anthropocene." –JAZZIZ

"[A] spontaneous combustion of improvisational delights and wonders."
Glide Magazine

“…a fire hose of electronic fusion, heavy on synth and pyrotechnic horn solos, with complex charts and extremely hard-driving, almost rock rhythms… the whole record is great.”
–Phil Freeman, Stereogum

"His horn skips and leaps, delivering breathtakingly long phrases with stunning control; he's a powerhouse player intent on overwhelming the listener with pyrotechnics, as the band crash forward.”
The Wire

"Absurd in the Anthropocene is arguably his most diverse collection to date and, intriguingly, it’s also one that’s strangely cohesive. And like his previous outings, it’s also ridiculously fun.”
–Dave Sumner, Bandcamp

"Los Angeles jazz trumpeter Dan Rosenboom's Absurd in the Anthropocene encompasses extremes in composition and improvisation ranging from high-definition tumult to beautiful tranquility… He and his band—which sometimes expands to 10 members—play with finesse and fieriness in equal measure, executing a kind of spectacular maximalism."
–Dave Segal, The Stranger

★★★★ “It feels spontaneous, euphoric, characterful and always like the musicians are having lots of fun; together. That’s a pretty healthy response to this chaotic, dissonant modern world.”
–Ian Ward, UKVibe.org

"… everything just ‘just right’ on Absurd In The Anthropocene. The right mixture of the past and future, acoustic and electric, familiar and exotic.  Dan Rosenboom has the right influences and just as importantly, knows how to distill them.”
–S. Victor Aaron, Something! Else

“Rosenboom lays down each piece’s complex framework, within which members are able to explore and push boundaries. The result is both energetic and spacious… yet another winner from Rosenboom.”
–Mike Borella, Avant Music News

“Dan Rosenboom’s new Absurd in the Anthropocene brings the trumpeter’s fusoid compositions to a dense boil with heavy layerings of psychedelia, atmo, and sprung rhythms. Never settling for the less than the best, Rosenboom pulls out all the stops…”
–Greg Burk, MetalJazz.com

“Rosenboom is seriously skilled, and while this is apparent, he’s not forcing the fact to the front my mind, which I greatly appreciate… Instead, Rosenboom reminds me of Lee Morgan, and by extension, his compositions can recall the more accessible side of ’60s Blue Note.”
–Josef Neff, The Vinyl District

“It’s wildly inventive, improvisational music that defies easy categorization such as jazz-rock fusion, electronica, or progressive jazz. It is all of those and more… Rosenboom’s vision is as wide ranging as any… Dive in for an immersive experience. Music rarely gets more explorative than this.”
Glide Magazine  

"In a time marked by unpredictability and absurd realities, music imbued with spontaneity and improvisation seems especially relevant. Internationally recognized trumpet player and composer-producer-entrepreneur Dan Rosenboom embraces the chaos and seeks to endow us with hope and joy along the way."
Artists In The Spotlight

"The internationally recognized trumpet player and composer-producer-entrepreneur is in line with his abstract musicianship and virtuous experimentalism..."
Live Music News & Review

“Un phénomène”
France Musique

“Un voyage éprouvant mais tellement jouissif”
Heepro

“Un album jazz-rock aussi cohérent du début à la fin, sans le moindre temps mort.”
Jazz Blues & Co

"Dan Rosenboom, con Absurd in the Anthropocene, ha entregado uno de los mejores trabajos de su fecunda trayectoria musical y también vuelve a ratificar su indeleble compromiso artístico con las vivencias de nuestro convulsionado mundo."
–Sergio Piccirilli, El Intruso 


Photograph by Eron Rauch from Angel City Jazz Festival 2017

Photograph by Eron Rauch from Angel City Jazz Festival 2017

Press for Burning Ghosts:

"Boxes be damned, classifying this as jazz- rock or jazz-metal is a waste of energy. It is simply what it is, which is great music... Marvelous."
Jazz In Europe

