Biography of David Haney

David Haney

David was born in Fresno, California, and grew up in Calgary, Canada. He studied composition with Tomas Svoboda and piano with Eddie Weid.

As a composer, David has received several commissions for ballet and film, including music for “Thousand Points of Light” with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. His chamber works have been performed by the Society of Oregon Composers on numerous occasions and his recorded works have been used by the Alberta Film Works.

As a bandleader and recording artist, his work has been widely cataloged by several record labels internationally including New York-based Cadence Jazz Records and CI.M.P Records and SLAM Productions in the UK. Since 2001, David’s 14 Cadence and C.I.M.P. releases have featured such jazz titans as Julian Priester, Andrew Cyrille, John Tchicai, Han Bennink, and Dominic Duval.

As a pianist, David has performed in many of the world's greatest performance spaces and on radio and television throughout North America, South America, and Europe. From the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires to BLA Jazz in Oslo, David has performed solo concerts and with a host of great improvisers. His projects have featured Bud Shank, Roswell Rudd, Bernard Purdie, Julian Priester, John Tchicai, Andrew Cyrille, Han Bennink, Buell Neidlinger, Wolter Weirbos, Wilbert de Joode, Johannes Bauer, and Gerry Hemingway. In 2004, David performed a live concert from the stations of Radio France in a broadcast heard throughout Europe. David has received two travel grants from the U.S. State Department, to perform the works of hard bop composer Herbie Nichols in concerts throughout Argentina and Chile.

As a teacher, he has presented workshops in improvisation at Portland State University; Western Washington State University; Conservatory of Music, Ghent, Belgium; Museum of Modern Art, Passau, Germany; Teatro Colon, Centro de Experimentacion; EMU School of Music, La Plata, Argentina, Hot Club de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina.

PRESS QUOTES
“Haney has fingers like ballerina‘s have feet“
Willamette Week

"Mr. Haney is a pianist drawn to experimental settings, and he creates a promising [performance] here." The New York Times

"Haney’s classical training enables him to expose the innards of composition while highlighting stylistic interconnectedness in a unique and resourceful manner." Elliot Simon, All About Jazz

"At times, Haney's dexterity can sound like piano for four hands, or more accurately music for piano and percussion, though never in overwhelming fashion; he frequently takes momentary pauses like a saxophonist's breath connecting short runs of notes.”
Laurence Donohue-Greene, All About Jazz, New York

“It's about excursions in sound as much as it is playing tunes. Pianist Haney reaches inside and plucks his strings when inspiration strikes.”