Dan Lehner has been an active musician, teacher and composer in the New York area for 7 years. Born in Hamilton, New Jersey, he graduated from the William Paterson Jazz Performance program (studying with trombonists such as John Mosca and Tim Newman). Since moving to New York, he has performed with artists like Orrin Evans, Norah Jones, Pharoahe Monch, PitchBlak BrassBand, Gina Chavez and can regularly be seen playing with bands like High and Mighty Brass Band, Avenida B, La Pachamambo, Bombrasstico. He contributed to the soundtracks of “An Enemy”, “Rosy” and the NatGeo documentary “LA92” through composer Danny Bensi.
With the band Karikatura, Lehner has played venues and festivals throughout Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and France. In 2017, they were selected as cultural ambassadors as part of the U.S. State Department’s “American Music Abroad” program, playing concerts and conducting workshops in Chile, Panama, Haiti, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
His newest project, True East, collaborates with drummer Zack O’Farrill (Stranger Days, Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra) and bassist Ran Livneh (Anbessa Orchestra, Friend Roulette) to create a synthesis of New York modern jazz and a swath of Afro-Carribean/South American musics, driven by myriad influences like Sons of Kemet, Linda Oh, Muniquitas de Matanzas and Chris Lightcap.