"Reclamation is the middle ground between Bitches Brew and Bloodlet." —Observer

"It was big, it was badass, it was an impressive collection of identifiable SONGS, and it ended with a tide of heavy feedback and applause, the way it sure oughta." –MetalJazz (live review)

"It’s like a musical diamond mine—the deeper you go, the more you find... No matter the political view or interpretation, though, one can find enjoyment in Reclamation, because at the core of this message is some of the LA’s best musicians (all virtuosos at their instruments) making music that pushes the boundaries of noise rock, free jazz and every genre in between into new and interesting places." —Heavy Blog Is Heavy

"True to the stated purpose of Burning Ghosts, Reclamation is another piercing protest document without words. But regardless of what your politics might be, there’s much to relish here as long as you appreciate raw passion delivered through accomplished musicianship and a fearless attitude." —Something Else Reviews

"Progressive anger can blast down some ugly walls, and Burning Ghosts' new recording shows how to do it without saying a word (or firing a shot)... This hard-jammin' quartet has jelled. Last year's debut raged with energy, but a span of seasoning and an appropriate alignment with John Zorn's avantist Tzadik label (Naked City, Secret Chiefs 3) have left the Ghosts focused and ready to dominate... Touched with Aylerlike churn and serene Coltranian confidence, "Reclamation" harks back to a time when revolution sprang directly from phonograph grooves into the hearts of millions. If you're wishing for this decade's most potent way of declaring "We're not gonna take it," look no further." —MetalJazz.com (album review)

"The music spits fire and lightning, maintaining it's fast speed, regardless of the complexity of the music. The dynamics at play are powerful with the music moving from slow and ponderous to white hot and fast... This is heavy and dense music that is still able to retain a tenuous tie to the jazz tradition while blasting it relentlessly into the future." —Music and More

"Reclamation captures some of LA’s most creative virtuosos pushing the boundaries between musical genres, in the tradition of metallic cross-over ensembles like Last Exit, Painkiller, and Simulacrum. For those interested in hearing what the left coast has to offer in these trying times, this bracing sophomore effort rewards multiple listens." —Point of Departure

★★★★½ "Reclamation is Burning Ghosts second album and first for John Zorn's Tzadik label. Based in Los Angeles, the band's fire and brimstone-like overtures are seated in doom metal-jazz along with renegade fuzoid bop movements. The musicians dole out sheets of torrential soundwaves via fluently enacted unison runs and booming cadenzas that spark a tidal wave of fun factors on a recurring basis... Led by gifted trumpeter Daniel Rosenboom and nascent guitar hero Jake Vossler, the group's intense modus operandi tenders thrills per nanosecond. It's best if played loud to appreciate the quartet's gargantuan presence and resonating song-forms. Moreover, Rosenboom and Vossler's exchanges will most assuredly send tremors down your spine." —All About Jazz

"Burning Ghosts, an L.A.-based fiery quartet that aims at today’s world injustices by verging on electric fusion genius to impress... Following the well-received self-titled debut album, released last year on the trumpeter’s label Orenda Records, Reclamation sets the bar even higher, captivating with a musical approach whose muscle, inspiration, intensity, and responsiveness have opened the doors of John Zorn’s record label, Tzadik... If you’re the adventurous type, Burning Ghosts will make you spin with the immense force of their underground volleys. I trust this band will have all the attention they deserve to keep protesting with this quality." —JazzTrail

"Where to start with Burning Ghosts? Thematically, they’re one of the most politically conscious bands out there, with a keen mix of justice, outrage, and empathy. Trumpeter Daniel Rosenboom, guitarist Jake Vossler, bassist Richard Giddens, and drummer Aaron McLendon are each insanely skilled. They’re self-described as jazz-metal, but their sound, especially on their sophomore album Reclamation, is filtered through a decidedly SoCal aesthetic: think Sunset Strip metal and glam meets San Pedro and Long Beach punk... Reclamation seems very much like a personal journey for each member, one that maps quite well onto the experience of the majority of Americans, as we enter into this most unbelieveable year of 2017. Everything is cacophonic, and weekly threats on freedom and safety amplify the collective emotional response. Sometimes, you need a loud, stomping, raucous outlet. And Reclamation delivers loud, stomping, raucous playing that ends appropriately with “Revolution,” 2:30 of note-perfect, head-banging joy." —The Free Jazz Collective

