By Filipe Freitas

Name: Dan Weiss
Instrument: drums
Style: modern creative, avant-garde
Album Highlights: Fourteen (Pi, 2014); Sixteen: Drummers Suite (Pi, 2002); Utica Box (Sunnyside, 2019)

When did your interest in percussion come up?
It happened when I first heard Led Zeppelin’s IV. I was two or three years old and, from that point on, it was always drums.

Besides studying and practicing the instrument, what other things can help you being a better musician?
Listen to all kinds of music, be an open-minded person, willingness and eagerness to learn and make mistakes, and put yourself in situations that are not comfortable. Learning about different arts and disciplines, and traveling.

Your new album, Utica Box, features two bassists, sometimes at the same time. Can you explain a bit about the concept behind it?
The concept was simple. Thomas [Morgan] was busy a lot and I wanted to have a different bass player to know the music. So, Eivind [Opsvik] has brought off a cool sense of the music with the arco textural thing as well as melodic. So, I thought it would be nice to have them playing in the record, splitting the album up. That way, if one of them is busy, the other one could do the tours, do the gigs, and also have a chance to play together. This was how the idea came up. A very practical approach.

You’re very familiar with large ensembles, a fact demonstrated on the albums Fourteen and Sixteen: Drummers Suite. In which of the two contexts do you have more fun? Large ensembles or small groups?
I have more fun playing in small groups because there’s less pressure, less stress, and less responsibility. The smaller the ensemble, usually the more fun it is. It’s a completely different mindset composing for large ensemble, which you have to be very specific with the arrangement and orchestration, and for smaller ensembles, where there’s a little more freedom since it doesn’t necessarily need to be so arranged.

Can you name two persons who influenced you the most as a drummer?
John Coltrane and the Indian sitar player Nikhil Banerjee because of their spiritual approach and never-ending search for something. Also their never-ending practice and constant evolution.

Can you name two persons whom you’ve never collaborated before but you’d like to?
Hmmm… I don’t have an answer right now. Maybe 20 years ago it would have been Keith Jarrett, but the guys who are playing these days are unbelievable musicians.

As an in-demand drummer, do you have any advice for younger musicians and their path in music?
Be true to yourself. Find out what you really like. Work hard, have a good attitude, and listen to a lot of music. Be patient and don’t rush things - don’t put your record out if you’re not ready.

What would you have been if weren’t a musician?
Nothing. There were no questions ever regarding being a musician.

In which projects are you working right now?
I have a tour with the trio in November. Starebaby 2 is on its way - we’ll have a new record coming out next spring, so we’ll have some gigs and tours. The duo with Miles Okazaki is releasing a new record next year. Also, me, Matt Mitchell and Miguel Zenon are talking about recording a trio album. That should be in the future since everyone is too busy this year. I’m also planning to release a duo album with Ari Hoenig, which was recorded in 2009 and it’s already finished. Now, I’m trying to write a piece for five drummers that should be ready soon.