Minneapolis based saxophonist was named the hippest jazz cat by Minneapolis/St.Paul Magazine back in 2007 for a reason. His energetic and passionate performances, innovative blend of genres, explosive sound, one-of-a-kind pink inspired brand/style and zest for life truly earns him this title. Danny has carefully crafted and mastered a combination of Prince, The Minneapolis sound and David Sanborn into a truly unique sound that is instantly recognizable. His truly remarkable career has has earned him 2 Los Angeles music awards, multiple Minnesota Music Award nominations, a cover story on The Jazz In M.E.E. January 2016 issue, 3 solo albums and multiple top 10 charting songs.
After being a side man for many years, Danny decided to step front and center in 2014 launching his second solo album SEXY.FUNK VELVET.JAZZ. In 2016, he released Eruption which earned him 3 radio singles and a Top 10 hit song entitled Reanimation. This album featured jazz legends such as Jeff Lorber, Will Donato and Nils. In the fall of 2016, Danny signed with California based record label Innervision Records and released his first single off the label “Can’t Stop the Groove,” which was a top 10 GrooveJazz chart single and was also picked up by Sirius XM and MusicChoice radio. The song was produced and co-written by Grammy® nominated producer and saxophonist Darren Rahn.
His impressive resume has put him on stage with some of the biggest names in Jazz and beyond: Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Joey DeFrancesco, Althea Renee, Adam Hawley, Eric Leeds, Will Donato, N’Dambi, Anthony David, Phil Denny, DW3, Selina Albright, Nils, Lindsey Webster and Bobbly Lyle. Danny has also opened for Morris Day & The Time, Stanley Jordan, Harvey Mason and has headlined multiple festivals and clubs such as The Dakota Jazz Club, The Soiled Dove, Bethesda Jazz Club, Gallery Suite Jazz Series, Catalina Jazz Club, Spaghettini’s, The Jazz Legacy Foundation, The Twin Cities Jazz Festival, Burnsville Jazz Festival, Selby Jazz Festival, Jazz 88.5 Winter Jazz Festival and The Little Apple Jazz Festival.
Danny is a rising star and has quickly captured the attention of fans, promoters and media in the entire contemporary jazz market.
DeepPocketsJazz.com said, “Shall we just call 2017 the year of Danny Kusz? Quite possibly. This cat has been bubbling just under the mainstream and seems to be ready to explode.” And Smoothjazz.com says “Danny is rejuvenating smooth jazz.” Danny is doing just that. Many artists and industry professionals have also called him the next generation David Sanborn. With Danny’s talent, confidence and business acumen, he is surely to be smooth jazz’ next star.