BEST OF 2016Avant Music News

★★★★½ "Daniel Rosenboom has the sort of explosive imagination that triggers creative breakthroughs. Nothing is off limits, and he delights in making high art and anarchy kiss and tumble into bed together. The LA trumpeter has released two new albums simultaneously. The first, Book of Storms, the latest instalment in his occasional Book series, is a maelstrom of spectral abstractions and crunching rock. Burning Ghosts, the eponymous debut from a new band, is even fiercer, pressure-cooking an anger that could be the corollary of the Trump phenomenon. Rosenboom's trumpet is a laser-beam that pulverises any arbitrary lines between idioms, including thrash metal and jazz. The trumpet is muted on the more restrained Elegy, but the laser-beam is amplified in terms of emotional impact. The band is completed by electric guitarist Jake Vossler, acoustic bassist Richard Giddens and drummer Aaron McLendon, all players who can engage with the compositions' demands, then throw off the shackles to deliver fearless, monstrous performances when required. The constant dialogue between primality, beauty, instinct and intelligence sets this – and all Rosenboom's projects – apart. Gripping."
—John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald

"...unruly...raging...visceral...raw...pure...expressive...a multi-faceted epic... Is Burning Ghosts the ‘Rage Against The Machine’ of jazz? Maybe that isn’t the conscious goal since there are those other precedents; it just seems to be the right time to bring up age-old issues that continue to fester, within the context of music that can match the passion on the streets. But listening to this music leaves the impression that Daniel Rosenboom & Co. wouldn’t shy away from the comparison with that other band from L.A., either."
—S. Victor Aaron, Something Else Reviews

"Daniel Rosenboom turns up the simmering menace of '70s Miles to a full boil of modern social warfare with a new band and album by Burning Ghosts, wherein the trumpeter's cool lyricism contrasts against the noisy electric onslaught of guitarist Jake Vossler; bassist Richard Giddens and drummer Aaron McLendon lend flexible support to a variegated soundscape that also offers oases of lovely repose." 
—Greg Burk, MetalJazz.com

★★★★ "A timeless meditation on the unsolved problems of economic and racial inequality, Burning Ghosts is a modern jazz protest record in league with the politically-charged efforts of the New Thing, extending the innovations of luminaries like Max Roach and Archie Shepp into the new millennium."
—Troy Collins, All About Jazz

"The frontline of trumpet and electric guitar is an especially powerful blend...The interplay between the trumpet and guitar is incredible, spewing out fast & furious lines in tight orbits, the entire quartet as one intense force...Rosenboom's muted trumpet is laid back and enchanting and well matched by Vossler's laid back, skeletal guitar, the mood is somber and contemplative...builds in intensity throughout with some inspired trumpet and guitar flurries, crisscrossing and erupting into a grand conclusion... There is an ancient tug-of-war going on here between the triumphant tone & playing of the Rosenboom's great trumpet and the seething anger of the guitar led jazz/rock trio kicking up a storm underneath... Burning Ghosts show that they are one of the best bands to emerge from L.A. in years."
—Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery Newsletter


Press for Astral Transference and Seven Dreams:

★★★★★ "L.A. trumpeter Daniel Rosenboom seems to gravitate towards music that challenges on multiple levels...wildly ambitious... It's a fascinating blend and blur of the notated versus the improvised, and the constant shifting keeps the listener's interest at a peak level... Imagine a synthesis of Wayne Shorter's "Moto Grosso Feio," and Cecil Taylor's "Conquistador," and one knows what to expect. Recommended." 
—Robert Bush, All About Jazz

"Fierce and combustible, trumpeter Rosenboom holds nothing back.  The occasional shifts into a straight-ahead jazz sound are almost startling.  When melody becomes the focus, the results are sweetly heartbreaking."
Bird Is The Worm

"Restless trumpeter, composer, poet, bandleader and record label entrepreneur Daniel Rosenboom tackles every one of his roles with a spirited intellect, which makes each new release a new adventure of multiple dimensions."
—S. Victor Aaron, Something Else Reviews

"Astral Transference and Seven Dreams are two sides of a coin. The former a demanding chunk of avant-jazz, while the latter is more conventional … Rosenboom has hit a high point in this release, and with any luck, this is an example of much more to come."
—Mike Borella, Avant Music News

"Los Angeles trumpeter Rosenboom and his colleagues have the spark in them, the connection to that nexus where head, heart, and spirit collide. His improvisations flow with an undisputable internal logic so that every turn seems as inevitable upon hearing as it was unpredictable moments before. Whether his music shifts from a trumpet march to an electric guitar loop, from frenzy to quiet breath, from tight ensemble to bickering solos, I feel smarter and somehow better for having heard it. Great music teaches ... trains the brain. Coltrane, Dylan, Hendrix, Carla Bley, Leroy Jenkins, Bach all do this. So does Daniel Rosenboom."
—Hobert Taylor, KUCI


Press for Fire Keeper:

★★★★ DownBeat Magazine
"There are few jazz records that seem suitable for a pyrotechnics show, but trumpeter-composer-producer Daniel Rosenboom has accomplished such a feat with the debut of his new album...a wholly modern and frequently intimidating assault brimming with ferocity...The quintet has a grinding meticulousness...and the band is extremely tight in their execution of Rosenboom's ideas. This is not background music. It's a panoramic assault soaked in aggression and fuzz, flinging jagged machismo in every direction. The listener has two options: Put down what they're doing and soak it up, or run screaming for the hills."
— Sean J. O'Connell, DownBeat Magazine 

"Complex and exciting, Fire Keeper burns, lurches, and leaps with intelligent virtuosity and a breathtaking sense of ensemble cohesion. This might be where jazz is heading—so strap in and enjoy the ride."
— Robert Bush, All About Jazz

"Veering between knotty jazz, prog rock and metal, is a trumpeter determined to go his own way...the imagination on display generates plenty of heat."
— Chris Barton, Los Angeles Times

★★★★½ from Sydney Morning Herald
"A more innovative approach has been to place jazzy improvising within a rock aesthetic. The quintet, led by Los Angeles' trumpeter Daniel Rosenboom, is at the pinnacle of this approach, as heard on the new Fire Keeper opus. Rosenboom's music filmically plays with moods, while reaching peaks of energy in which rhythmically complex compositions and arresting improvising sit atop the thundering drama of rock."
— John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald

"We’ve firmly established a few things about Daniel Rosenboom from his Best of 2013 release Book of Omens: he’s a fearless composer, bandleader, and trumpet player who lunges headfirst into the frontiers of modern progressive jazz, making it his mission to craft something that’s both fresh and immediate. What we establish from his follow-up LP Fire Keeper is that his pursuit of what’s beyond that frontier doesn’t ever let up."
— S. Victor Aaron, Something Else Reviews

"Fire Keeper, marches forward with a certain kind of relentlessness. It's definitely the kind of rambunctious, inventive kind of music that would describe a Steve Coleman composition or the latest David Binney album...[an] exciting direction jazz has been taking lately in the intermingling of rock sounds into the jazz canon, especially when touches of free jazz rear their heads."
— Anthony Dean-Harris, Nextbop

"The kinetic energy in the performances on this thing is m-a-s-s-i-v-e...the performances are just stellar throughout."
— The Needle Drop

"These guys aren’t afraid hit it hard, paying homage to rock and jazz often in the same track. The result is a complex, yet ultimately catchy, set of tunes. But be careful – you might break a few bones trying to move your body to Fire Keeper."
— Mike Borella, Avant Music News

"Fire Keeper, the debut album from the Daniel Rosenboom Quintet, exemplifies the vast possibilities for contemporary jazz artists."
— Mike Oppenheim, All About Jazz


Live Concert Reviews

From a review of The Daniel Rosenboom Quintet Live at The Loft @ UCSD on March 13, 2014 // NBC San Diego:
"In his quintet, [Rosenboom] has fashioned something entirely new from wildly diverse precedents like the music of Ornette Coleman, Balkan-folk, heavy-metal, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra... At times the band reminded me of Ornette’s Prime Time playing at a Bulgarian rave. The liberal dosage of odd-meters and compound meters also evoked the spirit of Mahavishnu, but there was also a splash of (I swear to god) Black Sabbath tossed in for good measure... Rosenboom has a warm, gorgeous tone...imagine Freddie Hubbard gigging with Henry Threadgill in a Slavic mashup group, and you get the idea."
— Robert Bush, NBC San Diego

From a review of The Daniel Rosenboom Quintet @ The Monterey Jazz Festival on September 21, 2014 // AXS:
"It's been a long time since jazz had a clear, unifying direction, but the young 'uns have come up with a new and increasingly influential sound. Think mellow, carefully layered melodic passages for the ensemble playing, punctuated with increasingly wigged-out solos, subtle-to-overt fusion influences and an overall elegiac tone...At least a half-dozen acts at this year's MJF were cooking some flavor of this recipe, none more vigorously than trumpeter Daniel Rosenboom, whose carefully sculpted solo lines made effective counterpoints to the raucous electric squalls unleashed by guitarist Alexander Noice. And the MJF "What Is That Thing, And Does The Supportive Truss Come With It?" award goes to bassist Kai Kurosawa, playing an electric thing that had two necks, a gazillion strings and a design that screamed "mad scientist meets luthier.""
— David Becker, AXS

From a review of The Daniel Rosenboom Quintet @ the Angel City Jazz Festival on September 28, 2014 // MetalJazz:
More than most fusionistic jazzers, trumpeter Daniel Rosenboom rocks -- which doesn't mean his quintet plays simple or heavy, more like hard, intense and eclectic. The five started with African inspiration (Kai Kurosawa stalking and soaring on tapped extra-stringed Warr guitar) and ended with nervous jump (Dan Schnelle rustling the drums, Gavin Templeton wrangling the alto), while guitarist Alex Noice rode feedback and Rosenboom cattle-prodded with his assertive horn.
— Greg Burk, MetalJazz.com


Extended Interviews

Read an Interview with Dan Rosenboom in VoyageLA Magazine
http://voyagela.com/interview/meet-dan-rosenboom/

All About Jazz w/ Fiona Ord-Shrimpton
"To say Daniel Rosenboom is no ordinary jazz trumpeter, is no exaggeration. His father, David Rosenboom is currently Dean, Richard Seaver Distinguished Chair in Music at the California Institute of the Arts (and has been at CalArts since 1990), and having a first trumpet teacher in the form of Wadada Leo Smith, where others may have rebelled to the surfscape or gone full Charlie Sheen, Daniel is confidently fulfilling his destiny to boom loud and boom proud..."

Point Of Departure w/ Troy Collins
"Los Angeles-based trumpet player and composer Daniel Rosenboom is a rising presence in the creative West Coast scene, having established his reputation performing with Vinny Golia, Harris Eisenstadt and his father, the renowned composer David Rosenboom, as well as a slew of bands including Killsonic, RootSystem and The Industrial Jazz Group. An ambitious member of the up-and-coming generation, Rosenboom engages in myriad musical activities: he leads an electrified quintet and acoustic sextet in addition to the “hardcore-Balkan-jazz-rock” group PLOTZ! and the “spontaneous composition” jazz-rock group DR. MiNT; works as a freelance session musician recording film scores and video game soundtracks; regularly performs with regional orchestras in the greater Los Angeles area; and accompanies multi-platinum singer Josh Groban on his international tours..."

Avant Music News w/ Mike Borella
"Daniel Rosenboom is a trumpeter who has released a number of compelling albums in the last few years, and is also trying to grow the Los Angeles creative music by curating live shows and launching his new label, Orenda Records. In addition to this interview, we recently reviewed Daniel’s latest album, Fire Keeper..."